(Wines&Vines) - Improving packaging can have a big impact on a winery’s success, as described by Melissa Phillips Stroud, the vice president of sales and marketing at Michael David Winery, and director of marketing Mike Stroh at the third annual Wines & Vines Packaging Conference held Aug. 17 at the Lincoln Theater in Yountville. 

Named after brothers Michael and David Phillips, Michael David Winery created a huge hit with 7 Deadly Zins, a Zinfandel originally made from seven vineyards in Lodi. The wine helped put Michael David Winery and its home Lodi on the national wine map. Introduced in 2002 with 700 cases of the 2000 vintage, 7 Deadly Zins was named one of the Top 10 Hottest Brands in 2004 by Wine Business Monthly, and grew to more than 250,000 cases annually in its first 10 years. But it hit a plateau before a relaunch and package redesign that projected it to 16% growth in 2015 sales. 

It was named an Impact Hot Brand in 2016, and 7 Deadly Zins is now America’s No. 1 Zinfandel by dollar sales, Stroh said. 

Along with sharpening the 7 Zins image, the winery also created a family of wines and used branding to tie them all together as part of the Michael David Winery portfolio. Its brands in order created include 7 Deadly Zins, Earthquake, 6th Sense, Petite Petit, Inkblot, Freakshow and (for the more classic offerings) Michael David Winery. 

A long-time Lodi family 

Michael and David Phillips are the fifth generation of Lodi growers in the family. They established the winery in 1984 after years of growing grapes. Michael David was one of the original seven wineries of the Lodi appellation, which was little known or respected at the time. 

Today the winery has extended itself to the sixth generation of growers, with Michael’s son Kevin Phillips and daughter Melissa Phillips Stroud now overseeing day-to-day operations at the winery. They are producing nearly 800,000 cases in 2016 and expect to pass 1 million cases in 2017. They make 30 varietal and individual blends each vintage and market more than 40 SKUs.