Napa Valley: a tasting
for the Trade

The Napa Valley on a quest to conquer Bordeaux’s marketplace

Client
Napa Valley Vintners

Missions
Event, Press Relations, Contents

Date
2023

In September 2023, the Napa Valley Winegrowers Association and its 539 members called on us to help market some of its most prestigious estates to the Bordeaux marketplace, with the idea of raising the profile of Napa wines and building a strong link with key players with a strong international profile (merchants, brokers, journalists).

Challenges

The challenge of this type of assignment is to reconcile an approach that is both educational and casual for an audience that is familiar with this type of event. To achieve this, and in collaboration with Camille Poupon (Linkedin link), we came up with a two-part morning:

a masterclass and tasting led by journalist Jane Anson, with print and video communication materials
a lunchtime cocktail reception accompanied by a free tasting and featuring some lovely Californian wine pairings.

Strategies

The number of places was limited (60 pax) and each company had to be represented by a specific profile (CEO, buyer or exporter). So we did all the PR work, selecting and inviting the right people.

We also organised all the logistics for the event in conjunction with Napa Valley Vintners, before, during and after the event.

Execution

Our mission was to:

finding a central venue that was both contemporary and welcoming
fitting it out to host a professional tasting and masterclass (sound system, screens, etc.)
selecting a team of professional sommeliers to serve the wines
find and brief a caterer capable of meeting our brief and the proposed pairings
identify and invite the right people for each house in line with our client’s strategic objectives
create the communication tools for the tasting: booklet, presentation, etc.
be present to welcome each guest on the day and liaise with the Napa Valley Vintners representatives
take care of the “aftermath”, i.e. sending out thank-you notes and the various documents distributed during the event

Results

an event praised by participants and representatives of Napa Valley Vintners (see below)100% of confirmed participants attended the event

“I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you and your team once again for the outstanding job you did creating our masterclass and lunch for the wine trade at the CAPC on Tuesday. Every detail was beautifully taken care of and I was so impressed with the caliber of all elements: attendees, venue, room set up, tasting book, presentation, staffing, culinary, photographer and the list goes on! (…)”