New Zealand’s Villa Maria Estate Names Ste. Michelle Wine Estates U.S. Importer
Auckland, New Zealand; Woodinville, WA
Villa Maria Estate and Ste. Michelle Wine Estates announced today that the Woodinville, Washington-based company will become the New Zealand winery’s exclusive U.S. importer effective January 19, 2010.
The strategic alliance includes management of domestic sales, marketing and communications programs, and both will explore global synergies between the two companies which could include viticulture and winemaking exchanges.
Villa Maria is New Zealand’s most acclaimed winery with an internationally-recognized portfolio that spans varietal and price segments. Sir George Fistonich founded the winery in 1961 when the New Zealand fine wine industry was virtually non existent. His unparalleled knowledge and leadership within the New Zealand wine industry has led to the country’s status as the second fastest growing import category in the U.S. at 22%. (A.C. Nielsen EQ 12/12/09)
Ste. Michelle President/CEO Ted Baseler considers Villa Maria’s acclaimed wine portfolio to be well-positioned to capitalize on this consumer demand and enjoy solid growth in the future.
“Consumers respond to brand authenticity, and George’s leadership in New Zealand and his ongoing commitment to innovation and quality initiatives are accomplishments that no other New Zealand winery can match,” Baseler said.
Fistonich was one of the first to identify the relationship between New Zealand’s different viticultural regions and grape quality and wine style. Villa Maria also was the first New Zealand winery to hire professional viticulturists for its own vineyards and it pioneered partnerships with its contract growers based on quality over yield. Villa Maria also was the first major wine company in the world to move its entire production exclusively to screw caps.
“When we set about finding a new partner in the United States, we were specifically looking for an organization with an impeccable reputation, a successful track record in developing fine wine businesses and trade relationships, and a company with the ability to deliver the American consumer broad distribution across all trade channels",” Fistonich said.
“Quality drives our decision making,” Fistonich said. “So it was critical for us affiliate with a company that has a demonstrated quality focus in all areas of its business.”
Villa Maria produces its wines at two state-of-the-art winery facilities located in Auckland, the company’s headquarters, and Marlborough. The company produces a range of quality wines from its Private Bin Range to the food-friendly Cellar Selection range to its vintage-driven Reserve series and the terroir-driven Single Vineyard wines. Villa Maria is an internationally-recognized Sauvignon Blanc producer and also excels with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, among other varieties.
Environmental responsibility is an important business objective for Fistonich who believes that as a family-owned company it is important to preserve and protect resources for the next generation. The wineries and vineyards are accredited as sustainable and recently the company has achieved Certified Emissions Measurement and Reduction Scheme (CEMARS) certification as part of a strategy to reduce its carbon footprint.
In 2009, Villa Maria took an important step on its sustainability journey, achieving internationally-recognized BioGro organic certification for the bottling facilities at Villa Maria Estate in Auckland.
The company is also looking at ways to adopt some of the key learnings about natural viticulture methods across the rest of its operations and has two more vineyards in the North and South Islands in the early stages of BioGro certification.
Villa Maria’s addition to Ste. Michelle’s import portfolio supports Ste. Michelle’s business strategy of owning or representing estate wineries who are leaders in their respective regions.
“Villa Maria is an outstanding addition to the Ste. Michelle portfolio and supports our ‘string of pearls’ business strategy of owning or representing a collection of unique estate wineries. The company’s innovative approach to quality grape growing and winemaking coupled with New Zealand’s category growth make this an ideal moment to reintroduce an historic, authentic industry leader to consumers,” Baseler said.
About Villa Maria
Villa Maria has been New Zealand’s most awarded winery for 30 years. Founded by George Fistonich in 1961 and still privately owned today, Villa Maria is recognized by esteemed international wine experts as one of the world’s leading wine producers. Sourced from expertly managed wineries in the best growing regions of New Zealand, the Villa Maria Estate range is enjoyed in over 50 countries worldwide.
With a strong sustainability focus and absolute commitment to quality, Villa Maria has won critical acclaim for its ability to “express individual winemakers’ flair” with the stamp of a “perfectionist’s zeal” and to create “beautifully crafted” wines of “supernatural consistency.”
The Villa Maria Estate range includes: Private Bin, Cellar Selection, Reserve and Single Vineyard wines.
Visit www.villamaria.co.nz for more information.
About Ste. Michelle Wine Estates
Ste. Michelle Wine Estates is the fastest growing premium wine company in the U.S. Based in Washington State, the company has 3,500 acres of vineyards, and vineyard and winery holdings in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and in Napa Valley, California. Ste. Michelle has pioneered the Washington wine industry since it was established in 1934, and today the company’s portfolio includes Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest, Domaine Ste. Michelle, Snoqualmie, Northstar, Col Solare, and Spring Valley Vineyard in Washington; Erath in Oregon; and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Conn Creek, and Villa Mt. Eden in Napa. Ste. Michelle Wine Estates is also the exclusive importer of Antinori, Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte and Palmes d’Or in the United States.
For further information
Kari Leitch
Vice President of Communications
Ste. Michelle Wine Estates
(425) 415-3673
kari.leitch@ste-michelle.com
Zara Tempest
PR & Communications Coordinator
Villa Maria Estate
+64 (0)9 255 1754
zarat@villamaria.co.nz
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