Ritzling Bottled happiness
With a passion for the ‘under-appreciated’ Riesling, Chris Archer wanted to make a Riesling that’s more accessible and attractive to consumers, so he came up with Ritzling - bottled happiness.
As a winemaker for the past twenty years, Chris Archer set off to found his own wine company Archer McRae in 2009.
With a passion for the ‘under-appreciated’ Riesling, Archer wanted to make a Riesling that’s more accessible and attractive to consumers. "Neil McCullum, founder of Dry River said I was crazy to make a Riesling as my first vintage" says Archer “but it’s always been a passion.”
Two styles of Riesling were created - one a premium dry style and the other a sparkling called , the latter receiving unprecedented attention from consumers.
Archer’s creation Ritzling, is made through the fruit of Riesling vines and is created to support consumer desires. Archer describes Ritzling as “bottled happiness", a, pure, lively drink, lovely with a wedge of lime and conveniently packaged in a 250ml bottle that is beautiful, sophisticated and 100% natural.
Inspired to move wine into the lifestyle beverage market, Archer wanted to create something that tastes great, is perfect for mobile socialising, versatile with other ingredients and has a strong brand culture. The bottle alone sets it apart from other RTD and wine bottles with semi-gothic images of exotic birds, beasts and butterflies. "Ritzling has broken every rule. It pushes the limitations of the wine industry and structure. Breaking away from convention and tradition always has constant roadblocks. We’ve had good practice at dodging, outpacing or just smashing problems” says Archer.
Already stocked in various places around Wellington like Moore Wilsons, On-Trays, Monsoon Poon, Pravda and St Johns, Archer has much bigger plans for ‘the land of Ritzling’. Archer’s ultimate aim is for Ritzling to be a global beverage. “We're going to take this around the world, making versions in Australia, Germany and Austria with their local Riesling fruit," says Archer.
Archer has some sound advice for others thinking of starting a business or launching a new product. “Set an end goal, align your strategies, build the right team, accurately assess your market and differentiate from your competitors”, says Archer. “You need to start with people and know what your consumers want, how badly they want it and how big the opportunity is. Obstacles are a daily occurrence when you've chosen not to follow the well-trodden industry model.”
Ritzling is a part of Creative HQ, the business incubator subsidiary of Grow Wellington. “To get the proper foundations for your business developed is key. Creative HQ has helped us with this. Grow Wellington has been accessible and friendly with the support they offer. I’d recommend them to any new business”, says Archer.
Archer is working on the next phase of Ritzling – taking it offshore and making it ‘a global beverage’- Onward the Ritzolution.