A A TYPICALLY SPANISH ALBARIÑO

The wine, Denomination of Origin Rías Baixas named ‘Paco&Lola’ was conceived as a wine destined for the international market and for a cosmopolitan clientèle that would know how to value it not only for the quality of the Albariño but also for its image. From the wine cellar Rosalía de Castro of Meaño (Pontevedra), they were able to bottle a wine with a strong personality and a standard-breaking image that, united with its freshness, crossed the borders in a few months.

WHEN THIS WINE CELLAR OF PONTEVEDRA

began its activity in 2005, the partners knew that they had a tough challenge in front of them: to capture clients in a strong market and with a very extensive trajectory. This cooperatively­ba­sed company knew that they had to differentiate and innovate in terms of the business model and the sales techniques in order to be launched successfully. The General Director, Belén Varela, explained that they were aiming “for a market niche at the international level that was not covered” by means of the creation of an Albariño with a label that made one think of Spain.

The wine cellar has 200 hectares of its own vineyard. The grape vines of the Rías Baixas were planted with the traditional system of arbour, the most adequate if we keep in mind the characteristics of the terrain and the climate. The Atlantic waves caress the more than 2.6 tons that are transformed into a high quality Albariño.

Belén Varela recognised that the name was on target. “Why can’t a wine be called ‘Paco&Lola?’ The management of the wine cellar thought that it should be a name that is easy to pronounce as well as being easily identifiable with Spain. They defend the idea that wine does not have to be boring, rather it is important to offer an attractive, seductive, fun, and fresh product able to convert itself into a product of acclaim, the maxim of a traditional market as is the that of wines.

The bottle of ‘Paco&Lola’ with a label of black and white spots, became the Spanish white wine with more style and fun thanks to its ground-breaking image and unusualness. The company installations were decorated in the same way as the bottle and, in this way, the wine cellar expresses a jovial character on all sides. The General Director recognised that there is also a wink to its origins that they could advertise with the two lines (white and blue) that wind around the bottle. “It is in memory of the Galician flag", she indicated.

The selection of a universal brand was a complete success as the results of the campaign attested. The wine cellar of Meaño annually distributes 600,000 bottles of white wine of the five brands that it markets and they have a billing volume of up to 3.5 million Euros. Product innovation is constant and, in 2010, they launched a new wine called ‘Lolo’ with which they hope to conquer a public with less purchasing power than that of ‘Paco&Lola.’ The spots are once again the protagonists on the bottle although, in this case, they are within a small dog that is intended to invite the consumption of ‘Lolo.’

Innovation helps to put products in the market and can be key when one has concrete needs to grow. One has to do a lot of work in order to achieve a different wine in a market like ours. The wager for innovation from the recollection of the grapes to the bottling was definitive for our wine cellar.” Belén Varela

INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE

‘Paco&Lola’ has been introduced into the markets of more than twenty countries such as the U.S.A., Canada, England, Germany, and Brazil. Among the countries with the highest market share are China and Japan, countries in which the immersion was more discrete until now. “Africa is another of our pending markets,” explained Belén Varela.

Due to the image and design of the products, the company have reported great recognition and a strong positioning in the exterior. ‘Paco&Lola’ do not want to leave aside the care that they give to wine-growing such as the establishment of the latest elaboration techniques of the Albariño, the true artifices of the success of the product. For that reason, the installations are endowed with the last and most innovative technologies applied to the world of wine.

In the wine cellar, we find one of the most modern and advanced infrastructures. The tanks are of stainless steel, the presses are pneumatic, and the bottling train, the filtration system, and temperature control are clear examples of latest generation equipment. When the cooperative began to take off, it had a subsidy of 1.5 million Euros from the European Fund for Orientation and of Agricultural Guarantee (Feoga) to finance the investment of 6.4 million Euros dedicated to the installations.

The wine cellar that elaborates ‘Paco&Lola’ is backed by 430 partners and 14 employees that make up the principal cooperative that produce this wine of the Rías Baixas. “We are the largest in terms of number of partners and the third in terms of volume of production of 100% Albariño wines,” explained the General Director.

Another of the more recognised products of the wine cellar is the ‘Paco&Lola’ raspberry liqueur awarded for its packaging at the Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits Awards. It is not their only spirited product; there is also a more classic line called ‘Rosalía de Castro’ of different liqueurs of herbs, coffe, or a toasted flavour sold primarily in the national market. Another risky offer of the company is the ‘iWine’, a wine elaborated with carbonated snow of which 4,000 bottles are sold annually for the most selective palates.

The number of young and happy consumers to whom they direct their products will continue to grow via social networks that are support tools to the market in which the company have wanted to attract since its beginnings. “We presume to have reached a community of ‘Paco&Lola’ lovers,” said Belén Varela with satisfaction. Through Facebook or Twitter, many internauts relate their experiences associated with drinking ‘Paco&Lola’ from all parts of the world.

After this year’s harvest, the company began to test new products to surprise the market. Given that national sales met and surpassed the objectives, the exterior market discover the introduction that ‘Paco&Lola’ propose to accomplish with its Albariño wine. They cannot disclose their business strategies as to not give any such information to their competitors but future plans include the launching of their first red wine as well as research into the production of wines with no alcohol.Tras a vendima deste ano, a empresa proba novos produtos cos que seguir sorprendendo ao mercado. Posto que as vendas a nivel nacional cumpren os obxectivos e incluso os superan, será o mercado exterior o que siga descubrindo a transgresión que propón ‘Paco&Lola’ a través do viño albariño. Non poden descubrir as estratexias empresariais para non dar pistas aos competidores, pero os plans de futuro recollen o lanzamento do seu primeiro viño tinto, así como estudos para a produción de caldos sen alcol.