Of Booze And Branding

// Over the years, I have enjoyed many wine-related conversations with fellow IP professionals. At some point, the conversation often turns to the fact that even though I only drink kosher wine, the variety of wines I have tried, both in terms of varietal and origin, is a large and growing list. At the moment, my wine collection includes bottles of Reisling from Germany, various Bordeaux and Burgundies, Chianti from Tuscany, and a swath of other bottles from California and Israel. All kosher and all procured through wine clubs or retail channels, whether online or in store. For those whose experience with kosher wine is limited to super sweet and syrupy concoctions like Concord grape-based Manischewitz, or fizzy Moscato in an electric-blue bottle, the availability of kosher alternatives can be a surprise. At the same time, there are many IP practitioners that I have encountered with deep knowledge and appreciation for wine generally, making it a treat to share perspectives with them on the topic.

Around this time last year, I authored a column discussing the importance of branding in the wine industry. I discussed a case filed “between the owners of the Beckstoffer section of the To Kalon vineyard and a direct-to-consumer wine producer called Sleeper Wines.” At issue in that case was a reference to the famous To Kalon vineyard and Beckstoffer on a wine label created by Sleeper, allegedly involving a wine created by Sleeper using unauthorized To Kalon fruit. I offered that “Beckstoffer’s filing is a good example of a trademark owner that files a case for both its deterrent effect on future infringement by the accused infringer and others, as well as a sign of resolve that the brand owner will protect its customers from potential source confusion.”

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Further, I expressed a view that the case filing was “a great reminder of how important branding is to the wine industry,” even as I predicted that a settlement would not be long in coming. And the case did settle by October of last year, well before any substantive adjudication on the merits. Despite the quick resolution, the story did reinforce the importance of wine makers doing what they could to differentiate their products in a crowded marketplace, including by enforcing their IP rights when circumstances demanded that step.

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With that backdrop, it was interesting to have had the recent opportunity to see significant branding efforts in action — this time with respect to both wine and various other tipples. Every year, I and a group of friends find ourselves enjoying at least one of Royal Wine’s kosher food and wine events.  Some years we have done so in Miami, other times in LA, and most recently, last year’s event in New York City. This year, there were no events open to the general public, but I was kindly extended an invitation to attend Royal’s trade show a few weeks ago as a media member. Held in the ballrooms of the Hilton near MetLife Stadium, the event had hundreds of attendees, from wine store proprietors to winemakers looking to showcase their new releases and staple offerings. As the largest distributor of kosher wine, Royal is uniquely situated to host such an event, with wineries from South Africa to Chile to Oregon represented, along with dozens of Israeli wineries and French producers as well.

One of the most interesting branding stories I heard while at the event came from the producer of a kosher run of Margaux’s Chateau Dauzac, which has apparently been around since the mid-16th century, assuming you have no problem believing records kept by Benedictine monks at the time. A Cinquièmes Crus, or fifth-growth Grand Cru from the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, the Dauzac estate has changed hands a number of times over the centuries. When it was taken over in the 1920s, the new owners decided on a distinctive yellow label for the wine, which still adorns the Chateau’s offerings a hundred years later. The presence of such a label on a wine that could easily have chosen to match its older Bordeaux brethren with a more staid commercial presence is illustrative, at least in my view, of a long-standing sense in the wine industry of the importance of standing out to get customer attention. If you are hawking Chateau Margaux, perhaps the name alone can get the job done, but for a lesser Margaux estate like Dauzac, there is value in fluffing the plumage a bit.

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What was true for the many wines at the event was also true for the various spirits showcased as well. Whether Columbian rums in distinguished bottles or Ukrainian vodka in a bottle giving homage to Ukraine’s wheat fields, there was no lack of distinctiveness among the way the various offerings were packaged. At the same time, none of the spirits — or wines for that matter — could compete with the tequilas on offer in the funkiest bottle contest. Yes, tequila is tequila, but the lengths that producers will go to — from skull-shaped bottles to elaborate painted labels — illustrate the challenge of crafting a brand identity in a crowded consumer market. That problem is apparently especially acute when the name of the producer has limited market impact, as seen with the Margaux example discussed above.

Ultimately, experiencing the event through an IP lens was a powerful reminder of the importance of IP in the spirits and wine industries. At some level, everyone is selling brown or clear alcoholic liquid in the spirits industry, leaving brand names and packaging to do the work of encouraging customer purchases, spurred on when possible by healthy advertising budgets. The same is true in the wine industry, where competition between winemakers has raged — sometimes for centuries — in wine-producing regions around the world. Here too, it is the bottle and label that often have to do the work of alerting the customer to a wine’s legacy and backstory. Thanks again to Royal Wine for extending me an invitation to the event — and for showcasing such a variety of brands from around the world, along with the stories behind them, in one location. Just as we know that responsible enjoyment of wine and spirits can bring disparate folks together, so too must we hope that we can soon raise a glass to celebrate a more peaceful world.

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Please feel free to send comments or questions to me at [email protected] or via Twitter: @gkroub. Any topic suggestions or thoughts are most welcome.

Gaston Kroub lives in Brooklyn and is a founding partner of Kroub, Silbersher & Kolmykov PLLC, an intellectual property litigation boutique, and Markman Advisors LLC, a leading consultancy on patent issues for the investment community. Gaston’s practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and related counseling, with a strong focus on patent matters. You can reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter: @gkroub.

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Branding, Gaston Kroub, Intellectual Property, Royal Wine