NAPA, Calif., April 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of an exciting year highlighted by extraordinary growth in their wholesale and direct-to-consumer business units, the launch and phenomenal success of their bold, new 'vindependent' communication platform and the completion of an internal restructuring project that included the hiring of a new head of marketing, a new head of hospitality, a new head of finance and a new assistant winemaker, the once staid Clos Du Val Winery is rightfully feeling some momentum.  So, in a classic 'let's strike while the iron is hot' move, today Clos Du Val proudly unveiled a comprehensive three-point plan that centers on three key initiatives that winery leadership believes will continue its resurgence:  

1. Craft modern, relevant wines of balance and elegance:  Clos Du Val always has and always will stand for wines made in an elegant, balanced style crafted to age with grace and pair well with food, but they also recognize that the need to remain relevant to their evolving consumer base.  

"We see this exercise as a highly subtle and wholly natural exploration in the evolution of our portfolio rather than a revolution of any sort," cautioned Assistant Winemaker, Kristy Melton, who was chosen to lead the evolution project. "We will never abandon our basic principles of elegance and balance but we will seek to make our wines in a style slightly more approachable for today's wine drinkers.  I believe we can do both exceptionally well."      

2. Deliver a highly evolved retail wine program:  Seeking to offer a more diverse and holistic view of their winemaking capabilities, Clos Du Val has drastically increased the quantity and quality of their retail and consumer-direct offerings.  The new line of winery-exclusive wines will be bottled under Clos Du Val's new 'Winemaker's Signature Series' label and represent wines crafted from specific vineyard blocks as well as proprietary blends designed to showcase their amazing vineyard holdings.  

"We wanted to show the quality of our fruit from various points of view, to highlight the unique character of our individual vineyard blocks and the differing styles that can be expressed from them," said winery COO and Head Winemaker John Clews.    

Clos Du Val's Three Graces Blend, the inaugural wine bottled under the Winemaker's Signature Series label, was recently awarded 93 points from Wine Enthusiast.

3. Deliver a highly evolved visitor experience:  Seeking to bring more elegance and a lot more fun to their visitor experience, Clos Du Val's tasting room received a significant face lift this year but they didn't stop there.

Clos Du Val hopes offering visitors more fun and exciting options for experiencing their wines and their facility such as romance packages, 'pop-up' wine and food pairing events and the ability to rate their wines on-site, will drive deeper relationships with their visitors, create positive word-of-mouth and keep the winery humming even in slow periods.  

Clos Du Val began initiating their three-point plan in the beginning of this year and, so far, it's shown stellar results with YTD direct-to-consumer sales plus 50%, wholesale sales plus 20% and visitorship to the winery up 30% over prior year.  

"I don't think there is a single winery in Napa with more positive momentum than we have right now," commented VP of Marketing and Communication, Tracey Mason.  "There is tremendous ownership and pride across all functions which we hope is literally palatable to our consumers and the trade.  The three point plan is just our way of driving it all home."  

About Clos Du Val

Clos Du Val, French for "small vineyard estate of a small valley," was founded in 1972 in the now legendary Stags Leap District by American entrepreneur John Goelet and French winemaker Bernard Portet.  After a worldwide search to purchase a vineyard property from which to craft world-class wines, 130 acres in Stags Leap and 180 acres in Carneros were chosen, solidifying Clos Du Val's iconic stature and formidable place in Napa Valley history.

For more information, visit www.closduval.com or call 800-993-9463.

SOURCE Clos Du Val Wine Company, Ltd.