Interview: Treasury Americas’ Luxury Transformation

Treasury Wine Estates has transformed its Americas business over the past few years, making large acquisitions like its billion-dollar play for Paso Robles-based Daou last year and its $315 million deal for Napa Valley’s Frank Family Vineyards in 2021, while jettisoning non-core brands.
The moves have paid off, with Treasury Americas sales up 22% to $660 million in the year through June, including a 1.6-million-case contribution from its luxury brand stable, which includes Daou (655,000 cases), Stags’ Leap (165,000 cases), Frank Family (125,000 cases), Beringer Knights Valley (78,000 cases), Penfolds (75,000 cases), and Beaulieu (74,000 cases). SND executive editor Daniel Marsteller recently spoke with Treasury Americas president Ben Dollard to hear more about where the company is headed.

SND: Treasury Americas has now become a luxury-led wine company. How do you see the consumer outlook for luxury wines in the U.S.?

Dollard: It’s been a positive direction that we’ve taken down in terms of curating the portfolio over the past number of years. The acquisition of Daou at the end of last year was an important step. The consumer continues to evolve within the wine category, and we’re thinking a lot about the experience the consumer has in relation to our brands. Given the footprint that we have as a company and the legacy brands we have, and also the new brands that have come to the portfolio, the luxury space is where we want to be with the category continuing to premiumize.

SND: Daou (up 11% in volume last year, according to Impact Databank) has momentum in the luxury market. What’s driving that, and how do you plan to keep it going?

Dollard: It’s a beautiful brand. The experience the consumer has at Daou Mountain is a big part of the success, and the distribution the brand has achieved over many years is something to be admired. Our job is to continue to nurture that. I fundamentally believe there’s a very significant opportunity across the country and around the world for Daou. A lot of their team are going to continue playing a big role in this next generation of growth. Treasury has a longstanding position in Paso Robles, with a winery that has the capacity to continue to expand Daou.

Some of the technology advances Daou has made were also very attractive in terms of connecting with consumers, such as the Daou Plus app. When you think about our luxury portfolio of Daou and Frank Family and BV and Beringer and Stags’ Leap and Penfolds, it fits beautifully in terms of where we’re headed as a business and also where the consumer is headed.

SND: Looking across the rest of the Treasury Americas luxury portfolio, where do you see significant opportunities for brands to gain traction?

Dollard: I’ve been really pleased with the progress we’ve made around the brands that have been part of the portfolio for a long time and the investments we’re making. At Beaulieu, really the last seven years we’ve been investing in the vineyard. Well, now we’re about to invest in the winery in a very significant way, and the hospitality experience for the consumer. Also, Frank Family has been a wonderful addition to the portfolio, particularly in regard to the opportunity that we have for Chardonnay, Cabernet, and Pinot Noir.

SND: How does the DTC segment play into Treasury’s strategy moving forward?

Dollard: DTC is a key strategic pillar in how we’re thinking about growing our brands. The investment in Beaulieu Vineyard I was just referring to is very much focused around the consumer experience. We think about the learnings we can take from Daou in that regard, putting the consumer at the heart of everything we do. And it’s essentially important to the extent that we are investing a lot in those experiences. It’s a really big and important platform for our brands.

We’ll have more on the premium segment of TWE’s portfolio in the second part of this interview

Tagged : Beaulieu, Daou, Stags' Leap, Treasury Wine Estates

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