Winery branding, the future of agencies and what wineries are getting wrong on young generations with Christophe Kaczmarek

Summary

In this episode of Dolia Talks, host Giovanni Binello speaks with Christophe Kaczmarek, founder of the Coq au Vin export agency and creator of the bold natural wine brand Caaaaaaat, about what it really takes to sell and build wine brands today. Christophe traces his path from knowing nothing about wine to learning through mentors, working export roles, and ultimately launching his agency after moving to New Zealand, stressing persistence over “magic ideas”. He explains how Caaaaaaat became his uncompromising creative “lab” (with seven As partly to avoid trademark issues), why striking labels and clear shelf impact matter, and how his colourful, political aesthetic naturally attracts under-35s and many women, segments he believes the trade routinely misunderstands. A major theme is that distributors and intermediaries often lag behind cultural shifts, yet Christophe argues intermediation remains valuable when it genuinely creates value for both producers and buyers, and that the market’s squeezed “middle” is suffering most in the current economic cycle. Looking ahead, he highlights direct-to-consumer and hybrid, experience-led models (events, bars/shops, broader product mixes) as increasingly important, urging the industry to complain less, get more business-minded, and meet consumers where they are rather than clinging to the past.