California-based Crimson Wine Group had a successful year expanding the international market for their West Coast wine portfolio thanks to cost-reimbursement support from FundMatch. FundMatch is coordinated by the Western United States Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA) and funded by the USDA’s Market Access Program (MAP). 2020 was the inaugural year for Crimson Wine to participate in FundMatch. The small agribusiness used funding from the program to advertise in Ontario, Canada, attend two key virtual international trade shows Hopwine and Global Reach, and attend a trade show and holiday market in Japan. As a result, Crimson Wine Group had a notable expansion of sales and number of wine labels in Ontario with sales increasing by $30,000. In Japan, a highly allocated wine was added to the market and they were able to maintain an important presence by participating in educational and promotional events. Hopwine, which was held in mid-March 2021, resulted in a number of viable importer leads across Europe that will be cultivated over the coming months. Sales outside of the U.S. have grown by 11% compared to the same period last year.
Abigail Smyth from Crimson Wine Group shared her perspective on the outcomes from an unusual sales year. “We consider the year to be a success since we added customers and increased sales even as we had to transition to virtual and outsourced events due to travel restrictions. Thanks to support from WUSATA, we were able to participate in more events than normal, and hire new contract workers to stay present and active in our key markets.”
Crimson Wine Group began in 1991 in Napa, California. The wine experts are focused on fostering a portfolio of fine wines crafted by small wineries. Its total production is just 300,000 cases spread across a half-dozen artisan producers in California, Oregon, and Washington.
