2013 Review of the Year.
Posted on Tue 10th Dec 2013 at 09:47
2013 was a momentous year for Signature Wines, and we couldn't be more pleased with the progress we made - which should ensure that 2014 is even better!
The year started with our first visit to the Stobi Winery in beautiful Macedonia. Our team, including a Master of Wine, were very impressed with the vineyard's range of red and white wines, which include unusual and delicious grape varieties such as Petit Verdot Barrique and Vranec. Other highlights of the trip included the vineyard's exceptional restaurant, and scenery which included the ancient ruins of Stobi. Shortly after our visit we welcomed Caroline Gilby MW to our London headquarters, introducing her to the full Stobi range and getting her expert advice on which wines would best suit the British palette. Caroline gave our staff a master class in wine tasting, and commented that “there were a number of interesting, well-made wines in the line-up, including some exciting indigenous grapes and a fascinating story to tell too.” Thanks to her expert advice we were able to launch our Stobi selection to the UK trade audience at the start of May - to an overwhelmingly positive response. One attendee even commented that ‘Stobi Wines are the highlight of the Emerging Regions Show’.
With the praise still ringing in our ears we launched our dedicated consumer website for these great wines from the Republic of Macedonia, www.stobi.co.uk, and appointed Westbury PR to ensure that we could bring these delicious products to as wide an audience as possible. We were further convinced that we had selected the right wines for our market by further rave reviews at the Specialist Importers Trade Show in August, at which we were praised for our 'absolutely stunning selection of wines’. September, furthermore, saw our efforts to bring Macedonian wines to the UK audience profiled in Harper’s Magazine.
We took our first large shipment of wine, featuring Vranec Classic, Vranec Veritas Reserve, Syrah Barrique, Petit Verdot Barrique, Chardonnay, Stobi Cuvée, Pinot Noir Rosé and Muscat Ottonel, just as the OIV registered the Republic of Macedonia and many of its indigenous grape varieties - perfect timing! As our Business Development Manager commented, “the OIV approval was a major step forward, highlighting the importance of wines from this emerging region.” To round off our successful year, we took part in two consumer shows and received a phenomenal response from the attendees. Not only did the public love Stobi, but the Three Wine Men did too. We can't think of a better way to finish our 2013 roundup than with the comment of Wine Man Olly Smith: “If you haven’t tried wines from the Republic of Macedonia, really, try these, they are very, very good!"