Client Strategy

Premium Wine Brand — Complete Agency Strategy & Implementation Plan

Prepared by SquidPulse | Australia (NSW-focused) | Premium wine client launch

How to use this document: This plan covers the strategy, website, design, content, marketing and roadmap for the launch. The licensing and tax material is regulatory information — treat it as a working brief, not legal advice. Before trading or publishing, the client must confirm their licence status with Liquor & Gaming NSW and the ATO. Official source links are at the end of the licensing section.

01BUSINESS MODEL STRATEGY

The core strategic call: B2B first, B2C second

For a brand-new premium wine label with no market awareness, B2B-led launch is almost always correct, and here's the honest reasoning rather than the textbook one:

A new label has zero consumer demand. Spending to acquire individual bottle-buyers before anyone has tasted the wine is the most expensive customer acquisition in the entire alcohol category.
Getting onto a respected restaurant wine list or into a curated independent bottle shop is borrowed credibility. The sommelier or buyer has effectively vouched for the wine. That third-party endorsement is what a new premium brand cannot manufacture itself.
B2B has fewer, larger, repeatable orders — far better cash flow and forecasting for a young business than chasing single 6-bottle online orders.
The licensing path is also simpler initially (see Section 2): a Producer/Wholesaler licence lets the client sell to other licensees from day one. Full consumer ecommerce adds compliance and logistics overhead that's better layered on once the brand has traction.

So the model is: earn the trade's respect first, then convert that credibility into direct-to-consumer margin.

Recommended roadmap

Phase 1 — Foundation & Trade Launch (Months 0–6) Licensing finalised; brand identity and packaging locked; trade-focused website live (brand story + a gated/enquiry-based wholesale section + stockist enquiry); professional photography done; outreach to a tight target list of restaurants, sommeliers, independent bottle shops and one or two distributors. Goal: get the wine placed and poured, not "sell online."

Phase 2 — Brand Building & Selective DTC (Months 6–15) Add consumer ecommerce + age gate + wine club / membership once volume and licence permissions support it. Begin content marketing, SEO, and a small paid budget focused on retargeting people who already engaged. Launch a "Find us / Stockists" map as social proof. Goal: build a direct customer base from people who discovered the wine through the trade.

Phase 3 — Scale & Growth Marketing (Months 15+) Distributor expansion (interstate), full Google Ads + Meta programs, wine-club subscription engine, email automation, events, possibly export. Goal: predictable, multi-channel revenue with DTC margin subsidising trade growth.

The smartest model per channel

Channel	How to win	Margin reality
B2B wholesale	Sell the story and the scarcity, not the price. Trade pricing with clear case discounts and minimum order quantities.	Lowest margin per bottle but highest volume & repeatability.
Restaurants & hospitality	Target venues whose identity matches the brand. Offer staff tastings, "by-the-glass" placements, and sommelier education. A by-the-glass listing sells far more volume than a bottle listing.	Strong volume; the listing itself is marketing.
Independent bottle shops	Curated independents over chains at launch — they hand-sell and protect premium positioning. Provide shelf-talkers and tasting notes.	Good margin; protects brand perception.
Distributors	Use once the brand can't service demand directly. A distributor buys reach but takes margin and control of the relationship — choose late and choose carefully.	You trade margin for scale and logistics.
Direct-to-consumer (later)	Wine club / allocation model. Recurring revenue, full margin, and a first-party data asset you own (not rented from a platform).	Highest margin; your most valuable long-term asset.

Pricing, margins & positioning

Anchor the price to perceived value, never to cost-plus. Premium wine is a position, not a production cost. A cheap-looking price destroys premium perception faster than anything.
Build the pricing backwards from the retail shelf price the brand wants to occupy, then work down through retailer margin (~30–40%), distributor margin (if used, ~15–30%), WET (29% of wholesale value — see Section 2), GST and production cost. If the wholesale price can't support the desired shelf price and a healthy producer margin, the positioning or cost base needs to change before launch, not after.
Packaging is the single biggest premium signal a wine has before it's opened — bottle weight and shape, label stock and print finish (embossing, foil, uncoated textured paper), capsule, and back-label typography. Spend here; it pays back in price tolerance.
Premium perception = consistency + restraint + scarcity. Limited allocations, vintages, and "small-batch" framing all raise perceived value honestly.

How boutique brands actually launch (and common mistakes)

Successful boutique launches almost always start narrow: one hero wine, one region's worth of trade relationships, relentless in-person tastings, and a tight story. They grow by word-of-mouth in the trade before they spend on consumer ads.

Common mistakes to design out: - Going broad too early (national distribution before regional credibility). - Discounting to win early sales — it permanently re-anchors the brand lower. - A cheap or generic website/label that undercuts the price story. - Treating "secret recipe" as a gimmick rather than as a craft/quality narrative. - Building consumer ecommerce before the licence and logistics genuinely support it.

Biggest risks: non-compliance with liquor/tax law (Section 2), over-investing in inventory before demand is proven, brand dilution from discounting, and dependence on a single distributor.

Building trust for an unknown brand: third-party endorsement (where it's stocked, who pours it), transparent craftsmanship storytelling, a credible founder narrative, professional visual identity, awards/reviews once available, and consistent quality. Trust is transferred from trusted intermediaries early on — that's the whole reason for the B2B-first model.

02AUSTRALIAN LIQUOR LICENSING & REGULATIONS (NSW focus)

Important: This is a structured working brief based on current NSW and Commonwealth sources, not legal advice. Licence outcomes depend on the specific premises, business model and conditions imposed by the regulator. The client should confirm everything directly with Liquor & Gaming NSW and a liquor-licensing lawyer before trading.

The key licence for this client: Producer/Wholesaler licence (NSW)

In NSW, liquor licensing operates under the Liquor Act 2007, administered by Liquor & Gaming NSW and the Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA). For a winemaker, the relevant licence is the Producer/Wholesaler liquor licence.

What it does: - A producer (winemaker) who holds this licence can sell their product to other liquor licensees (restaurants, bars, bottle shops, distributors), and — as a producer specifically — can also conduct tastings, cellar-door sales, sell directly to the public at approved wine shows and producers' markets, and (subject to conditions/consent) sell by retail to the public. - A wholesaler (who does not produce) under the same licence type can only sell to existing liquor licence holders — not to the general public. - Applicants must be 18+ and not suspended/disqualified. Applications involve a floor plan of the licensed area, premises/owner details, and may attract additional conditions imposed by ILGA.

Crucial point for online selling: NSW licences carry conditions. In practice, producer/wholesaler licences have been granted with a condition along the lines of "online sales only – public not to attend the premises," which is exactly the configuration a DTC wine business needs. This is set at the licence-condition level, so the client's application must explicitly request the authorisations matching their intended model (wholesale + online retail + any tastings/cellar door). Getting the conditions right at application time reduces processing delays.

Can the client legally…?

Sell wholesale only? Yes — that's the core of the producer/wholesaler licence.
Sell to restaurants, bars, bottle shops? Yes — these are licensees; selling to them is the wholesale function.
Sell through distributors? Yes — distributors are part of the trade channel.
Sell direct to consumers / online? Yes, as a producer, with the appropriate licence conditions/authorisations in place. This is why being the producer (not just a wholesaler) matters.

Interstate selling, shipping & delivery

Liquor licensing is state/territory based. A NSW producer licence governs the NSW activity, but selling/shipping into other states can trigger that state's requirements — the client should confirm obligations per destination state before marketing nationally.
Delivery is the highest-risk operational moment. Alcohol must not be delivered to a minor or to an intoxicated person. The website and the courier process must support age verification at point of sale and proof-of-age/ID checks on delivery (no leaving alcohol unattended for under-18s). Use a courier/3PL that offers signature + ID-on-delivery for alcohol.

Tax: Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) + GST + the producer rebate

WET is 29% of the wholesale value of wine, generally payable by anyone who makes, imports, or sells wine by wholesale and is (or must be) registered for GST. It's designed to fall on the last wholesale sale, but also applies to cellar-door/retail/online sales where there's been no wholesale sale (calculated via a notional wholesale value method).
GST (10%) applies on top in the usual way.
WET producer rebate: eligible producers can claim a rebate of 29% of the taxable value of domestic sales, capped at $350,000 per financial year (this effectively exempts roughly the first ~$1.2M of domestic wholesale sales from net WET). The Government has proposed increasing this cap to $400,000 from 1 July 2026.
Registration: WET ties to GST registration (GST threshold is $75,000 turnover). The client reports WET on their BAS.
Action: the client's accountant should set up WET handling and the rebate claim from day one — it materially affects pricing and margin.

Labelling requirements (FSANZ — national)

Wine sold in Australia must comply with the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (FSANZ). Key current requirements: - Pregnancy warning label — mandatory since 31 July 2023 for packaged alcoholic beverages above 1.15% ABV. It must be the prescribed pregnancy warning mark: the pictogram (black silhouette, red circle + strikethrough), the words "PREGNANCY WARNING" in red capitals, and the statement "Alcohol can cause lifelong harm to your baby" in black, all within a border, at prescribed minimum sizes. FSANZ provides downloadable artwork. - Standard drinks statement, alcohol by volume (ABV), country of origin, allergen declarations (e.g. sulphites/"contains sulphites"), volume, supplier name & address, and a lot/batch identifier. - Energy (kilojoule) labelling — newly mandated: gazetted into the Code on 13 August 2025, with a three-year transition. Products packaged and labelled on or after 13 August 2028 must carry an energy statement in the prescribed tabular format. Worth flagging to the client now so label design is future-proofed.

Age verification, responsible-drinking & website notices

Even though the heavy RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) obligations sit with venue/retail staff, an online alcohol seller should implement: - Age gate on entry and age verification at checkout (declaration of 18+, ideally with verification). - ID/age verification on delivery (no supply to minors). - Responsible drinking messaging and the legal entity's liquor licence number displayed on the site (commonly required to be shown where liquor is sold). - A statement that it is an offence to sell or supply alcohol to, or obtain alcohol on behalf of, a person under 18 (the standard NSW warning wording — confirm exact current wording with Liquor & Gaming NSW). - Clear delivery terms reflecting the no-supply-to-minors/intoxicated-persons rules.

Penalties for non-compliance

Selling liquor without the proper licence/authority, supplying to minors, breaching licence conditions, or non-compliant labelling can attract significant fines and, for serious/repeat breaches, prosecution, licence conditions/suspension or cancellation. Exact penalty amounts change — the client (not the agency) carries these obligations and should confirm current penalties with Liquor & Gaming NSW.

Practical compliance checklist (client-owned, agency-verified)

[ ] Producer/Wholesaler licence granted, with conditions covering wholesale and online retail (and tastings/cellar door if relevant)
[ ] Licence number obtained and ready to display on website
[ ] GST + WET registration confirmed with accountant; producer rebate set up
[ ] Label artwork includes pregnancy warning mark, standard drinks, ABV, allergens (sulphites), country of origin, volume, supplier details, lot code
[ ] Energy-statement plan for labels (ahead of Aug 2028)
[ ] Age-verification at checkout + ID-on-delivery process with courier/3PL
[ ] Required website legal notices and responsible-drinking wording drafted and reviewed
[ ] Interstate shipping obligations checked per destination state

Official resources (links)

Producer/Wholesaler licence (Service NSW): https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-for-a-producer-wholesaler-liquor-licence
Liquor & Gaming NSW: https://www.liquorandgaming.nsw.gov.au/
NSW liquor licence types: https://www.nsw.gov.au/business-and-economy/liquor-and-gaming/liquor-licensing
ATO — Wine Equalisation Tax: https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/gst-excise-and-indirect-taxes/wine-equalisation-tax
ATO — WET producer rebate: https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/gst-excise-and-indirect-taxes/wine-equalisation-tax/producer-rebate
FSANZ — labelling of alcoholic beverages: https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/labelling/Labelling-of-alcoholic-beverages
FSANZ — pregnancy warning labels (artwork & specs): https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/business/labelling/pregnancy-warning-labels
Wine Australia — labelling guide: https://www.wineaustralia.com/labelling/guide-to-requirements
ABAC Responsible Alcohol Marketing Code: https://www.abac.org.au/

04WEBSITE STRATEGY

WordPress + WooCommerce vs Shopify vs custom

Recommendation: WordPress + WooCommerce for this client — with eyes open. Here's the genuine trade-off rather than a default:

WooCommerce wins because this brand's early value is content, storytelling and B2B lead capture, not high-volume transactional ecommerce. WordPress is unbeatable for editorial/brand storytelling, SEO control, gated B2B pricing, custom enquiry funnels, and avoiding per-transaction platform fees. You own the stack and the data. Alcohol/age-gating and B2B wholesale plugins are mature in this ecosystem.
Shopify wins if the priority were fast, high-volume DTC ecommerce with minimal maintenance — but it's more rigid for the gated-B2B + heavy-editorial model, alcohol age-gating relies on apps, and it charges transaction/app fees. For a content-and-trade-led premium launch, it's the weaker fit.
Custom build is overkill at launch — slower, more expensive, and harder for the client to manage. Revisit only if the wine-club/subscription engine outgrows plugins (Phase 3+).

Verdict: WooCommerce gives the best balance of premium editorial control, B2B flexibility, SEO ownership, and cost — and it scales into Phase 2/3 cleanly.

Recommended tech stack

CMS/ecommerce: WordPress + WooCommerce
Theme/builder: A lightweight, fast premium theme (e.g. Kadence or Blocksy) with the native block editor, or Bricks Builder for full design control without bloat. Avoid heavy page builders (legacy Elementor-heavy setups) that hurt speed and the premium feel.
Hosting: Managed WordPress hosting with Australian/edge presence (e.g. Kinsta, WP Engine, or Cloudways) — staging environment, daily backups, server-level caching.
CDN/security: Cloudflare (CDN, WAF, DDoS, bot protection).
Performance: server-level + page caching, image optimisation/WebP, lazy-loading, minimal plugins.
Backups: host-level daily + independent off-site (e.g. an automated backup plugin to cloud storage).

Recommended plugins (and why each)

Need	Recommended	Why
Ecommerce core	WooCommerce	Mature, flexible, owns the data
B2B wholesale pricing	Wholesale Suite or B2BKing	Role-based trade pricing, min order qty, gated catalogue, tax/quote handling
Stockist / distributor enquiries	Gravity Forms + conditional logic	Robust multi-step enquiry funnels with routing & CRM hooks
CRM integration	HubSpot for WooCommerce (or FluentCRM if self-hosted)	Tracks trade leads & consumers, automation-ready
Email marketing	Klaviyo (DTC) or FluentCRM (owned)	Klaviyo = best-in-class ecommerce flows; FluentCRM = data ownership
Subscriptions / wine club	WooCommerce Subscriptions	Native recurring billing for club/allocation model
Memberships	WooCommerce Memberships	Gated wine-club perks, members-only allocations
Age verification	Age Gate (plugin)	Entry gate + checkout age confirmation; configurable per region
Shipping	WooCommerce Shipping + alcohol-capable courier integration	Zone rules; pair with ID-on-delivery courier
Payments	Stripe + PayPal	Reliable, premium-friendly; confirm alcohol acceptance with provider
Abandoned cart	Klaviyo flows (or CartFlows/AutomateWoo)	Recover high-value carts
SEO	Rank Math (or Yoast)	Schema, sitemaps, local SEO, control
Forms	Gravity Forms	Trade onboarding, contact, enquiries
Analytics	GA4 via Google Tag Manager	Event-based tracking, consent-ready
Heatmaps	Microsoft Clarity (free) or Hotjar	UX optimisation insight
Reviews	Judge.me or native Woo reviews	Social proof on products
Stockist locator	WP Store Locator	"Find us" map = trust + supports trade

Plugin discipline matters for premium feel: every extra plugin is a speed and security cost. Keep the set lean; a slow site reads as "cheap" no matter how good the design.

SEO structure

Clean URL hierarchy (/our-wines/[wine-name], /wholesale, /journal/[post]), schema markup (Product, Organization, LocalBusiness, Article via Rank Math), fast Core Web Vitals, logical internal linking from journal content to product and wholesale pages, and local SEO (Google Business Profile, region keywords).

05COMPLETE WEBSITE STRUCTURE / SITEMAP

Navigation strategy: keep the top nav short and confident — premium sites under-navigate. Primary: Wines · Story · Wholesale · Journal · Contact. Put Wine Club, Stockists, account/login and legal in a refined footer + utility area. The B2B path should be obvious but not dominate the consumer-facing brand experience.

HOME
ABOUT US
  └ Our Story
  └ Craftsmanship
OUR WINES
  └ [Individual product pages]
WHOLESALE / B2B
  └ Become a Stockist (enquiry)
  └ Distributor Enquiry
  └ Restaurant / Hospitality Partnerships
  └ Wholesale Login Portal (gated pricing)
WINE CLUB / MEMBERSHIP
JOURNAL (Blog)
GALLERY
EVENTS
MEDIA / PRESS
FAQ
CONTACT
— system flows —
AGE GATE (site entry)
CHECKOUT FLOW
CUSTOMER ACCOUNT AREA
LEGAL PAGES (Privacy, Terms, Shipping & Returns, Liquor Licensing notice, Responsible Service)
FOOTER

Page-by-page (why it matters + key sections):

Home — sets the entire premium tone. Sections: full-bleed hero (signature image + restrained tagline + one CTA), brand essence (2–3 lines), featured wine(s), the craftsmanship/"secret" story teaser, "Where to find us"/stockists, trust strip (press/awards/where stocked), wholesale entry point, journal teaser, newsletter. Why: a premium home page should feel like a magazine cover, not a catalogue.
About / Our Story — the human and origin narrative; why the brand exists. Builds emotional trust.
Craftsmanship — the process and the (discreet) "secret recipe" story; this is where premium perception is earned.
Our Wines — elegant range overview; restraint over clutter.
Individual product page — hero bottle shot, tasting notes, story, food pairings, technical details (vintage, region, ABV, standard drinks), price, add-to-cart, related wines, required legal/warning info. Why: this is the conversion + credibility moment.
Wholesale / B2B — clear value proposition for the trade, who they supply, how to order, with a prominent enquiry CTA and a gated login for approved trade pricing. Why: this is the Phase 1 revenue engine.
Become a Stockist — short, frictionless enquiry form (business name, ABN, licence, volume, contact). Why: captures qualified trade leads.
Distributor Enquiry — separate, higher-consideration flow with more qualification fields.
Restaurant / Hospitality Partnerships — speaks the sommelier/venue language; offers tastings & staff education.
Wine Club / Membership — the Phase 2 recurring-revenue and first-party-data asset.
Journal — SEO + authority + storytelling engine (Section 7).
Gallery — visual immersion; reinforces premium identity.
Events — tastings, dinners, trade events; community + trust.
Media / Press — credibility (logos, coverage, press kit).
FAQ — shipping, age/ID, returns, club — reduces support load and friction.
Contact — trade vs consumer split; clear, human.
Age gate — site-entry 18+ confirmation (Section 2).
Checkout flow — minimal steps, trust signals (secure payment, licence number, delivery/ID info), no surprises. Premium = effortless.
Customer account area — orders, club management, allocations.
Wholesale login portal — gated trade pricing & reordering.
Legal pages — Privacy, Terms, Shipping/Returns, Liquor Licensing notice with licence number, Responsible Service statement.
Footer — refined: brand, short nav, stockists, club signup, social, legal, licence number, responsible-drinking line.

Conversion & UX principles: trust-building UX (press, stockists, reviews, secure-checkout cues), a clean B2C purchase flow, and a distinct B2B lead funnel (enquiry → qualification → trade login). Don't blend the two audiences into one muddled path.

06DESIGN / UI / UX DIRECTION

What makes a wine site feel premium vs cheap

Premium is created by restraint, space, and craft, not by adding more. The cheap signals are: clutter, too many fonts/colours, stocky generic photography, loud discount badges, slow load, and busy layouts. Premium signals are: generous white space, a tight type system, exceptional original photography, slow/elegant motion, and confident minimalism.

Recommended light premium direction

Palette: a warm off-white / bone / oat base (e.g. #FAF7F2), deep ink charcoal for text (not pure black, e.g. #1A1A1A), and one restrained accent drawn from the wine (a deep bordeaux #5A1A2B, or muted gold/brass #A6863F). Light, airy, editorial — perfect for a premium feel and easy to keep elegant.
Typography: a refined serif for headlines (e.g. Canela, Ogg, Cormorant, or licensed equivalents) paired with a clean neutral sans for body (e.g. Söhne, Neue Haas, Inter). One serif + one sans, used consistently. Type is the brand at this tier.
Layout/spacing: large margins, an 8-pt spacing system, big hero imagery, lots of breathing room, asymmetry used deliberately. Let images and single statements carry pages.
Motion: subtle fades and slow parallax only. No bouncy/gimmicky animation.
Conversion design: elegant but unmistakable CTAs (generous padding, calm accent colour), trust cues integrated tastefully, frictionless flows.

Inspiration & what to avoid

Look at how top boutique wineries and luxury spirits present online — full-bleed photography, sparse copy, editorial pacing, museum-like product pages. Avoid: carousel-heavy homepages, multiple competing CTAs, low-res or generic stock images, clashing fonts, aggressive pop-ups, and discount-led messaging. Any one of those instantly drops perceived value.

07CONTENT STRATEGY

Brand messaging & positioning

Lead with story and craft, not specs. Position the wine as the product of obsession and a closely held method — premium buyers pay for narrative and scarcity as much as liquid.

Communicating the "secret recipe" without revealing it

This is a feature, not a problem. Frame it as heritage, craft and discipline: "a method refined over [time], known only to [founder/family]," "a process we protect because it's the heart of what makes this wine ours." Talk about the effect (texture, balance, character) and the ritual/discipline behind it, never the formula. Mystery + craftsmanship = premium intrigue. Avoid making it sound gimmicky ("secret sauce") — keep it elegant and confident.

Homepage content framework (section-by-section)

Hero: one evocative line + brand name. (e.g. "Crafted in silence. Poured with intent.") — restrained, not salesy.
Essence (2–3 lines): who the brand is and why it exists.
The craft / the secret (teaser): intrigue + link to Craftsmanship.
Featured wine: hero product, short poetic note, CTA.
Proof: where it's stocked / poured / press.
For the trade: wholesale entry CTA.
Journal teaser + newsletter.

Product copy & tasting notes

Sensory, specific, restrained — evoke the experience, then give the technical facts (vintage, region, ABV, standard drinks, pairing). Tasting notes should read like a sommelier wrote them, not a spec sheet.

B2B / wholesale messaging

Speak the trade's language: margin, by-the-glass potential, story to tell customers, reliable supply, support (tastings, staff training, POS materials). The trade buys what will sell and what makes them look good — message to that.

CTA strategy

B2C: "Explore the wines," "Join the club," "Add to cart." B2B: "Become a stockist," "Request trade pricing," "Enquire about distribution." Keep one primary CTA per view.

SEO content strategy

Pillars: wine education (varietals, regions, how it's made), food pairing, the craft/behind-the-scenes, lifestyle/occasion, and local SEO (region + "wine," "where to buy premium [varietal]").
Blog ideas: "How to pair [your varietal] with Australian cuisine," "What makes a wine premium," "Inside the craft of [region] winemaking," "Decanting & serving guide," "Hosting a premium tasting at home."
Authority building: consistent journal publishing, schema markup, earned press/links, Google Business Profile, and getting cited by the venues/stockists that carry the wine.
Compliance note: keep all content free of health-benefit or excessive-consumption claims (mirrors Section 9/10 rules).

08PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO STRATEGY

Is professional photography required? Yes — non-negotiable for premium.

Photography is the single biggest driver of perceived value online. A premium price with amateur imagery reads as a contradiction and kills trust. This is where the brand is won or lost visually. Budget for it as a core launch cost, not an extra.

How premium wine brands do it

A focused 1–2 day studio + on-location shoot with a stylist, controlled lighting, and a clear shot list — producing a reusable library that feeds the website, social, ads, trade decks and PR for 12+ months.

Full photoshoot plan

Mood / direction: editorial, warm, light-and-airy with rich shadow contrast on the bottle; natural textures (linen, stone, timber, glass); restrained, intentional styling; consistent colour grade matching the brand palette.

Lighting style: soft directional natural-look light with a single key + negative fill for moody depth on hero bottle shots; clean diffused light for catalogue/product clarity.

Product photography — clean catalogue shots of each wine on seamless light backgrounds (front, angle, label detail); plus a hero "beauty" shot per wine. Props: minimal — bottle, maybe a single glass.
Lifestyle photography — the wine in elegant real-world settings (a set table, a hand pouring, a quiet moment). Props: linen, stoneware, fresh produce, candlelight. People must read as clearly 25+ (see Section 10).
Wine pour shots — slow-motion-feel stills of pouring; the "premium money shot." Controlled light, dark backdrop, rich liquid colour.
Food pairing photography — wine alongside complementary dishes, styled editorially.
Founder photography — authentic portraits in the production/working environment; the human trust anchor.
Hospitality / restaurant — the wine in a premium venue context (supports trade story).
Brand story photography — texture, place, process — barrels, vines, hands, tools; evocative not literal.
Behind-the-scenes — candid craft moments for social authenticity (without revealing the "secret").
Commercial hero images — a handful of full-bleed, ad/website hero-grade frames in brand colours with negative space for text.
Promotional videos — a 30–60s brand film + 6–10s vertical cutdowns for social/ads (pour shots, texture, founder VO). Shoot vertical (9:16) and horizontal in the same session.

Backgrounds: bone/oat/charcoal seamless for product; natural textured surfaces for lifestyle. Styling tips: fewer props, perfect each one, control reflections on glass, keep the label crisp and legible, grade everything to one consistent look.

09GOOGLE ADS STRATEGY

Is Google Ads suitable? Yes — with constraints.

Google allows alcohol advertising and Australia is on its list of approved locations for both alcohol-sale ads and brand/informational ads. The hard rules: never target under the legal drinking age, and only target approved locations — ads outside the approved list are disapproved. Helpfully, Google issues a warning at least 7 days before any account suspension for alcohol-policy violations rather than suspending immediately. Google also prohibits implying health, social, sexual, professional or athletic benefits from alcohol, and any depiction of excessive/irresponsible drinking.

Funnel & campaign structure

Phase 1 (B2B lead gen): Search campaigns on trade intent ("wine wholesale supplier [region]," "buy wine wholesale Australia," "premium wine distributor"), pointing to the wholesale/stockist enquiry landing page. B2B is lower volume but high value — Search + lead-gen, not Shopping.
Phase 2 (B2C): Branded Search (defend the name), non-brand Search on premium intent, Performance Max / Shopping for the wine range (feed-based), remarketing (Display/YouTube) to site visitors and journal readers, and YouTube for the brand film (awareness).
Account structure: separate campaigns by intent and audience (Brand / B2B-Trade / B2C-Search / Shopping-PMax / Remarketing). Tight ad groups; one theme each.

Budget, keywords, tracking

Budget: start lean and intent-led (defend brand + capture high-intent trade/consumer search) before scaling PMax/awareness. Spend follows proven conversion, not the other way around.
Negative keywords: "free wine," "cheap wine," "jobs," "courses," "how to make wine," competitor mis-targets, under-18/teen terms.
Landing pages: match the campaign (trade → wholesale enquiry; consumer → product/range). Fast, premium, with the age gate not blocking ad-quality signals.
Tracking: GA4 + Google Tag Manager, conversion tracking on enquiries, add-to-cart, purchase, and club signups; enhanced conversions; CRM import for offline trade-deal value. Consent mode for privacy compliance.
Remarketing funnel: site visitors → product viewers → cart abandoners → past buyers (each with tailored messaging), excluding recent converters.

10META (FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM) MARKETING

Meta's alcohol rules

Meta permits alcohol ads but they must comply with all applicable local laws and established industry codes, licences and approvals, and include age and country targeting consistent with the law — at a minimum, ads may not target people under 18. Meta defers heavily to local law and codes, which in Australia means the ABAC Responsible Alcohol Marketing Code applies on top.

The Australian ABAC overlay (this is where brands get caught)

No one who is, or appears to be, under 25 should feature in alcohol marketing — unless they are not paid and appear in a genuinely adult-only setting. This is stricter than Meta's 18+ floor and is the rule most commonly breached. Casting and lifestyle imagery must read as clearly 25+.
Australian self-regulation since 2017 also expects brands to activate age-restriction controls on their social accounts/content (restrict to 18+).
No content encouraging heavy/excessive drinking; no linking alcohol to social, sexual or professional success; no alcohol + driving/machinery/risk activities; no therapeutic/mood-enhancer claims.
IAB Australia's 2025 ABAC guidance for digital also expects influencers to be 25+ with clear branded-content disclosure.

Compliant vs risky (examples)

✅ Compliant: "Discover our [vintage]. Crafted in [region]. Enjoy responsibly. 18+" with a 25+ adult in an elegant dinner setting; audience set to 18+ (effectively target older), Australia only.
❌ Rejected/risky: youthful-looking models, party/binge imagery, "drink this to unwind/relax/feel confident" (mood/benefit claim), "a glass a day is good for you" (health claim), price-led "get smashed" tone, or any targeting that could reach under-18s.
Safe wording: "Enjoy responsibly," "Pair with…," "Crafted for…," "18+." Risky wording: anything implying intoxication, health, escape, social/sexual success.

How agencies avoid Meta bans for alcohol brands

Set age targeting to 18+ (skew older), country = Australia only, activate account-level age restriction, keep creative ABAC-compliant (25+ talent, no benefit/excess claims), get client written sign-off on every creative, warm up the ad account, and keep a separate, clean Business Manager. Treat rejections as normal — build approval lead time in.

Campaign ideas

Luxury brand awareness (the brand film), B2B/wholesale lead-gen (lead forms to trade enquiry, targeting hospitality/retail job titles & interests where permitted), retargeting site engagers, and hospitality lead generation (partner/venue outreach).

1190-DAY SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

Content pillars: ① Wine education ② Behind-the-scenes craft ③ Founder story ④ The "secret" craftsmanship (intrigue, never the formula) ⑤ Food pairing ⑥ Hospitality/where-it's-poured ⑦ Premium lifestyle ⑧ Customer/trade trust & social proof ⑨ Restaurant partnerships ⑩ Launch moments.

Cadence: ~4–5 feed posts/week + 3–5 stories/week + 2–3 reels/week. Quality over volume — premium brands post less, better.

Month 1 — Establish (brand & craft): founder intro, brand-story carousel, signature pour reel, "what makes a wine premium," first stockist announcements, behind-the-scenes texture. Goal: identity + intrigue.
Month 2 — Educate & socialise (trust & pairing): food-pairing series, tasting-note explainers, venue/stockist features, UGC from early trade partners, a tasting event teaser. Goal: authority + proof.
Month 3 — Convert & community (club & launch): wine-club launch, member perks, founder Q&A, limited allocation drop, press/awards if any, customer features. Goal: direct demand + retention.

Reel ideas: the slow pour; label/packaging detail macro; founder one-line philosophy; "3 ways to pair"; behind-the-scenes craft (discreet). Story ideas: polls, "this or that" pairings, stockist tags, countdowns, day-in-the-life. UGC/influencer: partner with 25+ food/wine creators with clear paid disclosure and ABAC-compliant content; encourage tagged customer posts. Always: 18+ account controls, "enjoy responsibly," 25+ talent.

12EMAIL & AUTOMATION STRATEGY

Stack: Klaviyo for DTC ecommerce flows (best-in-class segmentation + Woo integration) or FluentCRM if data-ownership/cost is the priority; HubSpot for the B2B trade pipeline (deal stages, follow-ups). Keep consumer and trade lists/segments separate.

Core automations: - Welcome / launch flow: brand story → craft → featured wine → soft CTA (and "where to find us" early on, before DTC). - Wine club: onboarding, allocation notifications, renewal, win-back. - Wholesale: trade enquiry → auto-acknowledge → sales follow-up sequence → reorder reminders → "new vintage" trade alerts. - Abandoned cart: 3-touch flow (reminder → value/story → gentle urgency), high value per recovery. - Post-purchase: thank you → how to serve/pair → review request → replenishment/club invite. - Retention/VIP: segment top buyers, early allocation access, member-only events.

All emails: 18+ list practices, "enjoy responsibly," and no health/benefit claims.

13IMPLEMENTATION ROADMAP (execution-ready)

A realistic premium launch is ~12–16 weeks to a polished Phase-1 (trade) site, then marketing layers on. Below is a workable agency plan; the licence and compliance gate blocks any transacting launch until cleared.

Weeks 1–2 — Discovery & Compliance Gate Kickoff, brand workshop, audience/competitor research, licensing & compliance collection (sight licence, ABN, WET/GST confirmation), scope & contract signed, tech & hosting decisions.

Weeks 3–4 — Brand & Content Foundation Brand identity direction, messaging/positioning, copy framework, sitemap & wireframes sign-off, content plan, photography brief.

Weeks 5–6 — Photography & Design Photo/video shoot (Section 8), homepage + key template designs, design system (type, colour, components), client review.

Weeks 7–10 — Development WordPress/WooCommerce build, theme/templates, product pages, wholesale gated portal + enquiry funnels, age gate, legal pages + licence number, payments/shipping, CRM/email integration, GA4 + GTM.

Weeks 11–12 — Content Load, Testing & QA Populate wines/journal/imagery, SEO setup (Rank Math, schema, sitemaps), speed/security pass, cross-device + checkout testing, compliance pre-launch checklist, client written sign-off.

Weeks 13–14 — Launch (Phase 1: Trade) Soft launch, stockist/distributor outreach support, Google Business Profile, monitoring & fixes.

Weeks 15–20 — Marketing Activation SEO content cadence, social channels live (18+/ABAC), email flows activated, Google Ads (brand + trade lead-gen) and Meta (brand + lead-gen) launched with client-approved creative, conversion tracking validated.

Phase 2/3 (Month 4+) — DTC ecommerce + age/ID-on-delivery, wine club/subscriptions, full paid scaling, remarketing funnels, distributor/interstate expansion.

Final note for SquidPulse

The two things that protect the agency and make this project succeed: (1) get the compliance gate and contract right before building anything that transacts, and (2) sell this brand on story, craft and scarcity — not price. Everything else in this plan supports those two pillars.

This document contains general regulatory information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm licensing with Liquor & Gaming NSW and tax with the ATO or your accountant before relying on it.