Small family wineries are diversifying
Chris Figgins, son of the founders of Leonetti Cellar winery in Walla Walla, Wash., has established a new umbrella management company, Figgins Family Wine Estates, to handle the family's new ventures, which include selling olive oil and launching a line of grass-fed beef, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported.
Leonetti Cellar is pursuing a strategy of growth through diversification, a move that more small wineries seem to be embracing as winemakers grapple with the weak economy, industry observers say.
Lewis Purdue of Sonoma, Calif., editor of Wine Industry Insight, told the journal that diversification has worked well for small wineries like Sonoma's Cline Family Vineyards, which launched a lower-price Red Truck label.
Each of the Figgins family's products will have its own brand but will be marketed collaboratively, the report noted. A new wine label, called Figgins, will sell a blended wine. The company also provides custom farming for other winemakers. (Source: Puget Sound Business Journal, April 16, 2010.)
Posted Monday, April 19, 2010 • Permalink
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