In 2002 Randall Graphm decided to be the first winery to commit to 100% screwcaps as their closure of choice. Our team put in motion a national program that would significantly change the way fine wine drinkers perceive the screw caps in the United States.

1. Bonny Doon Vineyard
“Screwed” Launch
Educating our Influencers about the merits of the
Stelvin Screwcap for age worthy wines

4. Propaganda

5. Propaganda

6. Propaganda

7. Screwed Propaganda

8. Screwed Propaganda

9. Taming the Screw
Making Good Decisions in Wine
Marketing
Big House `02 Launch
04.12.02

10. Agenda
• Why a Move to Screw Cap Now?
• Big House Launch Plan
• Communication Points
• Communication Mediums
• PR Tactics
– Message I: Big House Bottles 80,000 en Screw Cap
• Calendar / Point of Sale / Packaging
– Message II: The Cork is Dead
– Results:
• Attendees / Attendees / Impressions
– The Show

11. Why A Move To Screw Caps Now?
• Screw caps are the right thing to do:
– It’s the most efficient closure on the market
• Completely eradicates TCA / Oxygenation
• Allows wines to age more gracefully over time
– The Bonny Doon brand demands innovation
– Bonny Doon consumers are early adopters
– The trade and industry were ready for this
change
– Our sales-force was ready

12. Big House Launch Plan
• Strategy: Use screw caps to differentiate
Big House and excite both the trade and
consumers
• Objective:
– Increase Sales
– Increase Points of Distribution
– Promote Big House / Ca’ del Solo / Bonny
Doon

13. Consumer Communication Points
• Message I: Bonny Doon Vineyard is first to bottle
80,000 cases of Super Premium wine in Stelvin
screw caps
– Theme: “Are you being Screwed?”
• Pros:
• Edgy
• Inquisitive – It is a question begging to be answered
• Message II: The cork is dead (well at least as a
form of closure for Bonny Doon)
– Theme: “Le Dîner Noir de M. Thierry Bouchon”

14. Communication Mediums
– PR
– Advertising
– Website
– Point of Sale
– Packaging

15. Public Relations
• Tactics:
– Two distinct & separate subjects reinforced with
multiple angles / waves:
• Message I: Big House Bottles 80,000 cases en Screw Cap!
– Wave I: Fire-Cracker Pre-Release
– Wave II: General Preview
– Wave III: POS Release (Trade)
– Wave IV: General Launch
– Wave V: Top 10 Reasons for Using Screw Caps (1)
– Wave VI: Top 10 Reason for Using Screw Caps (2)
• Message II: The Death of the Cork (Black Dinner of M. Thierry
Bouchon)
– Wave I: Post Dinner Follow-On Release

16. Launch

17. Bonny Doon Vineyard bottles
80,000 cases of Big House Red
en Screw Cap!
Message I:

18. Public Relations
• Straight Release (Traditional PR style releases):
– PR News / Business Wire
• Parallel Release (Releases Written in DOON):
– Trade Targets
– Major Dailies
– Food & Wine Magazines
– Internet Wine / News Sites
– City Magazines
– Major non-wine lifestyle
– Major News
New Targets
For BDV

19. Example of Parallel Release
Version A: (DOON)
RANDALL GRAHM TO WINE PRESS: "WE’RE TOTALLY SCREWED …
… at least on the 2001 Ca’ del Solo Big House Red and White."
SANTA CRUZ, CA, 15 May 2002 - We are getting ready to release our 2001 Big House Red and
White (suggested retail $9.95 in most markets) with a Stelvin™ screwcap closure in July.
Our Marketing Department, God bless him, has prepared for me a very detailed brief of
communication points that need to be raised in a cleverly timed, thoroughly grown-up and
professional sequence of strategically timed marketing maneuvers. For the first PR wave,
they've asked me to produce some breathless prose pointing out the human interest angle
of the incipient release of the Big Houses.
Version B: (Straight)
BONNY DOON GOES TO SCREW CAPS FOR ITS LARGEST VOLUME WINE
2001 vintage of Big House White & Red in Stelvin closures
Santa Cruz, CA, May 2002 - On July 15, 2002, Ca' del Solo will release the largest U.S. bottling
to date of a fine wine with a screwcap closure. "At 80,000 cases, this is definitively the
biggest commitment on the part of a U.S. winery to the Stelvin screwcap," says Vincent
Rabanas, General Manager for the U.S. of Pechiney, the French manufacturer of the
Stelvin screwcap.
"Bring on the picnics, quilting bees and orgies," smiles Randall Grahm, winemaker and
President-for-Life of Bonny Doon Vineyard. "You won't need any specialized hardware to
open the 2001 Big House Red or White. Opposable thumbs will do."

20. Top 10 Reasons for Using Screw Caps
10. Never pay corkage fees again.
9. When celebrating significant occasions with one's colleagues
(parole, commutation of sentence), often difficult to locate a
corkscrew.
8. "Reverse" chic is just so in.
7. Can begin conversational gambit with waitress with line, "Would
you, er, unscrew my bottle?"
6. Perfect beverage for clothing optional events.
5. Will never fall for the old "left-handed" corkscrew gag again.
4. Hard to find corkscrews down by the railroad tracks.
3. Extremely humorous back-label can be pressed into service at
occasional lulls in the conversation.
2. You can no longer be accused of being a cork sniffer.
1. You will never again experience the heartbreak of 2,4, 6-TCAoriasis.

21. Calendar For Initial Story
Ca' del Solo Big House Red / White Launch
4/23/2002 In Market Launch
Week Of
Public Relations 22- Apr 29- Apr 6- May 13- May 20- May 27- May 3- Jun 10- Jun 17- Jun 24- Jun 1- Jul 8- Jul 15- Jul 22- Jul 29- Jul 5- Aug 12- Aug 19- Aug 26- Aug
Wave I: Firecracker
Wave II: General Preview
Wave III: POS (Trade)
Wave IV: General Launch
Wave V: Top 10 Reasons (1)
Wave VI: Top 10 Reasons (2)

22. Le Dîner Noir de M. Thierry Bouchon
Message II:
The Death
of the cork

23. Le Dîner Noir de M. Thierry Bouchon
• Objective:
– Draw more publicity behind the Big House Band &
Bonny Doon by celebrating and honoring the death of
the beloved cork.
• Concept:
– Draw out “key” members for the press, by staging a
Black Dinner and wake in honor of the cork, inspired
by J.K. Huysmans “A Rebours”, that is completely over
the top and delightfully entertaining.

24. Le Dîner Noir de M. Thierry Bouchon

25. Le Dîner Noir de M. Thierry Bouchon
• New York (Campbell Apartments)
– October 2, 2002
– Wake 2-4 pm / Dinner 7 - Midnight
– Eulogy by Jancis Robinson
• San Francisco (Chez Bacar)
– October 14, 2002
– Wake 2-4 pm / Dinner 7-Midnight
– Eulogy by Jancis Robinson

26. Le Dîner Noir de M. Thierry Bouchon
– www.deathofthecork.com
• Objective: To support PR efforts and disseminate information
to the press and trade.
• Elements:
– Press Releases
– Event Photo’s (low & high resolution)
– Eulogy of M. Theirry Bouchon by Jancis Robinson
– Bio of Jancis Robinson
– Bio of Wes Modes
– Randall’s remarks from the event
– Dinner Menus
– Recipes

27. Results

28. Le Dîner Noir de M. Thierry Bouchon
• Amy Albert – Fine Cooking
• Al Bassano – Bloomberg
• Bill Buford – The New Yorker
• Edward Deitch – MSNBC
• Owen Dugan – The Wine Spectator
• Alice Feiring – New York Times
• Kristen Fogg – The Wine
Enthusiast
• Howard Goldberg – New York
Times
• Jessica Green – Harper’s Bazaar
• Patrick Martins – Slow Food USA
• Bill Marsano – Hemispheres
Magazine
• Elyn McCoy
• Daryna McKeand – The Wine
Enthusiast
• Jay McInerney – House & Garden
• Frank Prial – New York Times
• Beverly Regan – Food Arts
• Ruth Reichl - Gourmet
• Jancis Robinson
• Kelley Sparwasser – Food Arts
New York

29. Le Dîner Noir de M. Thierry Bouchon
• Dan Berger - syndicated
• Tina Caputo – Wines & Vines
• Alan Goldfarb – St. Helena Star
• Gilian Handelman – Wine & Spirits
• Leslie Harlib – Marin Independent
Journal
• Steve Heimoff – Wine Enthusiast
• Jordan McKay – 7 x 7
• John McChesney – NPR
• Sheila Muto – Wall Street Journal
• Cy Musiker - KQED
• Jan Newberry – San Francisco
Magazine
• Cyril Penn – Wine Business
Monthly
• Steve Pitcher – The Wine News
• Sara Schneider – Sunset Magazine
• Rod Smith – L.A. Times/Wine &
Spirits
• Tara Thomas – Denver Post
• Larry Walker – freelance
• Ronn Wiegand – Restaurant Wine
• Valerie Soubranne - Pechiney
San Francisco

30. Sample of Placements
• The Akron Beacon Journal
• The Arkansas Democrat Gazette
• The Asbury Park Press
• The Associate Press
• The Arizona Republic
• The Baltimore Sun
• Beverage Aisle
• The Boston Phoenix
• The Charleston Post and Courier
• The Charlotte Observer
• Chicago Magazine
• The Chicago Tribune
• The Cleveland Plain Dealer
• The Columbia State [Columbia, SC]
• Cooking Light Magazine
• Creative Loafing [Atlanta, GA]
• The Dallas Morning News
• The Dayton Daily News
• The Detroit News
• Decanter Magazine
• Esquire Magazine
• The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
• The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
• Gourmet Magazine
• The Hartford Courant
• In Style Magazine
•The Indianapolis Star
•KABC-TV – Los Angeles
•KRON-TV – San Francisco
•The Las Vegas Review-Journal
•The Los Angeles Times
•The Louisville Courier-Journal
•The Miami New Times
•The Memphis Commercial Appeal
•The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
•The Nashville Tennessean
•Newhouse News Service
•The New Orleans Times-Picayune
•The New York Daily News
•The New York Post
•The Omaha World-Herald
•The Orlando Sentinel
•The Orange County Register
•The Portland Oregonian
•Practical Winery & Vineyard
•The Quarterly Review of Wines
•The Record [Hackensack, NJ]
•Restaurant Wine
•The San Diego Union-Tribune
•The San Francisco Chronicle
•The San Jose Mercury News
•The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat
•The Sarasota Herald-Tribune
•Saveur Magazine
•Scripps Howard News Service
•The Seattle Times
•The Spokane Spokesman-Review
•The Sunday Denver Post
•The Toledo Blade
•Touring & Tasting Magazine
•USA Today
•Vineyard & Winery Management
•WCBS Radio
•The Wilmington News Journal
•Wine & Spirits
•Wine Country Living
•The Wine Enthusiast
•The Wine News
•The Wine Spectator
•Wines & Vines
•The Daytona Beach News-Journal

31. Impressions June – December
[Initial Press Release June 2002]
2001
• June – 1,800,000
• July – 16,200,000
• August – 6,200,000
• September – 3,200,000
• October – 15,400,000
• November – 13,400,000
• December – 5,600,000
• Total – 61,800,000
2002
• June – 23,500,000
• July – 20,700,000
• August – 11,200,000
• September – 15,900,000
• October – 11,800,000
• November – 18,000,000
• December – 11,100,000
• Total – 112,200,000

32. The Show

33. Wine Enthusiast
Wine Enthusiast
Memento Torqui

34. Wine Spectator
LA Times
Esquire
Memento Torqui

35. Memento Torqui

36. Memento Torqui
Thank You