A feeling of true legacy
When Marisco Vineyards Winemaker Emma Marris heads overseas with her family's wine this year, she'll take a "feeling of true legacy" with her, just as her father did 30 years ago.
More than 15 years on, the company’s response to the latest supply swell and demand drop is entirely different.
Rather than cutting the price, Marisco has been working hard to help its customers with marketing support, allowing The Ned to be featured prominently in store.
“We’ve done it in New Zealand, we’ve done it in England and we’ve done it in Australia extremely well,” Brent says.
The price remains solid but the exposure is high, he adds, reflecting on “very good sales”.
They have also branched out into cans for The Ned, targeting the likes of concerts, events and rugby games to help grow its footprint.
Brent says there’s pain for the industry, especially growers and the bulk wine market right now, “but if you’ve got a solid brand and you’re out there selling the sizzle, there’s more ways to make sales than just dropping price”.
The United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia continue to perform “extremely well”, and Marisco is now moving into the United States, spending a lot of time in the market, Brent says.
“We might be a little bit late to the party there, but we’re certainly seeing opportunities in the US, like others are, because people are still loving Sauvignon Blanc and still discovering Sauvignon Blanc.”
It is looking at Asian markets and also working to show customers that Marlborough is not a one trick Sauvignon Blanc pony.
“We are finding that our partners also want to take Rosé and Pinot Gris from us.”
Meanwhile there’s a ‘premiumisation’ push, including The Ned and other Marisco brands moving to a higher price point in the UK and Ireland.
When it comes to the abundant crops of the 2025 vintage, the company harvested to fill the winery, “and no more”, Brent says.
“That meant we could target our best blocks to take the fruit from and leave the remainder behind. If we had harvested everything, we would have been kicking the can down the road. And we don’t want to be playing in the bulk wine market.”
