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StateWays ■ www.stateways.com ■ March/April 2015 28 2015 GROWTH BRAND AWARDS – WINES The company's other Growth Brand winner, La Fiera, is one of two Comeback Brands on this year's list. Since its launch in 2010 the brand had experienced consistent sales growth, until supply issues in 2013 led to stagnant sales. The value-driven Italian brand added a Sicilian Moscato and Bianco & Rosso blend in 2014, leading to increased sales and the Comeback Brand recognition. "The brand is on track and moving in the right direction," Sager says. "We intend to maintain our competitive pricing structure to appeal to retail consumers and attract new by-the- glass restaurant business in 2015 to maintain the momentum." We also initiated the tagline, "Here's to Your Next Ad- venture," which we promoted through Facebook, encour- aging consumers to share their everyday adventures via comments and images. (Thousands of 9-liter cases) '13/'14 Brand Supplier 2012 2013 2014p % Change Chateau Ste. Michelle Ste. Michelle Wine Estates 2,780 2,753 3,035 10.3% La Fiera Winesellers 54 49 61 23.4% (p) Preliminary. Source: The Beverage Information Group Handbooks & Directories. To learn more go to www.bevinfostore.com. COMEBACK BRANDS: WINES Recognizes brands of signifi cant volume that saw a sales decline in 2013, but which rebounded in 2014. This increase, however, must have resulted in total sales that are at least equal to or greater than the 2012 sales total. EPICA Shaw-Ross International Importers Rising Star 2014 Cases: .04m (+38.5%) In late 2013, Epica underwent a packaging redesign to strengthen the brand's visibility at point of purchase, which updated both the bottle and the case graphics. "The new packaging is imaginative and strong, with graphics that lend themselves to display," says Nick James, VP and Sr. Brand Manager at Shaw-Ross International Importers. The brand has also strengthened its consumer offers with year- round activities. "From the use of Go Pro Cameras, which are very much in line with our consumer profi le, to a contest inviting them to become 'The Face' of Epica in 2016, we believe our consumers will enjoy these new campaigns," he adds. "All of our programs are communicated on the bottle, as well as on Facebook and other social media." Epica will also continue to invest heavily in tastings, which James says has been a key to the brand's success. DECOY Duckhorn Wine Company Fast Track 2014 Cases: 0.33m (+29.4%) "We invest the majority of our resources into areas that further en- hance wine quality – most notably, things like estate vineyards and the thousands of French oak barrels in our cooperage program," says Carol Reber, SVP Chief Marketing and Business Development Offi cer at Duckhorn Wine Company. "That's resulted in great word of mouth and the recognition of our 35-plus years of exceptional winemaking across all of our wineries and appellations." Duckhorn recently acquired a 90-acre vineyard in Russian River Valley, which is planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and will con- tribute fruit to future Decoy vintages. The company strives for 20% estate vine- yard contribution for all Decoy wines, which is achievable with the acquisition. "We'll also continue to engage luxury wine consumers through social media to ensure that the brand is where digitally-minded consumers and trade are talking about fi ne wine," Reber adds. Contact Jim Scova Tel: 914-368-1012 jscova@MeritDirect.com Reprints Maximize the marketing power of your feature. Eprint Give your feature a presence on the World Wide Web. Fame Frame™ Transform your feature into an impressive work of art with a customized wall plaque. For custom reprints of articles in this magazine contact: Debra Welter Tel: 847-720-5614 dwelter@specialtyim.com