November 26, 2011 / by J Smoke Wallin / Make A Comment / Filed under Brand Management, Napa Smith, News
I have not posted about Napa Smith lately so here is a bit of catch up.. We acquired the brewery & winery in December 2010 so it has been under our control since January… 10+ months.. we spent the first 3 getting production back up and running and taking care of vendors. Since then, we have been brewing to capacity and selling everything we make. Steve Morgan, Don Barkley and the rest of the growing Napa Smith team have been hitting on all cylinders as we have ramped up. The Paddington team has taken the lead on sales and distribution. The combination has been awesome!
Napa Smith Brewery
- Napa Smith Team
Some highlights over the past year:
- Paddington Brands acquires Napa Smith brewery & winery December 2010
- Napa Smith Beer now available in 33states. This is from a base of just CA back in 2009. See map.
- GABF Winner – Napa Smith Organic IPA won the Silver Medal at the Great American Beer Festival this year… huge! More on this below.
- Napa Smith “Brew Pub” tasting room opened in Napa, CA… an awesome experience and long overdue for our home market!
- Numerous beer dinners and tasting and events throughout the year.
- Major retailer support with placements in Safeway, Whole Foods, Publix, HEB, Harris Teeter, Total Wine & More, BevMo, ABC, Cost Plus World Markets and many more….
Silver Medal Winner - Great American Beer Festival 201
Don’s brewery team had a wonderful time in Denver at the GABF seeing old friends and trying so many terrific beers.
- Don Barkley – Master Brewer – GABF Silver Winner – Napa Smith Organic IPA
Here is a short video of Don Barkley on Napa Smith Organic IPA
Don Barkley on Napa Smith Organic IPA
And here is a link to some of the pictures from the brew pub opening on facebook… Napa Smith Brew Pub Opening
Napa Smith Brew Pub Opening
Napa Smith “Lost Dog” Red Ale blew out at the Brockway Pub in Carmel, Indiana just last weekend…
Smoke and Dave Hunter enjoying a Lost Dog at Brockway
Napa Smith "Lost Dog"
And an example of retail placements… Cost Plus World Market has Napa Smith on promotion in 130 stores right now.
Cost Plus World Markets Now has Napa Smith Beer
Napa Smith Lost Dog & Organic IPA
July 12, 2011 / by J Smoke Wallin / 1 Comment / Filed under Brand Management, New Products - Brands, News, Pelican Brands, The Paddington Corporation
Indianapolis, IN – July 12, 2011 – Paddington Brands announced today that it has launched its Agostón wine brand through Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain. Bodegas Virgen del Aguila, the Spanish wine cooperative, confirmed Paddington Brands as the exclusive U.S. importer of Agoston wines.
Agoston Tempranillo Cabernet from Spain - now available at ALL Walgreens
“When we first tasted Agostón, we knew this was a wine that would appeal to American consumers,” said J. Smoke Wallin, chairman and CEO of Paddington Brands. “Year after year Agoston has been receiving 90+ points in the Penin Wine Rating Guide, which is Spain’s equivalent to Robert Parker ratings. We have worked with Walgreens in order to bring this savory wine to the United States at an affordable price.”
In April Paddington launched both a syrah/garnacha and a tempranillo/cabernet blend in more than 4,000 Walgreens stores. The wines, priced at $5.99 a bottle in most states, have become one of the drugstore chain’s top selling imported wine brands.
“Agostón is a great addition to Walgreens wine selection as our first Spanish wine,” said Dex McCreary, Walgreens divisional merchandise manager. “We look forward to working with Paddington Brands to promote this brand and make this quality import a success.”
Agoston Garnacha & Syrah
“We were immediately impressed with the knowledge, drive and ‘can do’ approach of the entire Paddington team,” said Jose Maria Andres, CEO of Bodegas Virgen del Aguila co-operative. “We are proud to work with Paddington to launch this wine with such an important retailer like Walgreens, a company that will advance the development of the Agostón brand.”
About Agostón
Agostón is named after the wild Spanish boar and is made by the Bodegas Virgen del Aguila co-operative. Located in the great wine-producing area of northern Spain we´re lucky to have a climate and terroir ideal for makin
g quality wines full of character. Here we have 2,200 hectares of vines, planted with a good range of grape varieties, including the native Tempranillos and Garnachas, as well as international varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Our oldest vines date from the year 1906 and help create wines of superb intensity, such as our Agostón range.
Our vineyards are located in the scenic foothills of the Ibérico mountain range and we have a wide variety of landscapes and eco-systems within our demarcated area. Under half of our land is taken up by vines, the rest being undisturbed areas of rocky outcrops and forested mountain slopes, dry river beds, wild-flower margins and old almond groves. This makes it and its surrounding area a zone of high biodiversity and an ideal wildlife haven, something that we’re committed to safe-guarding. The winery produces close to 10 million litres of wine a year, with a full range of styles, including young fresh whites and rosés, intense aromatic reds and complex oak-aged “Crianzas” and “Reservas”. The winery is modern, and fully equipped and the underground maturation cellars have 13,000 oak barrels.
About Paddington Brands
Paddington Brands (www.Paddingtonbrands.com) manages a portfolio of owned and agency premiere import & craft beers, artisanal spirits and fine wines. Paddington’s team and partners have extensive experience in the global beverage and consumer packaged goods industries. Paddington owns the Napa Smith Brewery & Winery and 3 Amigos Tequila. Paddington is headquartered in Metro-Indianapolis, IN, with offices in the United Kingdom and Napa, CA and a sales team covering the U.S. market and select international markets. Join us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Paddington-Brands/220043258012149 and Follow us on Twitter @Paddingtonbrands
About Walgreens
Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) is the nation’s largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2010 sales of $67 billion. The company operates 7,733 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each day, Walgreens provides nearly 6 million customers the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice in communities across America. Walgreens scope of pharmacy services includes retail, specialty, infusion, medical facility and mail service, along with respiratory services. These services improve health outcomes and lower costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. Take Care Health Systems is a Walgreens subsidiary that is the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite health centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the country.
June 23, 2011 / by J Smoke Wallin / Make A Comment / Filed under Brand Management, Distributors, News, Pelican Brands, The Paddington Corporation
Pleased to share this announcement – Paddington Corp Merges with Pelican Brands forming Paddington Brands, LLC
FOR RELEASE June 23, 2011
Media contact:
Heather Carden
001-317-574-6408
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 3rd 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
