successful wine and spirits pr campaigns overview explained
Spirits brands win PR coverage through storytelling, origin narratives, and cultural relevance instead of health or lifestyle claims, which alcohol advertising rules restrict. The six strategies below, four from spirits brands, one from a wine producer, and one celebrity-founder case, show how brands built lasting category position through community relationships and education instead of paid reach.
Updated October 2026.
Why does PR carry more weight than advertising for spirits brands?
PR carries more weight for spirits brands because the rules narrow what paid advertising can do. The DISCUS code says spirits ads should run only where at least 73.8% of the audience is expected to be 21 or older, health-claim limits apply, and ad platforms add their own alcohol policies. Those limits push budget toward earned media, sampling, and community relationships, the channels PR runs directly.
EPR's reading is that PR done well in this category delivers four outcomes: awareness on a crowded shelf, consumer education that supports premium pricing, faster containment when a crisis or recall hits, and access to creators and sommeliers that paid media cannot reach on its own.
How did Tito's Handmade Vodka win without national advertising?
Tito's Handmade Vodka won by building its communications around one fact: the vodka was handmade in Austin, Texas, while rivals such as Absolut, Grey Goose, and Smirnoff were imported or mass produced. Founder Bert Beveridge kept that story consistent across local media, festivals, and tastings.
The result is measurable. Tito's became the best-selling spirit in the U.S. in 2019, according to IWSR figures reported by The Spirits Business, and it sold 11.85 million cases in 2025, according to Vinetur. EPR compares its approach with Absolut's in Absolut Clarity.
Why it works: local media relationships, festival sampling, and tastings with regional chefs let Tito's build trust that regulation would not let it buy through a health or lifestyle claim.
How did Jackson Family Wines reposition Chardonnay as a serious wine?
Jackson Family Wines has worked to reverse Chardonnay's reputation as an oaky, overly sweet pour, positioning the varietal instead as complex and food-versatile. The program combines educational content on production technique with tastings and partnerships with sommeliers and wine-focused creators.
Why it works: a sommelier or creator explaining technical production detail carries more trust with a wine drinker than the same claim in the brand's own copy. The technical message travels through a source the audience already trusts.
How does José Cuervo tie the Margarita to Mexican heritage?
José Cuervo keeps its flagship Margarita positioning relevant by tying the cocktail to Mexican culture and tradition rather than competing on price or novelty, in a tequila market crowded with celebrity-founded entrants. The program combines user-generated content, a branded hashtag inviting consumers to share their own margarita moments, and sponsorship of music festivals and culinary showcases tied to that heritage.
Why it works: a cultural anchor gives the brand a story competitors cannot copy overnight. A price promotion is easy to match. A long documented cultural association is not.
How does Glenfiddich sell the whisky-making process, not just the pour?
Glenfiddich sells the whisky-making process through virtual distillery tours, expert-led tastings, and digital content on the brand's history and craftsmanship, amplified through whisky experts and lifestyle creators.
Why it works: a consumer who understands how the whisky is made extends more trust to a premium price than a consumer who only sees a discount offer. Education is the substitute for the health or lifestyle claim regulation will not allow.
How did Johnnie Walker widen who whisky is marketed to?
Johnnie Walker has worked to broaden whisky's appeal past the category's traditional image, using messaging and creator partnerships that show a deliberately wide range of people sharing personal whisky stories across social platforms.
Why it works: widening the visible audience for a product widens the addressable market for it. A brand that only shows one type of drinker limits its own growth ceiling before a single ad runs.
Do celebrity-founded spirits brands actually work?
Some do at scale, and most do not. George Clooney's Casamigos sold to Diageo in a deal worth up to $1 billion, according to Diageo's SEC filing, and Kendall Jenner's 818 Tequila launched in 2021. EPR covers the first in Casamigos and the premium tequila era and the second in its 818 Tequila profile.
Why it works: Casamigos began as a tequila Clooney and Gerber made for their own use at neighboring homes in Cabo San Lucas, according to NPR. That origin is a stronger story than a licensing deal signed after the fact. EPR's reading is that a celebrity brand launched on name recognition alone is the more common outcome and the one that struggles to scale distribution.
What do these spirits PR campaigns share?
Element
Purpose
Example
Authenticity and storytelling
Builds trust regulation will not let a health claim build
Tito's Austin origin story
Consumer engagement
Turns one campaign into a lasting community
José Cuervo's user-generated margarita content
Educational content
Justifies premium pricing through category literacy
Glenfiddich's distillery tours; Jackson Family's Chardonnay reframe
Influencer and expert partnerships
Borrows credibility paid media cannot buy
Sommelier and whisky expert amplification
Multi-platform presence
Reaches audiences paid alcohol ad restrictions limit
Festival sponsorship, social, and traditional press together
What makes spirits PR different from other consumer PR?
Health-claim limits and the DISCUS code's 73.8% adult-audience placement standard narrow what spirits brands can do in paid advertising, and ad platforms add their own alcohol policies. That pushes the category toward earned media, sampling, and community relationships, channels PR runs directly.
Why did Tito's Handmade Vodka succeed without national advertising?
Tito's built its program around a verifiable origin story, handmade production in Austin, Texas, and community-first tactics: local media relationships, festival sampling, and tastings with regional chefs. It became the best-selling spirit in the U.S. in 2019, according to IWSR figures reported by The Spirits Business.
Do celebrity-founded spirits brands actually work?
Some do at scale, most do not. Casamigos sold to Diageo in a deal worth up to $1 billion, according to Diageo's SEC filing, and it began as a tequila its founders made for their own use. EPR's reading is that a celebrity brand launched on name recognition alone usually fails to scale distribution.
How does educational content help a spirits brand justify premium pricing?
Consumers who understand how a product is made, including distillation method, aging process, and ingredient sourcing, extend more trust to a premium price than consumers who only see a discount promotion. Glenfiddich's distillery tours and Jackson Family Wines' Chardonnay technique content both use this mechanism directly.
Written by
Ronn Torossian
Ronn Torossian is the founder and chairman of 5W AI Communications, which he launched in 2003. The firm combines public relations, digital marketing, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and AI-visibility research for B2C and B2B clients in beauty, technology, entertainment, corporate reputation and crisis communications. 5W is an Inc. 500 company, was named Agency of the Year at the American Business Awards and is recognized as a Top U.S. PR Agency by O'Dwyer's.
