The podcast that's interested in everything drinks. If you can drink it, sell it, and make money from it, we'll talk about it, though we're (mostly) fascinated by beverage alcohol. It's all about the intersection of drinks and commerce.
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The podcast that's interested in everything drinks. If you can drink it, sell it, and make money from it, we'll talk about it, though we're (mostly) fascinated by beverage alcohol. It's all about the intersection of drinks and commerce.
Ep 29: How Daniel Rodriguez Raised $1.4M to Launch a Disruptive Wine Brand in an Aluminium Bottle
Drinks Insider
59 minutes 4 seconds
5 months ago
Ep 29: How Daniel Rodriguez Raised $1.4M to Launch a Disruptive Wine Brand in an Aluminium Bottle
What kind of founder quits a high-paying tech job to launch a single-SKU wine brand in an unfamiliar package — and manages to raise $1.4 million to do it?
In this episode, Felicity talks to Daniel Rodriguez, founder of Currently Wine Co., a Sauvignon Blanc from California’s Central Coast packaged in an aluminium bottle. The packaging isn’t just a gimmick: it’s core to the bigger mission of lowering the carbon footprint of wine while supporting nearshore environmental projects, from oyster bed regeneration to coral reef restoration.
Daniel explains how he:
Raised nearly $1 million from friends and former colleagues in a friends-and-family round
Opened up a second round via crowdfunding to let everyday consumers invest
Acquired the assets of ProudPour and turned them into a more focused brand
Solved the technical nightmare of bottling wine in aluminium with a closure nobody had standardised
Chose to launch with just one wine, in one region, despite distributor pressure to go wide
We also cover:
Why distribution is the biggest bottleneck for new wine brands
The branding lessons he brought over from tech (and why wine needs to catch up)
The rigorous taste-testing process behind the wine itself—and why he scrapped several early blends
Whether you're a founder, investor, distributor, or just curious about how wine brands actually get built, this is a rare, nuts-and-bolts conversation about what it really takes to launch something new in a saturated market.
Mentioned in this episode:
Currently Wine
Republic (crowdfunding platform)
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Meet your host:
Felicity Carter is an award-winning wine and drinks journalist, editor, speaker trainer and content strategist. She led Meininger’s Wine Business International to become the world’s most must-read wine trade magazine, and was founding Executive Editor of The Drop/Pix, which the Wall Street Journal named one of the most trusted sources of wine information. A regular keynote speaker at international events, she was named a 2024 Industry Leader by WineBusiness Monthly.
Drinks Insider
The podcast that's interested in everything drinks. If you can drink it, sell it, and make money from it, we'll talk about it, though we're (mostly) fascinated by beverage alcohol. It's all about the intersection of drinks and commerce.
