Intangible assets

The intangible assets of a company are the goods of immaterial nature that it owns such as the know-how, the relations with clients, the operative processes etc… The intangible assets of the Domaine Château Baron de la Voile can be divided in 4 different fields :

• Grapes and lands know-how represent all the knowledge and science about how to take care of grapes and lands in order for them to grow well and to be of the best possible quality. Thus they involve both general agricultural knowledge and more specific understanding of grapes. For instance, at the Domaine Château Baron de la Voile, the winegrower should be able to deal with the different weather conditions and with natural fertilizer in order to have wines of equal quality every year and also to maintain its production level.

• Winemaking know-how and production processes concern all the knowledge involved in the winemaking process. They involve all the steps from the collection of the grapes to the sale of the final bottle of wine. Thus they are dealing with an understanding of the wine-making machines to produce quality wines but also skills in operation management in order to produce all bottles on time.

• International importers portfolio: 60% of the wine production of the Domaine Château Baron de la Voile is aimed to be exported internationally. The main customers abroad are small reputed wine merchants and fine or gastronomic restaurants. Thus the vineyard needs to have importers that will be able to present and sell its wines well by demonstrating their good quality, their nice tastes and what kind of meals they can perfect. In addition, the vineyard needs to be ensure of the reliability of the importer, as its sales abroad depend on them. Finally it also needs to have an extensive network of importers, on one hand to extend its sales and on the other hand to have some backup importers if one of them decides not to sell its wines anymore. At the moment, the Domaine Château Baron de la Voile is working with more than 75 importers situated in 23 different countries.

• International reputation: the wines produced by the Domaine Château Baron de la Voile benefits from a good reputation, both in France and around the world. This good reputation is based on the quality of the wines which is recognized by many wine experts and specialized magazines. For example, Château Baron de la Voile wines already had good reviews in the French national newspaper Le Monde, in the european wine magazine Vinum (based in Switzerland) and even in the wine section of The Times.  Some of the wines have also won awards at the Wine Challenge USA in Miami in 2012. Thus, the vineyard has built a network of media that helps with the promotions and the sales of its products.