Global Bridges
Building relationships between Spain’s food, Wine producers and Clients around the world.
Drink Ribera. Drink Spain
Named Wine Region of the Year 2012 by Wine Enthusiast Magazine, Ribera del Duero is one of Spain’s leading Denominación de Origen (DO) areas, located just two hours north of Madrid around the towns of Aranda de Duero and Peñafiel on the northern plateaux of Castilla y León. Home to the Vega Sicilia winery, it is famed for it the native grape varietal, Tempranillo.
As Spanish wine-marketing specialists, we helped win the business, developed a three-year strategy and provided trade-oriented aspects of the program, working in tandem with a communications plan from another agency. Appointed as US Brand Ambassador, we organized activities and seminars nationwide to connect producers to buyers, importers, and press, supported by a cross-media communications and event campaign.
Trade – We served as Trade Liaison for the D.O. Ribera Del Duero in the US, organizing educational seminars and workshops across the country to present Ribera wines to importers. We set up the ‘RiberaConnect’ program to help Spanish wineries connect with US importers.
Design: We created a portfolio of campaign marketing materials to promote the government of Castilla y León’s events in both Florida and New York City.
Strategy – We worked closely with the D.O. Ribera Del Duero to develop and implement a project strategy to raise awareness about the region among key buyers (importers, retailers and sommeliers) and the press.
Communications – We created a series of educational videos on the Ribera Del Duero DO area, focusing on terroir characteristics and styles of wine, and developed and maintained the Ribera Facebook page.
Events & Management – We planned and executed a nationwide program of trade events (California, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, Texas, and Washington, D.C.), involving: annual Grand Tasting in New York City, in-store tastings to build retailer relationships and present new wines to customers, and specialist tastings and workshops for press and trade. We organized a nationwide series of in-store tastings and training workshops for influential food and wine professionals, including: Food Network, Spec’s (Texas), Binny’s (Chicago), Jaleo (Las Vegas), K&L (California), and Total Wine (Atlanta) to just name a few.
Events – For two years, D.O. Ribera Del Duero was a key sponsor of the Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival, and as Brand Ambassador, April Cullom co-hosted a food and wine demonstration, with chef Tyler Florence, and a seminar with well-known experts, like Travel & Leisure magazine’s Bruce Schoenfeld, and sommelier and co-owner of Corkbuzz, Laura Manic.
Representation – April Cullom was appointed as Brand Ambassador for D.O. Ribera Del Duero in the USA and presented a series of Grand Tasting seminars featuring well-known personalities, such as Vega Sicilia owner, Pablo Alvarez, and D.O. Ribera Del Duero president, José Trillo.
Experience – We organized a VIP Buyers’ trip to the D.O. Ribera Del Duero area, bringing more than 20 leading US retail and restaurant buyers to Spain to experience Ribera wines in person.