About Dolia Talks | Wine, spirits and beverages marketing and sales
The beverage industry is going through one of its biggest shifts in decades. New consumer preferences, shifting distribution trends, and new channels mean every brand needs to deeply rethink their branding, marketing and distribution strategies.
On Dolia Talks, Giovanni Binello interviews the best wine, spirits and beverage professionals to discuss the latest trends in sales and marketing and bring clear insights for every brand builder, marketer or manager.
Dolia Talks is a podcast by Dolia, the platform where beverage brands grow. Find out more on getdolia.com.
Building an Effective Wine Marketing Strategy | Why Most Wineries Waste Time and Money on Rebranding | The Role of the Marketing Manager in Wine | Francesco Airenti, Mack & Schühle Italia
This show is sponsored by Dolia (https://getdolia.com)
Francesco Airenti is the Marketing Manager at Mack & Schühle Italia, with more than 20 years leading marketing at Campari, Santa Margherita and Allegrini behind him. Few people in wine have sat on both the classic-brand side and the challenger side of the business the way he has.
He walks through how a wine marketing budget should actually be split, why most packaging restyles are a waste of money without a clear positioning behind them, and the evolution-not-revolution rule he applies to rebranding heritage brands. We also cover GRAPUR, his award-winning low-alcohol wine line, and GENEVITIS, the cooperative-partnership model reshaping how Italian wine regions go to market.
AGENDA:
1:42 The value of design in the wine industry & supply chain consistency4:16 Design vs. terroir: is design becoming more important for differentiation?6:12 What wine can learn from spirits and other industries (Campari, luxury, fashion)15:03 The role of a marketing manager in wine — trade marketing, sales support, and fragmented markets19:20 Sales & marketing relationship: communication challenges and alignment21:34 When should a winery hire a marketing manager?24:27 Where marketing budget gets wasted 27:08 When to rebrand or redesign packaging 29:21 Healthy budget allocation31:35 KPIs & measuring marketing ROI32:50 GRAPUR project — low-alcohol wine, sustainable packaging, and design awards41:57 Opportunity for traditional producers in low-alcohol & zero-alcohol wines44:42 GENEVITIS project — cooperative partnerships across Italian regions & market consolidation53:15 Francesco's quickfire round
9 Sept 2026
Why Most Alcohol-Free Brands Will Die | Why Beverage Brands Need to be Omnichannel | Are Restaurant Listings Saturated? | Amanda Thomson, Founder @ Noughty
This show is sponsored by Dolia (https://getdolia.com), the growth platform for beverage brands.
Amanda Thomson founded Noughty in 2019, years before non-alcoholic wine became a category investors chase. She trained in fine wine and champagne in Paris, ran her own sparkling and champagne label, and only then built a non-alcoholic wine brand out of a genuine gap in the market.
She and Giovanni talk through how Noughty built its UK distribution model before the country's biggest distributor came calling, how she decides between fine wine distributors, trend-led importers, and food service partners depending on the market, and why she still says no to distribution deals she doesn't believe in.
Essential listening for anyone building or distributing a beverage brand in a category still working out its own rules.
AGENDA:
1:09 Origins: "good wine before good non-alc wine"
2:16 Launching Noughty in 2019 & the market opportunity
3:17 Developing the product & finding winemaking partners
6:00 What makes a good non-alcoholic wine
7:19 Launching just before COVID & the pandemic pivot
9:51 Zebra striping / flexi-drinking trend
13:57 Noughty's customer profile
15:13 B2C vs. B2B: the omni-channel launch strategy
21:52 Importers, distributors & portfolio fit
24:31 How Amanda selects (and rejects) distributors
26:55 UK vs. US market differences
31:04 Paid brand partnerships
33:21 Social media's role in building the brand
34:17 Community & the "wine club"/DTC approach
41:45 Lessons fine wine taught Naughty
43:06 Amanda's quick-fire round
4 Aug 2026
The Marketer Behind Gin Mare | Building a Premium Mixer Brand | The Beverage Branding Playbook | Juan Carlos Maroto Jara
This show is sponsored by Dolia, the growth platform for beverage brands. Find out more here (https://getdolia.com).
Juan Carlos Maroto Jara has built brand strategy for three very different beverage businesses: Gin Mare from a blank sheet, Matusalem through a 150-year-old family business turnaround, and Match, the premium mixer brand he co-founded at Curius, designed from day one for e-commerce and specialty coffee rather than the back bar.
In this episode, he walks through how each brand's positioning got built, from Gin Mare's refusal to claim a single Mediterranean country, to the global governance reset that saved Matusalem, to why Match is stripping "tonic water" out of its own name starting in the US, with Europe following in 2027.
Essential listening for anyone working in beverage brand positioning or international market entry.
AGENDA:
1:39 – Common thread across Gin Mare, Matusalem & Match
5:40 – Building the Gin Mare brand & "Mediterranean gin" concept
12:29 – Was the "no single country" branding strategy right, and would it work today?
16:12 – Translating brand story into buyer/trade pitches20:03 – Matusalem: reviving a 150-year-old brand
27:32 – Why launch something new: the origin of Match
31:12 – "Fashion-like" brand approach & the Waitrose/Corte Inglés stories
37:13 – When does a mixer stop being a mixer and become a drink?
41:08 – The role of trade shows
42:53 – What traditional wine/spirits brands can learn from Match
44:58 – Quick-fire round
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