Private and Confidential. For X-Culture use only. X-Culture Global Symposium, Macerata, Italy, 2018 Challenge Presented by: Cocci Grifoni, http://www.tenutacoccigrifoni.it/en COMPANY DESCRIPTION Cocci Grifoni is a family-operated business. It produces fine wines in their winery located on a small strip of land nestled between the Adriatic Sea and the Sibillini Mountains. The company takes full advantage of the biodiversity in their location and strive to be sustainable in all aspects of their business. The company slogan is “Stewards of the Land”. THE COMPANY For approximately 100 years, we have been producing authentic Wines of Terroir, achieved from the use of sustainable agriculture with low oenological impact, assuming the responsible role of Stewards of our Land for over four generations. Our MISSION is to provide customers with a high quality, healthy product that does not betray the land it comes from. We guarantee this high and consistent level of quality through our supply chain control and daily care of our vineyards. Our VISION is to live sustainably, in harmony with nature, to preserve our heritage and pass it down to future generations. 1 Mr. Guido Cocci Grifoni was the founder of our modern company. He was a great pioneer and dreamer that greatly contributed to all Italian viticulture and wine making. 1969: Guido produced the first Rosso Piceno Superiore DOC in Italy 1980’s: Guido rediscovered an ancient autochthonous grape variety which was almost extinct: Pecorino. With foresight, by replanting a Pecorino vineyard on the Cocci Grifoni estate, he saved an authentic Italian heritage. Since 1989 we have been producing our historical Pecorino wine from the original Pecorino Vigneto Madre, the Mother Vineyard. 1991: Guido produced the first Passerina Sparkling Wine. Presently, the women of Tenuta Cocci Grifoni family lead the company. Guido’s daughters: Paola, is the Winemaker, and Marilena is the Commercial and Marketing Director. They continue the passionate work of their father with loyalty and commitment. Today, the Tenuta Cocci Grifoni Team employs 20 people. We consider our team part of our extended family and everyone is treated with great consideration and respect. We are extremely proud that we have been in partnership with some members of our "famiglia" for more than forty years. As we approach this third millennium, we labor together to achieve our goals and actively compete in a complex global economy. LOCATION Our estate is located in the Marche Region of Central Italy, in the province of Ascoli Piceno, 200 km (120 miles) northeast of Rome. Ascoli Piceno Province, also known as “The Piceno”, is a narrow strip running east to west in the southernmost portion of Marche Region. It extends from the Adriatic Sea in the east across to the Apennine Mountains in the west. The terroir of this small strip of Italy is quite variegated: there are steep mountains alternating with gentle hills that slope down toward the Adriatic Sea with small slips of flatlands running aside the rivers. This creates a variety of soil types, in terms of both the composition and exposure, which are similar to the Langhe of the Piedmont Region. These soils offer the potential for a wide array of wines, and different musts, even from the same vines. The Piceno area has a temperate climate with heavy rainfalls along the coast. This typical hot Mediterranean climate is mitigated by the close proximity to the Balkans and the Adriatic Sea, creating a colder climate than other areas between the Mediterranean Seas. As well, the summer rainfalls are more plentiful than the typical Mediterranean climate and drought is very rare. It is a perfect wine growing environment with its ideal thermal temperatures and consistent water resources. Tenuta Cocci Grifoni’s vineyards are surrounded by canyons, ravines and woods dominated by 100- meter clay cliffs. The microclimate of these "badlands“, and woods, provide an ideal environment and ecosystem for viticulture which include intense day and night temperature variations that have a positive influence on aroma precursors. The cliffs offer a natural shelter from the cold north winds and there is a generous availability of rain water that collects downstream through the natural water and weather cycles. The habitat of these fragile and complex microcosms helps to repopulate the wildlife and provides an abundance of land and sky for the animals to traverse and for the insects, 2 useful for the biological cycle of the grapes, to proliferate. The altitude of our vineyards is never higher than 300 m above sea level. The age-old Pleistocene and river-lake soils are mainly of medium texture, relatively clayey, with good drainage qualities. The clay component helps to control the water retention which allows the organic substances to aid the soil fertilization. This soil gives the wine its full color, healthy tannins, strong structure, ageing capacity and complex aromas. The indigenous traits of this terroir give the wine the identifying features of the best of cru wines: aromatic complexity, flavors that linger in the mouth, distinct and well-perceived minerality. These wines, both red and white, evolve abundantly and have an aging potential of ten to fifteen years. PRODUCTION Our vineyards are almost entirely surrounded by woods and canyons. Of the 95 hectares that make up the property: o 50% Vineyards o 31% Natural Habitat Conservation/Repopulation Flora and Fauna o 12% Cereals o 7% Olive Groves Our historical vineyards produce the Wines of Memory. The mother vines of our autochthonous grapes are mainly cultivated with Pecorino, Montepulciano and Sangiovese. These vines are 30 to 35 years old. From our estate vineyards, we grow Italian native varieties to produce our D.O.C. and I.G.T. wines: Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Passerina, Verdicchio and Pecorino. These vines are 20 to 30 years old. The Italian Ministry of Agricultural published an Official Register of Italian Vine Varieties, Food and Forestry Policies, that included the main available clones in Italy. Tenuta Cocci Grifoni is proud to announce that two clones, known for their high quality and distinctive character, were selected from their vineyards: o The clone of Pecorino I – 1 ISV o The clone of Passerina I – TCG2 ISV The wine of the Tenuta Cocci Grifoni develops its unique style, terroir and complexity from the vineyards. The vinification respects the grapes by allowing all the inherent potentialities to develop. We consistently use steel vats for the refinement of the white wines and steel, or big barrels of 40-50 hl and tonneau, for our reds. ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION Vineyards are cultivated on 50% of our land helping provide protection for our native bio-diversity, animal and vegetable. Our winery is Certified Organic by the Italian agency “Suolo e Salute”. We protect the soil using natural re-vegetation techniques aimed to increase organic matter within the soil. In addition, we mitigate soil erosion using girapoggio (contour ploughing) technique, in the vineyards. The Photovoltaic generation system provides up to 50% of the company’s requirements for power. We control CO2 emissions using fossil fuel for agricultural vehicles. For almost half a century, we have protected the migration of swallows and other wild birds. Currently, 4 hectares of land are specifically retained for use as an experimental vineyard, whose main purpose is the recovery and renewal of germplasm of Pecorino, Passerina and Montepulciano vines. 3 The Sharecropping System, Mezzadria, dominated the country life in Central Italy for over 600 years. This feudal system utilized the land for agricultural production and sustainability which assured our predecessors self-sufficiency and a good quality of life. Thirty years ago this system was rescinded but the vital bond between man and the earth’s natural cycles remain. GEOGRAPHY OF BUSINESS The Cocci Grifoni family’s strong and clear values: tradition, sustainability, responsibility, continuity, innovation and community are captured in every bottle of Tenuta Cocci Grifoni wine. It is our hope to offer this exceptional wine to a larger audience with broader distribution and availability. This is our commitment to you and will be achieved with the help of our valued employees, wine ambassadors and partners from all over the world. Our pioneer, Guido Cocci Grifoni, began a verbal agreement with the Le Marche Agricultural University in the 1980’s to study the indigenous yeasts in our vineyards and cellar. In 2015, the agreement for this scientific project was officially instated. A second cooperation with LMAU, commencing in 2018, will incorporate land zoning within our estate to help improve the quality. THE CHALLENGE The Cocci Grifoni student challenge is to develop a long term (3-5 year) marketing strategy that communicates the unique features of their wine while emphasizing their commitment to nature and operating in a sustainable manner. The strategy should be targeted to young adults (18 – 35 years old) living in Asia, North America, and South America and should be based mainly on social media. The company operates in an industry where ‘Geographical Indications’, Protected Geographical Indications, and ‘Protected Designations of Origin’ (PDO) play a big role in wine and grapes production. The challenge is to communicate to their customer Cocci Grifoni’s unique value proposition resulting from ‘Geographical Indications’ factors, and the combination of unique history of their land, territory and a family owned business. 4 Also, you face the challenge of helping them succeed in an industry with several large competition by ‘New World’, international large wine producers. Some consider ‘Geographical Indications’ as nothing more than a protectionist device which should be limited and monitored by the WTO and free trade agreements. Your presentation should address the following issues: 1. Overall marketing strategy. 2. Most promising new markets and market segments: country, population segment. 3.