Argentina’s first woman winemaker expands communications program in the US
New York, NY, March 8, 2023 – Susana Balbo, one of Argentina’s most iconic and pioneering wineries, announces Colangelo & Partners as its agency of record to develop and execute a strategic, dynamic and comprehensive communications strategy in 2023. This partnership will focus on growing the legacy of Susana Balbo, Argentina’s first female winemaker, and highlighting the next generation of the family in daughter Ana Lovaglio Balbo and son Jose Lovaglio Balbo, along with Susana Balbo’s award-winning portfolio of wines, which includes the brands Crios, Susana Balbo Signature, Nosotros, and BenMarco.
“I remember the first steps I took to get my wines in the US market two decades ago, when we were a very small team,” said Susana Balbo. “Today, I am happy to see my evergrowing winery partner with a respectful and professional agency such as Colangelo & Partners, who can help us spread the word about our wines even further throughout the USA.”
Since creating the first world-class Torrontés in the early 1980s in Cafayate in the Salta province, to the present day at the foot of the Andes in Mendoza, Susana Balbo’s vision has forged a path to position the winery as a leader of Argentine wine. With an intrepid and entrepreneurial spirit, Susana Balbo is synonymous with innovation, excellence and sustainability. And, her passion for creating wines of outstanding quality has spanned generations and passed onto Ana and José, along with nearly 100 strong team members that complete the family.
“We are delighted to partner with Colangelo & Partners to bring our wines to a wider audience in the United States,” said Ana Lovaglio, Principal at Susana Balbo. “We believe our wines’ unique character and terroir-driven approach resonates with American wine enthusiasts, and we trust Colangelo & Partners’ expertise to help us tell our story and share our passion for winemaking.”
Colangelo & Partners will create a program designed to reinforce Susana Balbo’s momentum by focusing on the winery’s four main pillars:
- Courage: The Susana Balbo team believes that there are triumphs even in defeat, and creating means assuming challenges. They are accepting of all risks, avoiding the safe and easy route, to produce exceptional wines that transcend time.
- Quality: Susana Balbo represents quality, consistency and identity. The team is dedicated to producing unique wines that are true expressions of Argentina’s best soils. 3. Love & Commitment: The family has a strong sense of pride and passion for their origins and community. That, naturally, translates into the harmonious end result in the bottle. 4. Innovation: Susana Balbo continues to surpass the established limits within the wine world, always looking ahead for new ways to reveal the strong identity that has been solidified.
Additionally, the agency will strategically increase visibility for the core lines, which are all classic, modern and inspired by the vineyard:
- Crios: Translating to “offspring”, the wines from the Crios line are produced by Susana as a demonstration of love, dearness and dedication towards her children. The wines are sourced from the highest quality vineyards in the most unique Andean terroirs: Valle de Uco, in Mendoza, Agrelo, in Luján de Cuyo, and Cafayate, in Salta. Every variety is nurtured to elevate its intrinsic character.
- Susana Balbo Signature: Susana Balbo’s Signature wines are elegant, bold wines with an artistic finesse that defies the limits of enology. The wide range of styles highlights Susana’s brass to create elevated and innovative wines, as well as her ability to merge terroir knowledge, new and antique winemaking techniques and the latest technology.
- Nosotros: This “roaming wine” line reflects the passion, experience and spirit of each of the members of the Susana Balbo family. Always 100% Malbec, Nosotros wines are complex, high-end and limited, and come from the vineyard that performed the best in a certain vintage to create the most intense and expressive fruits of the year.
- BenMarco: BenMarco wines are conceived as viticulturist wines. They are produced under the watchful eye of Edgardo Del Pópolo, one of the most renowned and experienced Argentinian viticulturists.
Colangelo & Partners COO and Partner Felipe Gonzalez-Gordon expressed his excitement about the new partnership, “Susana Balbo wines is a jewel in Argentina’s wine industry, and we are honored to represent them in the United States. Their commitment to sustainability, innovation, and excellence aligns with our values, and we look forward to introducing their portfolio of outstanding wines to the American market.”
A leading Argentine winery, Susana Balbo’s wines are made sustainably and/or certified organic. Each line supports a social cause from breast cancer awareness and women’s health programs to wine auctions for various charities. The family is an enterprise that represents consistency, identity and the vanguard of innovation.
The wines of Susana Balbo are imported by Folio Fine Wine Partners and are available nationwide.
About Susana Balbo
Susana Balbo is a family winery, focused on high-end wine production, located in Agrelo, Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, at the foothills of the Andes mountain range. It was founded in 1999 by Susana Balbo, Argentina’s first female winemaker. The winery’s multidisciplinary team is made up of more than one hundred people, including José and Ana, Susana’s children, who all share the same values, vision and passion for creating quality wines.
About Colangelo & Partners
Colangelo & Partners specializes in premium food, wine and spirits brands, and has long-established relationships with the key press that drive these business categories and help determine the industry leaders. Agency principals have years of experience in retail and distribution as well as communications, a rare combination that gives Colangelo & Partners invaluable insights into consumer purchasing behavior.
The agency focuses on ‘closing the loop’ between creative communications programs, distribution, promotion, publicity and the consumer in order to maximize the efficiency of its communications programs and deliver measurable results. Founded in 2006, Colangelo & Partners was honored as one of the year’s top integrated communications firms at the 2013 Agency Elite Awards and for one of the best digital marketing campaigns at the 2014 Digital PR Awards.
