Exciting news today for Paddington Brands and Napa Smith Brewery!  Entering the Swedish market!

Napa Smith to Launch in Sweden After Organic IPA Wins Monopoly Listing

TOMP Beer, Wine & Spirits appointed exclusive Swedish distributor for Paddington Brands portfolio.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN, January 12, 2012 /PRNEWSWIRE/ – Paddington Brands and TOMP Beer, Wine & Spirits announced today that they will partner to bring Paddington’s brand portfolio to the vibrant Swedish market. TOMP will start by launching the Napa Smith craft beer portfolio and in particular the award winning Organic IPA, which will be featured in 100 Systembolaget stores from 2nd of April 2012.

J. Smoke Wallin, Chairman & CEO of Paddington Brands, said, “We have a very focused growth strategy with very few international targets – Sweden is one of these. So I am delighted to be partnering with Tommy Olsson and his team at TOMP to launch our brands there. TOMP is hugely respected and the perfect partner for us in what is a tough market to crack. I look forwards to a successful launch of Napa Smith’s beers and a long and fruitful relationship. We could not be more thrilled.”

Napa Smith brews a portfolio of award winning beers in Napa, California. Its portfolio is available in 30 states within the US with plans to be available nationally by early 2012. Sweden will be the first international market. Napa Smith is proud to number Whole Foods, Safeway, Beverages & More, Total Wine, Publix and now Sweden’s Systembolaget amongst its many retail partners.

“We first tasted Napa Smith’s beers 2 years ago and we were convinced that they would be a great addition to our portfolio. So winning the tender and setting launch dates is very exciting for us. Organic products are very important to the monopoly and the Napa Smith Organic IPA is utterly amazing,” said Tommy Olsson, Managing Director of TOMP Beer Wine & Spirits.

“Winning the recent IPA tender into Systembolaget is further testament to the genius of our Master Brewer, Don Barkley, coming as it does on the back of our huge success at the Great American Beer Festival. IPA the hottest segment of the US craft beer category, but many IPAs lack complexity and balance. This is proof that it is possible to brew a benchmark IPA that is drinkable and food friendly,” said Steve Morgan, President of Napa Smith Brewery and Winery. He continued, “In addition our beer is also certified organic, which makes this achievement even more noteworthy. I am confident that Sweden’s exciting craft brewing scene will take Napa Smith to heart.”

About Napa Smith Brewery
Napa Smith Brewery is located at the southern gateway to Napa Valley, just south of the town of Napa. Napa Valley is internationally known as a destination for those individuals who seek the best that life has to offer. Napa Smith is proud to contribute to the Napa tradition of hard work, craftsmanship, and artistry with the introduction of its unique family of beers. It creates its beers using proprietary recipes developed by Master Brewer Don Barkley – the most experienced brewer in the craft brewing industry. Come visit us at our newly opened Brewpub in Napa or on the web at www.napasmithbrewery.com.

About Paddington Brands
Paddington Brands (www.Paddingtonbrands.com) manages a portfolio of owned and agency premier import and craft beers, artisanal spirits and fine wines. Paddington owns the Napa Smith Brewery & Winery and 3 Amigos Tequila. It imports a portfolio of beers, wines and spirits including Agoston Wines (Spain), Chase Distillery (UK), Calatrasi (Italy), Gemtree Vineyards (AU), Marisco Wines (NZ). Paddington is headquartered in the Indianapolis, Ind., metro area with offices in the United Kingdom and Napa, Calif., and a sales team covering the U.S. market and select international markets.

About TOMP Beer, Wine & Spirits
TOMP is one of Sweden’s leading beer, wine and spirits importers with a portfolio that includes brands such as [yellow tail], Fish Hoek, Chang Beer and their own successful beer, Guldkallan. TOMP operates a national sales force from it base in Orebro. Seewww.tomp.se.

Hope to see you there!

Smoke

Three-Tier Trade Sales & Marketing Panels Announced At The Seventh Annual Wine Industry Technology Symposium, July 12-13, 2011

June 24, 2011, Napa, CA – The Wine Industry Technology Symposium® WITS®, the premier event showcasing innovation and strategic use of information technology and services for the wine industry, has announced two key panels on three-tier trade sales and marketing discussions this year at the seventh annual conference July 12-13, 2011 at the Marriott Napa Valley.

The Trade Sales & Marketing panels begin with a candid overview on how wineries, distributors, and retailers can collaborate better.

For the first exciting panel, a representative of each tier plus a moderator will be concentrating on communications between wineries, distributors and retailers that are currently in place. This panel will discuss industry benefits from better information integration and the technical, operational and financial ramifications that result from embracing (or avoiding) standards and how to evolve them.  They will draw from the extensive successes GS1 has experienced working with the largest retailers and manufacturers in the world in consumer product goods. Panelists include: Michael Saitow, CIO & Sales Operations, MS Walker; Ian Griffith, Director, Ecommerce, Beverage Media Group; Tom Hatton, Strategic Account Executive, 1Sync; Joe Gregg, Vice President, IT and Business Process St. Michelle Wine Estates; and

Stephen R. Arens, Director, Industry Engagement, GS1 US. Moderator will be John Collins CEO, Great Vines.

The second interactive panel will discuss the use of the latest in market tools, best practices and case stories from the field. It will have an informative overview of iPad use throughout the world of wine as well as an in-depth look at how Jordan uses the iPad in their sales and winery operations. Panelists include: Lisa Mattson, Director of Communications, Jordan Vineyard and Winery and Cathy Huyghe, Founder, Red White Boston with Heather Crawford, Director of IT, Amy’s Kitchen as moderator.

Both panels promise to have a lively discussion between retailer, distributor and winery as well as the attendees.  WITS focus on “take home value” will be front and center as these panels include live examples and integration with the attendees.

“When I was a distributor and was Chairman of WSWA, we spent many years discussing supply chain integration and industry standards working with the ABI-EC and later GS1.  Later as a technology CEO, I worked hard to bring tools to the industry to accomplish some of the goals we had established.  Today as a supplier to the industry in wine, spirits and beer, I continue to work with all three theirs to encourage adoptions of standards and further collaboration.  These panels are near and dear to my experience and I believe everyone who has an interest in these topics will benefit from them.” said Smoke Wallin, WITS co-chair.

For more information on speakers and topics, visit www.WineIndustryTechnologySymposium.com. Registrations are now being accepted online.

About Wine Industry Technology Symposium (WITS)

The Wine Industry Technology Symposium (WITS) was created in 2005 by a group of wine industry and technology professionals. The purpose of WITS is to address the unique information technology and services needs of the wine industry. WITS is dedicated to bringing the world’s leading wine industry professionals together with some of the world’s leading technology experts to foster learning and discussion. Panels of experts will discuss specific examples and case studies. www.WineIndustryTechnologySymposium.com

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Media Contact:

Lesley P. Berglund, co-chair, 707-246-6827

Pleased to share this announcement – Paddington Corp Merges with Pelican Brands forming Paddington Brands, LLC

The Paddington Corp Announces Merger With Pelican Brands

Indianapolis, IN USA – June 23, 2011 – The Paddington Corporation today announced the completion of a merger with Pelican Brands, LLC.  The combined company will be known as Paddington Brands, LLC.  Paddington is based in Carmel, IN and also has offices in Napa, CA and 3^rd party warehousing in NJ and CA. Paddington owns Tequila 3 Amigos, the Napa Smith Brewery & Winery, and is the exclusive Importer and U.S. sales agent for a prestigious portfolio of wine and spirit brands.

Since January, Paddington, through outside investors, has injected nearly $1 million into the business to expand Napa Smith Beer and Tequila 3 Amigos in multiple markets throughout the US.  The Company is committed to rolling out both brands nationally in 2011.

J. Smoke Wallin, Chairman & CEO of Paddington Brands said, “Paddington understands what today’s consumer wants– authentic, hand crafted brands with a great taste.  Our team has deep industry knowledge of the distribution and retail tiers of the business providing a rapid national route-to-market in all segments of beverage alcohol.”

Our Brands

• Napa Smith Brewery & Winery: Napa Smith Beer, now available in 32 states, is a unique brand that brings the best of Napa Valley in quality and lifestyle to the fastest growing segment of the beverage industry, Craft Beer.  Our brew master, Don Barkley, has been brewing amazing craft beers since 1979. Napa Smith Winery has produced award-winning wines in the past three years and is sold primarily in the Western U.S.
• Tequila 3 Amigos: Paddington’s partner in Tequila 3 Amigos is the Gonzalez family of Arizona and Mexico, where they have grown agave for generations. Paddington has announced partnerships for  Tequila 3 Amigos with major NASCAR venues including Talladega, Phoenix International Raceway, California’s Auto Club Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Kansas, and Michigan International Speedways.  Tequila 3 Amigos has had three named races in the past year including the 3 Amigos Tequila Talladega 250 ARCA race in April. The Company expects Tequila 3 Amigos to be distributed in over 25 states by year-end.
• Chase Distillery: Paddington also imports the Herefordshire, UK-based Chase Distillery’s Chase Vodka and Elderflower Liqueur and has launched it in ten states in the U.S..
• Paddington Wines: Since January 2011, Paddington has sold Agostón Wines from Spain into 4,085 Walgreens stores in thirty-one states. Agostón has also consistently received 90+ points in the Penin Wine Rating Guide.  Paddington Brands also represents: Calatrasi from Italy, award-winning Gemtree from McLaren Vale Australia, and Brent Marris’s newest venture, Marisco Wines – The Kings Series and The Ned.

Wallin continued, “The new Paddington Brands is an exciting company that aligns an extremely talented group of industry leaders with explosive growth brands. We plan to build on our momentum as a brand investor and incubator.  We are also continuing to selectively and opportunistically make acquisitions providing us additional scale.”

About Paddington

The Paddington Corp. was built upon a rich tradition of some of the industry’s greatest brands.  In 1937, Charles Guttman founded the original Paddington Corporation, which became the exclusive importer of Justerini & Brooks Ltd. (J&B) scotch, and a very successful creator of brands including Bailey’s Irish Cream.  Paddington was acquired by several large conglomerates in the 1960s – 1980s and eventually became a division of Diageo, the worlds largest spirits company.  Diageo later folded the Paddington entity into its larger North American sales force and it has remained dormant until now.  The new Paddington Brands, LLC, though a completely independent and unaffiliated company, draws on this rich tradition of building brands over the long term that Charles Guttman started so many years ago.

Paddington is headquartered in Carmel, IN, with offices in the United Kingdom and Napa, CA and a sales team covering the U.S. market and select international markets. Paddington is actively seeking acquisitions in the wine, spirits, beer and non-alcoholic beverage space.   Follow us on Facebook http://on.fb.me/afmdBU and on Twitter @paddingtonbrands and on the web at www.paddingtonbrands.com