Mission

Hi, my name is Andrew Browne and  my mission is to create a business that disrupts the wine industry by delivering brilliant sustainably produced wine at wholesale prices, direct from great Australian vineyards via online channels passing on huge savings. 

I need your help to fund my first large scale production run, to enable me to deliver the best discounts to you. Producing wine at this scale will ensure I can pass on the best prices, which is the model for my business going forward.

I grew up in a vineyard and winery, and now I have decided it is time to take a big risk and start my own business based on everything i have learnt in the past few decades. Combining a passion for sustainable agriculture, quality wine production and an efficient distribution model I believe I can deliver brilliant wine at the most cost effective prices. I will deliver directly to consumers via membership or online trade partners, cutting out wholesalers and bricks and mortar retail enabling me to offer these great wines at terrific prices. I will reduce costs further by reducing logistics double handling and eliminating sales reps driving around in cars all day (and indeed eliminate you from driving to the retail outlet) which adds such huge costs in the traditional wine distribution model and pumps so much harmful gas into the atmosphere. The more links I can cut from the supply chain, the better prices I can offer our customers and the more we all reduce harmful gas emissions. I think this is an environmentally responsible business model for the future of our industry. Further, with the big retailers owning a lot of their own brands, and Amazon coming to Australia, cutting costs in this way is the only model that i think will survive.

My aspiration is to build Epic Negociants into a sustainable Australian wine brand for the future, educating and engaging consumers in Australia’s wine history and culture. Dreams all start somewhere.

The Vineyards

I will select the best grapes from the best growers that are sustainably grown in the same iconic vineyards that Australia's biggest and best wine brands use such as Penfolds, which i have access to given i have been building relationships in the wine industy for 20+ years. And the grapes must be sustainably grown, as i have seen too many examples of agriculture and commerce having a hugely detrimental effect on the environment, such as the garbage patches of up to  700,000 square kilometres that litter our oceans. I want to make sure any business i am involved in doesn't compromise the natural beauty and environment that we are so lucky to live in. 

Membership Model

If I  can reach my crowdfund target, I will be able to negotiate  with growers directly, and thus start building the business into the future. Moving forward the core business will be run on a membership basis, with members investing $30 into their piggy bank monthly, which can be spent at my online shop anytime. This will allow me to hunt for the most brilliant and sustainable wine from iconic vineyards, and then use the members collective bargaining power to negotiate directly with growers, and then deliver direct from our winery and passing on huge savings (30-50% off) to members. All with a 100% money back guarantee and a donation to my friends at The Ocean Cleanup who develop advanced technologies to rid the world's oceans of plastic rubbish. 

NO RISK. ALL REWARD!

What Rewards You Get

I need your help to fund our first large scale production run to enable me to deliver the best discounts to you. Producing wine at this scale will ensure I can pass on the best prices, which is the model for the business going forward . The rewards offered are detailed below to help kickstart the membership base. Initially I have produced three small test run wines for these crowdfunded rewards. The Rose is biodynamically grown, the Cabernet and Shiraz have Sustainability Australian Winegrower accreditation. All wines have been reviewed by press with scores of 93, 94 and 94 respectively which is a great start to the venture and as we offer a 100% money back guarantee, you really have nothing to lose by funding this. 

$25       - A Christmas Voucher to spend in our online store at www.epicnegociants.com 

$50        - Supporter 2 Pack- 2 bottles of Epic Negociants Rose, Cabernet or Shiraz

$89        - Early Bird Supporter 6 Pack- 6 bottles of Rose, Cabernet or Shiraz at 35% off, plus 3 months free membership

$99        - Supporter 6 Pack- 6 bottles of Rose, Cabernet or Shiraz at 30% off

$175      -Supporter 12 Pack- 12 bottles of Rose, Cabernet or Shiraz at 30% off, plus 3 months free membership

$390      -36 bottles of Wine at 35% Discount, plus 6 months free membership

$500      - Tasting session with 'International Winemaker of the Year'

$4,500   - 1 barrel of wine (300 Bottles) at 35% Discount + 5 x 3 months Free Memberships (get some friends together and have your own label printed.

$10,000 - Domestic trade package

$10,000 - Export trade package

$25,000  - EPIC Wine Experience, including:

           - Equivalent of 100 dozen bottles of super premium wine

           - Domestic flights to Adelaide for 2 people

           - Transport during your stay

           - Luxury accommodation for 2 nights

           - Restaurant bookings for 2 evenings

Below are the details of the Membership model, the discounts for which really only work with scale, so we need your support!

The Founder

Epic Negociants was founded by me, Andrew Browne,  in 2017 after an extensive career in the Australian and international wine markets since 1998. Passing the WSET Level 4 Diploma in 1999 under the tutelage of a Master of Wine, I experienced the world of fine wine at the highest level in Europe. My parents founded Scotchmans Hill, in Geelong Victoria where we grew up in the vineyard and winery and I returned to help build Scotchmans Hill into an internationally recognized wine brand.

Later I joined Phil Sexton, founder of Matilda Bay Brewing, Devils Lair (Margaret River), Little Creatures Brewing, Giant Steps and Innocent Bystander (Yarra Valley) as the GM of Trade Sales extending distribution of the Innocent Bystander and Giant Steps wine brands in Australian and international markets, leveraging brand equity into new categories and innovative new formats.

I have spent time with the Brown family at All Saints Estate developing a sales and marketing strategy for the iconic museum fortified wines before conceiving the idea for Epic Negociants.

Having spent so much time in the industry and seeing the evolution of digital technology I have decided to take a fair ris, be an Aussie and ‘give it a go’ combining my experiences over the last few decades with my passion for sustainability, quality wine production, technology and an efficient distribution midel (direct to consumer). Exciting times!

What is a Negociant?

It is a traditional French term for a merchant who buys in grapes asnd wine from growers to sell under his or her own brand. It is the most common business model for winemakers as owning all the vineyards required to produce the volume is extremely expensive. So we grow some fruit in our vineyards and we buy fruit from sustainable growers who we negotiate with. Well-known negociants include Penfolds, Wolf Blass, Maison Louis Jadot, Joseph Drouhin and Vincent Girardin in Burgundy,  Georges Duboeuf and in Beaujolais, Jean-Luc Colombo, Mirabeau in Provence, and Paul Jaboulet Aine in the Rhône and hopefully with your help Epic Negociants in Australia.

Sustainability

We have all seen too many examples of agriculture and commerce having a hugely detrimental effect on the environment, such as the garbage patches of up to 700,000 square kilometres that litter our oceans. I want to make sure any business i am involved in doesn't compromise the natural beauty and environment of Australia that we are so lucky to live in. And thankfully there is an abundance of excellent sustainable grapes grown in Australia, so i can afford to be picky to find only the best grapes from vineyards that have Sustainable Australia Winegrowing, Organic or Biodynamic accreditation. The packaging will be fully recyclable, glass, tin & paper.  All operations will be online, and avoid the use of paper printing, and delivering direct from the winery to customers reduces the carbon footprint of the supply chain.  These accreditations and approach combine to produce wines which represent iconic Australian vineyards at the highest quality level. To further this cause, I have partnered with The Ocean Cleanup, by committing to providing 5% of profits to their great cause. The Ocean Cleanup develops advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. A full-scale deployment of their systems is estimated to clean up 50 % of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 5 years. Read more below

Wine Quality: International Winemaker of the Year

Given i have been involved in the industry for 20+ years, i have been able to convince an International Winemaker of the Year to work with us. With more than 30 years' experience and a 70-year family winemaking history, our winemarker has been awarded International Winemaker of the Year for a record 4 times, most recently in 2016 at the prestigious International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC) in London . Wines that he has crafted  on behalf of clients like me have been awarded over 60 trophies. Ours will hopefully be the next one!

Giving Back- The Ocean Cleanup

To further this cause, I have partnered with The Ocean Cleanup, by committing to providing 5% of profits to their great cause. The Ocean Cleanup develops advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. A full-scale deployment of their systems is estimated to clean up 50 % of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 5 years.

Whilst cleanup using conventional methods - vessels and nets - would take thousands of years and tens of billions of dollars to complete, The Ocean Cleanup have designed a passive system  that could theoretically remove about half the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 10 years. Whilst the project is far from simple,  by carefully scaling up and working with world-renown offshore companies (such as SBM Offshore, Heerema and Boskalis) and institutes (including IMARES, Deltares and MARIN), The Ocean Cleanup believe initiating the cleanup by 2020 is achievable. Join mein supporting this incredible initiative, and you can read more at https://www.theoceancleanup.com 

Get in touch

Please don't hesitate to get in touch. 

See what I get up to with Epic Negociants on the Internet,  Facebook & Twitter

For all questions and any enquiries, call Andrew on 0497 066 200 or email [email protected]

 
And if you like the sound of the business,  please like my Facebookpage so you can stay in touch.

Legals

Epic Negociants supports the Responsible Service of Alcohol. WARNING: Under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 it is an offence: To supply alcohol to a person under the age of 18 years (Penalty exceeds $17,000); For a person under the age of 18 years to purchase or receive liquor (Penalty exceeds $700). Epic Negociants Pty Ltd Liquor Licence No. 50819580

How will we use these funds?

I need your help to fund my first large scale production run, to enable me to deliver the best discounts to you. Producing wine at this scale will ensure I can pass on the best prices,  which is the model for the business going forward.

So all funds raised from the sale of these 3 test runs will go towards reaching an economical production volume for us to scale up.

The main challenge is around scale - I need to produce larger volumes to get better prices, hence the reason for this crowd funding campaign, as well as the membership model moving forward.