Marquee Artisan Wines

Marquee is a brand of Australian wines with origins that can be traced back to a fateful day in late 2002 at a wine shop somewhere in Middle America… Our hero, let's call him "X", was out shopping for a nice bottle on a dreary Saturday afternoon. He soon developed glazed-over eyes, not to mention a headache, from the dizzying array of a bazillion wines available. "All I want is a good bottle of wine to have tonight with dinner," he thought. "I'm a computer genius, it can't be this hard. Heck, I might as well play the lottery instead - I'd probably have a better chance of picking a winner." X decided to talk with his mates to see if they were having the same problem. He asked around at work and, low and behold, it seemed most everyone agreed.

A few months of simple research later, X buddied up with his partner Y and decided to create a brand of wines that US consumers could trust for great wine values. A few twists, turns, ups, downs, and years later, the solution was born, "Marquee Artisan Wines." They began their search for wine, trying stuff from California, France, Italy – you name it and they had fun trying it. One place kept popping up with not only the best juice, but great people and prices as well... Australia.

X journeyed "down-under" (his company had offices there) and took a look around. He traveled across Australia, dropped by some wineries, and ran into a wily Australian winemaker by the name of Z. After growing his family wine business for 10 years, Z was intrigued at the challenge of creating a brand of Artisan wines for US consumers. Australians have long been known as "master blenders," and Z, the rockstar winemaker, felt he and a few fellow Aussies could use their talents to create a unique brand of wines that Americans could trust for quality and value.

With Z's expertise, X and Y's business savvy, and a brilliant group of recruits from the US office, a business plan was created with the goal of sourcing the best wines for the Marquee brand. Wine candidates were selected, samples consumed, and a few large public tastings and events were held in the US to get real feedback on what people liked. Z was uprooted from his home for two months to tour the US to get a good grasp on the preferred American flavor profiles. S was brought in to kickstart sales, P... well, you get the picture, a company, brand, and idea was a reality.