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
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
April 23, 2011 / by J Smoke Wallin / Make A Comment / Filed under 2011 Event, WINE 2.0
I recently had the opportunity to sit down at with Michael Schwartz, chef/owner of Michael’s Geniune in Miami. http://www.michaelsgenuine.com/ Michael’s Genuine is located at 130 Northeast 40th Street
Miami, FL 33137
(305) 573-5550
Michael is an amazing chef and a great person to hang with. Michael just published his first book – “Michael’s Genuine Food”
Aside from the incredible food and dining experience, I had the chance to ask Michael some questions about his background, his cooking philosophy and importantly to all of us, his views on wine.
“Schwartz’s culinary innovation puts him at the forefront of the farm-to-table movement. He’s now on a national stage, based primarily on his straightforward, ingredient-driven cuisine, as well as his commitment to supporting local farmers and responsible, seasonal food sourcing.
He was recently honored with the prestigious 2010 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef and has appeared on national TV shows including Top Chef”, Rachael Ray’s Rachael’s Vacation, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, After Hours With Daniel Boulud, Simply Ming with Ming Tsai, and Fresh Food Fast with Emeril Lagasse.”
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/27/2142158/michael-schwartz-cook…
J. Smoke Wallin (JSW): What got you into cooking?
Michael Schwartz (MS): Well I grew up in Philadelphia in the ’60s and ’70s. The closest I came to cooking as a kid was cutting up the Stroehmannwhite bread for stuffing at Thanksgiving dinner!! My mom didn’t make much from scratch… Things changed when I was 15 and I got a job bussing tables at Dilullo’s, a Northern Italian restaurant in Philadelphia. The place was ahead of its time and really swanky, importing expensive, high quality ingredients from Italy. After about a year, I had worked my way into the back of the house.
JSW: What has been the greatest thing about starting Michael’s Genuine?
MS: Meeting great people and doing great things with them.
JSW: When you decided to open another restaurant, why Grand Cayman?
MS: Well it was less of me deciding it was time to open another MGFD than realizing we could when DART approached me. I have to admit I was a little skeptical at first. I didn’t think it was possible to replicate the experience of the restaurant, which has so much to do with the process – the responsible sourcing that is so important to who we are. But I went down there and met with them, and liked who I met and what I saw. There was an emerging farming community poised to embrace a restaurant like ours and we’ve just been learning and growing with each other. It’s really great. We’re getting great variety of local product down there, even this past summer – thai eggplant, callaloo, herbs, peppers, amazing mangos, and local pumpkins… Of course there are things we need to bring in, but we’ve been pleasantly surprised.
JSW: What made you want to write your book?
MS: I’ve always wanted to do a book. Again it was all about timing and relationships. Some executives from Clarkson Potter were in town and ate with us and said they wanted to publish my first book. I pulled together a proposal and two years later, we have MICHAEL’S GENUINE FOOD: Down-to-Earth Cooking for People Who Love to Eat. I’m really proud of the work we did to pull it together – I got to work with some pretty talented people, like my photographer Ben Fink. The photos are beautiful and really capture what the dishes are all about – simple preparations using really fresh product.
JSW: What is your wine philosophy at Michael’s?
MS: Our philosophy is just like food. It starts with the best producers and great product. I’m very lucky to have a sommelier like Eric Larkee. He’s always one step ahead of the game. We’re able to keep prices very reasonable and offer a creative, yet edited list. I’m lucky to have talented friends like Dennis Scholl and Richard Betts with the Betts & Scholl label… Jim Clendendon of Au Bon Climat..The list goes on… We’re of course trying to always to be responsible in every aspect of the business… So I know Eric gravitates towards producers that are using natural methods… and we recycle our corks and bottles (for water service) whenever possible. I’m looking into glass cutters right now so we can recycle the bottles for drinks glasses too.
JSW: Describe the perfect meal.
MS: One with my family, cooking food from our friends.
JSW: What’s best about being Michael?
MS: What kind of question is that?! I would say I’m lucky for the people I’m surrounded by, so that’s what’s best.
JSW: what has been your biggest challenge?
MS: Spending as much time with my family as I do with my other family at work.
JSW: What can we expect when we buy your book?
MS: Well it’s definitely a Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink greatest hits to a certain degree, which is what I wanted out of a first book. It’s divided similar to how our menu is set up, with a bunch of the dishes that we know and love, and some new things too. I think what I’m most happy about is that the book really works. So many times, especially with recipes you find on the internet, nothing works. My compulsive organization really worked to my advantage on this one!
JSW: When can we get you out to the Bay area and up to Napa to enjoy some wine and share your book and story with our friends?
MS: Um, soon!!
