Dalwood Vineyards Case Study

Did you and your friends ever come up with this crazy idea after a couple of drinks? Well, you’re not alone. Fact is however (and this might surprise you): most of these ideas never get carried out. But that’s probably for the best though, isn’t it?

In some cases, however, these ideas do come to life and in the case of Dalwood Vineyards that can be seen as a happy ending.

Here’s how they describe it:

“Dalwood Vineyard was an idea first discussed twelve or so years ago, but like many good ideas it took a while to happen. Eventually, the subject came up again over a pint or two, and this time a group of six Dalwood villagers decided to make it happen. Backed by knowledge gained from a course on vine growing at Plumpton College and a willingness to learn, we planted the first vines in Dalwood Vineyard in 2009, the first acre devoted to Seyval Blanc.”

Goals

England is gaining a strong international reputation for sparkling wines, regularly seeing off champagnes and other sparklers in competitions. Because of this, Dalwood Vineyards decided to devote their first crop to a sparkling wine.

This turned out to be the right decision, evidence of which is their 2015 Brut being awarded, two of their wines being picked as finest wines at #ukwinehourlive 2018, and being suppliers to top100 hotels in the United Kingdom.

Their success is only being topped by their ambition heading in to the future, as the Dalwood guys are looking to establish themselves as a dominant presence within the British sparkling wine market.

The Situation

Being a smaller wine maker and trying to get your foot in the door with buyers can be a daunting task. Many wineries are struggling because of this as they are failing to rack up the deals necessary to sustain themselves.

Because of their smaller size and brand awareness amongst the right people the quality of their wines sometimes gets overlooked, as buyers play it safe by going with the more established options available. Because of this diverting some resources to investing in the right professional image becomes necessary.

In order to confidently engage in sales meetings and wine-oriented events winery owners and representatives need to be equipped with the right tools to both make a good first impression, as well as a lasting one.

The Solution

By being able to use their own tailor made, branded wine accessories, Dalwood Vineyard representative Mike Husky is now able to present the brand in a new and improved way.

The ability to seal his own bottles with a branded stopper gives him more confidence presenting his brand at events. With the increased ability to present Dalwood in a professional manner Mike feels it will now be easier to be accepted at wine tastings and buyer meetings.

One of the company’s finest accomplishment for 2018 was being picked to supply the Giner Peanut, a highly decorated British hotel which is featured on several “best of” lists put together by the publishers such as The Times and The Guardian.

Additional Benefits

Their direct to consumer efforts also saw an improvement in 2018. Wine stoppers and sparkling wine stoppers make for a great incentive for customers to trade up – to increase the value of their order. With this exact tactic Dalwood Vineyards were able to improve their revenue in 2018.

By offering a free branded stopper if customers bought a full case of their decorated 2015 Brut, they did not only see an immediate result from their branding efforts, but they also were able to get their brand and logo into the hands and houses of many wine lovers around the country.

This way Dalwood also provides their most loyal members with more opportunities to refer new members. With this they have now added an ongoing customer acquisition strategy with zero effort going forward.

Keeping in mind that the 2018 Silicon Valley Bank Wine Report showed that businesses that are able to raise the average order value per customer are the ones that can increase sales and brand equity, being able to incentivize clients to make a bigger purchase by adding a branded gift is a great way to capture multiple birds with one stone.

Dalwood Vineyards are now able to leave a lasting impression in the hands of their most loyal clients, their average order value has gone up, and they are investing in long-term relationships with their customers without any effort.

Proof of this are their raving customer reviews they recently received:

“Amazing wine! I am always proud to buy from Devon and this wine is no exception. What made it so much more special was the excellent service I received from David in regard to ordering and shipping. Managing to time delivery for when he was in the area (Cambridge!) was good luck, but in general, it was just another example of a fantastic Devon company.”

“Lovely vineyard, lovely people, lovely wines!!!! Can't recommend highly enough”

It is important to keep in mind that besides serving some of the finest sparkling wine in the United Kingdom, the sparkling personalities of the Dalwood Vineyards guys do help too when it comes to customer satisfaction.

But the importance of investing in the right quality of service shouldn’t be news to any winery owner.

Results

After working with Avina, business owner Mike has been able to improve the brand equity of his winery, as well as directly impact the finances of his business.

What's next?

What’s next for the Dalwood guys? The are very much looking forward to what 2019 has to offer for them and are feeling confident they will be able to secure many more interesting deals. They also plan on presenting themselves at several wine related events across the country.

Their Avina sparkling wine stoppers will be playing a starring role then too.

HOW CAN I USE THIS FOR MY BUSINESS?