Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Brigante.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Scott. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
The idea for our business was born at a dinner about four years ago with some long-time family friends. They have a small vineyard on their property in Santa Ynez, CA. We got to talking about the wine industry from a 30,000 ft. perspective. As someone who had never worked in the wine industry before I was fascinated by the complex relationships between growers, vintners, bottlers, and distributors. As we rounded the corner on the second bottle of wine the conversation turned to all the great wine that was being produced, but never making its way to the consumer because of the incredible oversaturation in the industry. You can’t throw a cork without hitting a winery in Santa Barbara County.
It took another two years for the idea to mature. Through hundreds of conversations with wine makers, restaurant owners, and distributors I realized that there was an underserved niche market creating private label wine programs for local, single-location restaurants and small chains. I also learned that private label wine programs have always had one of two flaws – 1. They’ve been very expensive and logistically difficult, or 2. The wine is second rate at best.
At Brigante Private Label we exclusively focus on creating private label wine programs for restaurants, bars, hotels, resorts, and golf courses. By starting our own winery without all the overhead costs of a tasting room or any marketing budget we put together a way to sell really exquisite house wines, under a private label, with very low case minimums. As our wines aren’t available for retail sale, restaurants are able to provide a unique experience for their guests while promoting their own brand, we don’t care whose name is on the bottle. We just want to make wine that people enjoy.
The winery is in Buellton, CA in Santa Barbara County. Our headquarters and initial distribution warehouse is in San Diego, CA and opened in January 2016. Our second location and Texas distribution warehouse is in Argyle, TX and opened in August of 2016.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It hasn’t been a smooth road by any stretch. The first hurdles were teaching myself the logistical and legal framework to build this business. Developing relationships with vineyards, our wine maker, and learning how a grape even gets into a bottle of wine at your favorite restaurant was a journey in itself. Plus, all of the legal hoops you have to jump through to start an alcohol related business are mind numbing.
It was also a tremendous challenge just learning how to sell something like this to restaurants. My first job at 15 years old was as a host, and I worked in restaurants through college, but I’d never tried to sell anything to restaurants. A couple of great sales reps and I had to simply walk into dozens of restaurants each week and teach ourselves by trial and error. Since the restaurant’s name is going on the bottle, we needed to get in touch with owners and sell them on doing something entirely new.
Please tell us about Brigante Private Label.
Brigante Private Label addresses the needs of restaurants and retailers that are tired of navigating the ever expanding wine industry to identify brands and labels that set them apart from the competition. Why spend precious time and resources trying to hit a moving target instead of investing in your own brand?
Brigante Private Label produces exquisite California wines sold exclusively under private label programs, to bring small-batch craft wine to the menus of restaurants large and small. Bringing wine directly from the winery to the retailer eliminates marketing and distribution costs with no sacrifice of quality. We will help you bring world-class wine to your menu, improve your margins, and invest in yourself.
Unlike other wineries that do private label programs as an afterthought, using odd-lot wines that they don’t want to put their own name on, private label wine is the core of our business. Our priority is producing the best wine possible regardless of whose name is on the bottle.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would be more focused on our original mission – private label wine for restaurants. In the first year I spent too much time being sidetracked by side projects like direct to consumer custom wine sales, wedding custom wine sales, custom wine as corporate holiday gifts, etc. etc. All of those outlets will be available to us when we have the time and resources to approach them correctly, but for the time being restaurants are our bread and butter.
Pricing:
- Our wines sell for $8-11/glass in restaurants.
Contact Info:
- Address: Brigante Private Label LLC.826 Office Park Circle, Suite 105
Lewisville, TX 75057 - Website: www.briganteprivatelabel.com
- Phone: 972-743-8802
- Email: scott@briganteprivatelabel.com
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