At the Direct To Consumer Symposium last Tuesday, I ate lunch at the same table as three emissaries from Harlan Estate.
First of all, it was interesting to see Harlan representatives at a show where, ostensibly, people are trying to figure out how to sell their wines direct, a problem which Harlan doesn't appear to have. Perhaps it's related to their recent acquisition of Diamond Oaks.
Second, they make 2,000 cases of a $500 a bottle wine ($6,000 a case). About 60%, or 1200 cases, is sold to their mailing list. 30% goes to the trade, and the remaining 10% is donated or placed in their wine library.
(I'm probably overstating things, since 600 - 800 of those 2,000 cases are significantly-less-but-still-expensive The Maiden, not the Proprietary Blend).
If they have real costs of $100 a bottle (hard to imagine, even with the fancy stationery), that's a very nice profit. $5.76 million from the mailing list alone.
Nice work if you can get it.
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