Why modern living needs a 500mL bottle - FAQs

The tension between wanting premium wine and not wanting excess or waste. 500mL resolves that tension cleanly.  The format enables moderation, delivered with panache, care and craft, without complexity but respectful of wine rituals.  Does so without shouting or hectoring.   Tranquil. Quiet. Rich. Pleasurable. Personal.

750mL will remain dominant. But we believe format diversity will grow as drinking occasions continue to evolve.

Hell no!  Forshame! We're convinced this is a rational evolution. We are not experimenting with the wine either in the vineyard, winery or with our brand.  We absolutely scour the world for evolving practices, knowledge, and equipment.  And we are leary of novelty and fashion/trend.  Wine is fundamental to a very long human story and support much deeper social connections than mere fads.  What brings us to 500mL formats is a considered perspective on how it fits into and deepens pleasure in modern life.

Wine is tradition-heavy. Maybe a little … self absorbed? And producers are deeply, deeply in love with wine, let's not forget. Most of us are obsessively focused on quality and the pursuit of the best version of wine we can make in any given season.  

The structure of the wine industry (a vastly fragmented number of small brands striving for a place at the table alongside behemoth brands with deep resources and ability to impose themselves on supplychains & therefore consumers) means smaller wine brands compete for the attentions of wine "gatekeepers" first and foremost (critics/ writers/ competitions/ distributor/ retailers) - the perspective of the customer can be diminished as a result.

This, and an aversion to risk, we think, has resulted in a general weakness (denial) in comprehending and parsing massive shifts in contemporary consumer realities affecting people's approach to wine.  Among various implications, formats become default rather than deliberate. Or we lurch to novelty formats which feel like a driver of our own differentiation rather than a customer-inspired strategy.

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Caroline & I have gone very deep on this, on lifestyle trends relevant to wine.  We perceive an alignment of lifestyle and format is here. And we believe we’re simply revisiting an assumption that’s been unquestioned for way too long.

We hope it lowers the bar to customers experiencing something new and premium, that will lead to a purchase of a larger bottle & maybe a collection interest. A gateway wine format!   We're reminded of Rob Fyfe's insight at Air New Zealand  - lowering prices on unsold seats to passengers in adjacent seats.  To encourage them to purchase privacy, extra space, bring a plus one... whatever.  The empty seat wasn't generating income.  Sure, this was a lesser return.  But it was no longer a zero return.  The unsold 750mL bottle is the same.  We see the 500mL as stimulatory for 750mL and generally potentially positively effecting litres sold across wine formats.