Napa, Calif.—The young winemaker who recently agreed to sell his Meiomi brand of California wine to Constellation Brands for $315 million will be the lead-off speaker at the Wines & Vines Packaging Conference on Aug. 19 in Napa.
Joe Wagner (pictured), a member of Napa Valley’s Wagner Family of Wine -- founders of Caymus Vineyards -- developed Meiomi while working for the family. He perfected an extremely popular flavor profile for the primarily Pinot Noir line while paying close attention to the wine’s package design, including a subtly tapered Burgundy-style bottle and twist-off closure with concealed threads.
In 2014 Wagner formed his own company, Copper Cane Wines & Provisions, to produce Meiomi, Elouan and Carne Humana -- and to market other wines and merchandise. Constellation Brands announced July 1 that it had agreed to acquire the Meiomi brand, which had grown to more than 500,000 cases in 2014.
Wagner plans to share with packaging conference attendees the stories of his family’s successful brands and the role that packaging played in their successes, including Meiomi, and others like the wax-topped Belle Glos line and Mer Soleil Silver, the concrete-aged Chardonnay sold in a ceramic bottle.
The Wines & Vines Packaging Conference will take place Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 500 First St. (the former Copia building) in Napa. It is intended for winery personnel including owners, winemakers, sales and marketing directors, purchasing managers, bottling line supervisors and others. Conference sessions, breakfast, lunch, a targeted trade show and wine reception are all included in the $199 registration fee.
Other sessions and speakers will address wine packaging from multiple angles including package design and materials, quality control during bottling, and natural cork selection and quality control. A special presentation by Andrew Haney of Nielsen Design Solutions will kick off the afternoon sessions. Haney’s presentation will explore the intimate connection between package design and brand image based on exclusive new consumer research conducted specifically for the conference.
Optional tasting sessions scheduled for the morning and afternoon will present tasting trials that explore the sensory differences between bottled wine and kegged wine, mature Pinot Noir sealed with natural cork vs. screwcap, and show the effects that lax quality control during bottling can have on shelf life.
Now in its second year, the conference has added a new interactive hour in the mid-morning, during which attendees can have a “speed date” with a leading designer, enjoy a new sparkling wine showcase with tasting, and judge entries in a wine packaging competition.
The inaugural packaging conference drew 350 attendees. For more information and to register, visit wvpack.com. Follow @wv_pack on Twitter for the latest conference news.
The Wines & Vines Packaging Conference will provide a valuable opportunity for packaging manufacturers to exhibit their products and services to a very focused audience. Supplier companies may contact Tina Vierra for more information about exhibit space and related opportunities at [email protected] or (866) 453-9701, ext. 102.
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