Building a new wine category is not something that is easy to plan.  It often is more like a startup, where belief in the product and market is just as critical as a defined strategy.  That's how Luisa Amorim, CEO of Amorim Family Estates, launched Mirabilis into being an iconic still white wine of the Douro Valley.  She outlines priority markets, views on scores and social media, and her belief in word of mouth marketing.  

Detailed Show Notes: 

Luisa’s background: hospitality, marketing; started in the family business at 23; spent 3 years in a global rotation program

Amorim Family Estates

• 3 regions in Portugal (Douro, Dao, Alentejo)
• Each property has its own winery and team and does hospitality with a culture and food component
• Division of bigger Amorim cork company and family

Mirabilis (part of Quinta Nova)

• Produced white wine from the beginning (2000)
• First an unoaked white, then a reserve, then Mirabilis (Latin for “marvelous”)
• White was not popular in Portugal at the time, production processes were not set up for whites
• Took 2 years of experimentation, 1st vintage 2011 (2,000 bottles)

Whites still have pricing barriers vs reds

Douro white differentiation: close to Atlantic, schist soils, native grapes, and blending

Introducing Douro whites: older people were harder to get on board, younger were more open to exploration

Need to have belief in product and its viability over having a detailed marketing plan

Marketing focus has been on teaching Portuguese wines (including culture and traditions)

Geographic focus for Mirabilis

• Portugal 1st - need to be well respected in the home country
• Switzerland, Benelux (lots of Michelin Star restaurants)
• Not Scandinavia (targeting higher end of the market)
• Brazil (speak Portuguese)
• USA, Canada

5 people, based in Portugal, work internationally; travel 3-5x/year to each market

While design and packaging, price positioning are important, the sales team and their relationships are critical in the wine industry

Having a good wine is more important than press or reviews, people are paying less attention to reviews

Consumers now look at peers and friends for recommendations and they need to trust the wine producer

Social media - “should be doing more” - hiring younger people into marketing

Wine marketing needs to capture the “soul” of the wine

• Make things simpler, less technical talk
• More provocative, “sexy” vs saying the same thing all wineries say

Has not done any paid advertising

Relies on word of mouth (people taste, buy, and talk) and partnerships

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