The Wines of Herederos del Marqués de Riscal: The Ciudad del Vino

The wine market had been going through changes worldwide. The appearance of major wine-making groups with a wide range of brands and a strong capacity for investment, the growing number of wines on the market and the pressure from distribution chains had increased competitiveness. Quality Spanish wines linked to regions following the European model competed against French and Italian wines with an image of superior quality and against new producers with more aggressive pricing strategies. Rioja reds were leading this segment in Spain, where the market was also growing and becoming more competitive. On the international market, these reds were the epitome of Spanish wine. Rueda was less well known internationally. The competitive position of Marqués de Riscal was good, with a market share of nearly 20% of all sales of Rioja wine and 11% of all sales of Rueda wine. It was one of the few wineries that sold all its production each year. The brand was very highly regarded and the company worked with a trusted network of distributors in Spain and abroad. In 2007 the priority of Marqués de Riscal was to turn this market awareness into a better market position to get the most out of the investment made in La Ciudad del Vino, an innovative alternative marketing campaign based on architecture that allowed the company to make the leap from the 19th to the 21st century, i.e., to go from being a classic winemaker to forming part of a prestigious chain. The success had exceeded all expectations and a new plan for 2008-2012 would highlight the criteria to be followed to take advantage of this change.