Benson Marketing Group

03/17/2023

Professor and wine writer Liz Thach celebrates Womens History Month with a fascinating feature story on Sharon Fenchak, VP Winemaking and Vineyards for client Biltmore Estate Winery in North Carolina.

In a recent interview with Sharon Fenchak, Head Winemaker and VP of Operations at Biltmore Winery, she described how she worked her way up the ladder to achieve this position, as well as the unique aspects of making wine in North Carolina, along with the joy of introducing people to wine.

02/16/2023

Two great teams, now under one banner: The Brand Leader and Benson Marketing Group join forces to bring the “wow” factor to wine & spirits marketing. TBL acquires Benson, expanding into wine and spirits, adding its national advertising, branding, and design chops and talented team to Benson’s professionals. Read the announcement here. ​https://bensonmarketing.com/benson-marketing-group-acquired-by-the-brand-leader/

10/27/2022

Get your spooky on, just like writer Bob McGinn did with this fun Halloween feature story on Chronic Cellars in Sarasota Magazine – and thanks for the shout out to Benson!

The California winery is offering horror movie recommendations and a spooky Spotify playlist to go along with its Sir Real wine.

10/15/2022

A on the move: Purple Brands.
🍷 Raeburn Winery: 4 consecutive Hot Prospect awards
🥃 Redwood Empire Whiskey: Largest inventory in CA
💡 Big plans for future growth!

Aaron Webb, CEO, sits down w/ Sarah Barrett at Wine&Spirits Daily. (paywall) https://bit.ly/3Tp9R1D

09/19/2022

"California whiskey is really coming into its own," writes Jonah Flicker in Robb Report of Redwood Empire Whiskey's new bottled-in-bond expressions: Grizzly Beast Straight Bourbon and Rocket Top Straight Rye. We couldn't agree more.

California wine country might turn into whiskey country

09/13/2022

Why take advice from an agency on organizing marketing assets and budgeting for 2023? Well, because we've worked with hundreds of brands, and condensed 22 years of experience into 20 slides -- the updated 2023 Marcom Guideline is here. Ping us for a copy or sign-up here. https://bit.ly/3Bd9krS

08/20/2022

Great to see South African wines highlighted by Lettie Teague in The Wall Street Journal, and congrats to the agency team and Graham Beck USA for this stellar recommendation of the Cap Classique Brut Rosé!

Though South Africa has a long winemaking history and a reputation for good Chenin Blanc, in particular, it remains a hard sell stateside. And that means some very well made wines can be had for under $20.

08/06/2022

More heavy metal competition success for Gruppo Campari, this time scoring two of the six Master Awards at the 2022 American Whiskey Masters judging held in July. Judges gave the nod to Wild Turkey’s Russell’s Reserve Rye 6 YO, and Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel Rye. See the rest of the awardees here:

The top American whiskeys were announced by The Global Spirits Masters (GSM). A total of six whiskeys won the coveted Master award at the 2022 American Whiskey Masters judging held in July. An additional 49 whiskies won gold medals. The winners are a mix of perennial winners and new distilleries.

07/26/2022

75 or 100? Basis points, that is. Regardless of the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates during today's FOMC meeting, marketing a wine or spirits brand through a downturn presents challenges and big opportunities. We posted some hard-earned lessons here:

How do successful brands manage their marketing, sales and budgets through a recession? We present examples, research, and commentary.

05/24/2022

Adapting to climate change, managing through tariffs, and why U.S. drinkers will see more ultra-premium, regional wines from Australia. It's all in this interview by John Mariani of client Darren Rathbone, Rathbone Wine Group CEO/winemaker.

Since 1996 Rathbone Wine Group has been in the forefront of Australia's wine industry.

03/09/2022

New Year, New Teammates! We’re thrilled to have filled two, new open positions -- Kara Prior and Nikki Dickerson add amazing depth and breadth to our PR, digital and content marketing skillsets. Welcome aboard! https://bensonmarketing.com/wine-spirits-marketing/

12/08/2021

"These spirits tasted really, really good." Writer Jonah Flicker did the difficult research for the 2021 Esquire Spirit Awards, naming 25 standout bottles including client Redwood Empire Whiskey's Grizzly Beast Straight Bourbon. Congrats to the team at Purple Brands. https://bit.ly/31qZDbL

These 25 bottles—some cheap and easy to find, others frustratingly elusive—were chosen based on flavor, and flavor alone.