Nuhaka Hill Vineyard: What Really Happened?

Ines is very proud of what she has achieved in just a few years. Revamping the marketing of the existing wines at the same time as launching a new wine was a great challenge. Her gewürztraminer won an important prize two years ago, and that gave the whole winery visibility and a real boost.

Luckily Ines was ready with a well-thought through marketing mix to capitalise on that momentum. Business has been booming ever since.

Where did Ines start?

After purchasing the additional land to plant the cabernet vines, Ines worked hard on a total makeover of the brand. She opted for a synergy with art and invited artists from around the country to use her wine cellar as an exhibition space for short periods of time.

She changed the Nuhaka packaging to include an arty touch. She reduced the price of her chardonnay and aimed at the same target market with her new cabernet, which is now competing very well against some of the imported brands. She also increased the prices of the riesling and the gewürztraminer, which created a brand image based around ‘boutique wine of premium quality’.

Art, food, and wine

Ines initiated an ‘art and wine’ tour, together with three other wineries in the region. Each winery focuses on a different type of art. These tours are increasingly popular and are promoted by word-of-mouth and the local tourist office.

Part of the old house was turned into a restaurant. She was not very lucky with the first cook and the restaurant had a very slow start, but a year ago she hired an excellent cook and the change is obvious. The combination of a beautiful space full of trendy art, a nice bottle of Nuhaka Hill wine, and fusion food seems to inspire a lot of visitors.

Ines makes sure she is available in the cellar at peak times. ‘To a large extent, you’re selling yourself,’ she says. Cellar door sales tend to increase when the owner is around. She regularly travels around the country doing tastings, for the same reason.

Ines also increased the incentives for the national wine distributor to promote her wines, and followed up on in-store wine tastings and regular promotions.

What’s next?

Mail orders come in more frequently, but Ines thinks direct sales have more potential now that people are increasingly buying on the internet. She is playing with the idea of establishing a virtual vineyard to wander through. Her mentor in the business club, though, warned against too much enthusiasm for this medium. She said that although it is a very effective information tool, sales still tend to be disappointing. Wine is generally sold to be drunk that night, Ines has discovered. She has decided to keep trying to get her head around the best strategy to increase mail orders.

She has not been very successful with the export market. The riesling and gewürztraminer have been entered in several international wine competitions without success. But Ines remains convinced that her time will come. She also realises that to be successful in the export market she will have to do the miles offshore.

For Nuhaka Hills Winery, brand positioning also involves being a good corporate citizen. Ines has gone out of her way to support causes ranging from a hospice for the terminally ill to fundraising for local schools.