Second Time Lucky? Copa di Vino Returns To Shark Tank

by: Wine of the Month Clubs Member -

Slide 1: 2005 Apex Merlot Columbia Valley A beautiful dark ruby color in the glass, this Merlot radiates the varietal fruit that has made this grape a Washington standout. The bright cherry is highlighted by oak spice filling the nose, while mouth- filling flavors coat the palate. Round, supple tannins make this wine instantly consumable.
Slide 2: 2006 Heron Merlot California To balance the lush, ripe California fruit with just the right amount of oak, they fermented and aged this wine in a combination of stainless steel and new and used French barrels. This allowed the true character of both the vineyards and varietal to shine through. Look for red and black cherries, dark plum, a touch of vanilla, and soft tannins.
Slide 3: 2006 Rombauer Merlot Napa Valley Deliciously rich and concentrated. It has layers of black cherry, plum, clove, and cinnamon in both the aroma and flavor. The wine has a long finish of cherry and plum with a light vanilla note from oak aging. Supple tannins add to the wine's character.
Slide 4: 2006 Terra Blanca Merlot Dusty tones of black cherry and toasted oak intermingle on the nose. Velvety layers of ripe blueberry and blackberry are framed by earthy layers of soft tannins. Dried cherries and light smoke notes melt with soft clove on the extensive balanced finish
Slide 5: 2007 Castle Rock Merlot Napa This elegant wine has a deep ruby color and velvety textures. The complex flavors of blackberries, cocoa, spice, with wood notes of sweet French oak along with hints of cedar unite to form a long, smooth, harmonious finish.
Slide 6: 2007 Fidelitas Merlot Columbia Valley Aromas of red cherry, strawberry, bramble and dried herbs fill the glass, while the palate is more intense and concentrated with darker cherry and currant tones surrounded by cocoa, allspice and cedar. The palate is lush and pretty with fine grained tannins, and great aging potential. Drink now through 2017.
Slide 7: 2007 Sagelands Merlot Columbia Valley Bright garnet-color Merlot displays a vibrant nose of ripe Bing cherry and mixed berries with notes of violet and cocoa. Sagelands Vineyard is one of only a handful of Washington State wineries that blends the five classic red Bordeaux varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon with small amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.
Slide 8: 2007 Stag's Leap Merlot Napa Valley This wine’s richness and depth of flavor is announced in a bouquet of cherries and blackberry pie interwoven with violets and allspice. In the mouth the layers of flavor unfold both vertically and horizontally, with overtones of toffee and spice playing off the main notes of cherries and cassis as fine tannins carry the flavor array through the velvety finish.
Slide 9: 2007 Wild Horse Merlot Another exceptional year for Merlot. The wine is reminiscent of the 2001 vintage, with bright, intense aromas of red plum and Bing cherry. On the palate, flavors are dominated by cherry, mocha, and cedar, while the firm mid-palate structure will soften as the year progresses.
Slide 10: 2007 Wineglass Cellars Merlot A nose of raspberries and pepper, big spicy cherry middle, with hints of licorice and a long, creamy finish. Balanced and exquisite. The long tradition continues. Silver Medal Washington State Wine Competition.
Slide 11: 2007 Woodward Canyon Merlot Deep red color, ripe bing cherry, and subtle chocolate mocha flavors. Vanilla spice and cream notes from new barrels is noticeable, but not over the top, and the finish is long and generous. With proper cellaring this wine should be enjoyable for six to eight years.
Slide 12: 2008 Charles Krug Merlot Napa Valley This wine is aged for 17 months in small French oak barrels and expresses wild berry and blueberry aromas, with a touch of roasted pecans. An artful blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot compose this balanced wine giving it a chewy texture and an intense yet lengthy finish. Enjoy this wine with dishes such as beef ribs and grilled salmon.
Slide 13: 2008 Sebastiani Merlot Sonoma Valley The aromas consist of blueberry and black cherry fruit with elements of vanilla and char from the barrels. Vanilla and mocha flavors coupled with “bigger” jammier fruit are framed by solid tannins and acidity.
Slide 14: 2009 Barnard Griffin Merlot This Merlot is very deep and rich. The aromas of black current and blackberries are predominant with a hint of toasted oak. This Merlot is big and massive in the glass. This wine drinks great now and has some punch worthy of 8-10 years aging.
Slide 15: 2009 Bonterra Merlot Organic Bonterra Merlot Organic 2009 offers a dry, vaguely woodsy spice. Its narrow finish is said to be accented with a touch of greenness.
Slide 16: 2009 Nelms Road Merlot Flavors of ripe cherries and other red fruits marry nicely with spice and vanilla from French and American barrels.
Slide 17: 2009 Three Rivers Merlot Columbia Valley A beautifully balanced wine. Cocoa, black cherry and vanilla are among the many characteristics that typify this Merlot. This complex wine is very approachable now but will continue to develop with age. The fruit is sourced from six different vineyards from throughout the Columbia Valley.

In an unprecedented move,

Copa di Vino

is to appear on Shark Tank for a second time in an episode, which goes to air in April. The entrepreneur who walked away from a deal last season in 2011 is James Martin from The Dalles Oregon who is the owner of Copa di Vino a wine in a cup business. This is the first time an entrepreneur who walked away returns to

Shark Tank

and is given another chance at pitching a the product. The Sharks circled Martin closely in the water last time out but did not bite on the total business offering the entrepreneur lay on the table.

Last season Martin’s invention

Copa Di Vino

caused a media ripple and there was great interest in the back-story of this self-made entrepreneur. The process bottles wines directly into a wine glass sealed with a peel back top. This allows wine enthusiasts to open a single serving, instead of an entire bottle and drink straight from the glass, James has fostered an industry wide debate similar to screw cap versus cork, highlighting how wine bottles are cumbersome and inefficient.

The business was pitched to the Sharks for a $600,000 investment for 20% of his company. The total package included the

Copa di Vino

product, a bottling business and winery. The Sharks were very keen on the bottling invention but not so keen on the wine it contained or the bottling facility or winery. All Sharks saw the potential of the Copa di Vino plastic container and saw scope for multiple applications and an opportunity to make money. Their interest was purely in the intellectual rights and patent to the process and packaging and they wanted to strip away the

Copa di Vino container

part from the other two parts (winery and bottling plant) from the deal and focus exclusively on the peel back container.

James Martin walked away from the

Shark Tank

last season, after turning down an offer for the Copa di Vino container, but he is back for more negotiation, which indicates he has had a change of heart perhaps or has restructured his offering.

The line up from last season has seen some changes of investors, Martin will be pitching to:

•   Robert Herjavec, – an immigrant factory worker’s son, now a technology mogul, who sold his first internet companies for over 350 million dollars.
•   Barbara Corcoran, – turned a thousand dollar loan into a real estate empire (The Corcoran Group) worth hundreds of millions in the city of Manhattan.
•   Kevin O’Leary – venture capitalist who started a software business in his basement, which he eventually sold for 3.2 billion dollars
•   Daymond John – fashion and branding expert who grew his homemade hats and t-shirts into the globally recognized fashion brand FUBU which has grossed over $5 Billion in sales to date.
•   Kevin Harrington (Seasons 1 and 2), “is the King of infomercials. His genius marketing of products such as the Obama coin and the Rock n’ Roll Stepper has amassed billions of dollars in sales.
•   Mark Cuban – owner of Landmark Theatres and chairman of HDNet the HDTV network and the outspoken owner of the 2011 NBA Champions, The Dallas Mavericks.
•   Lori Greiner – Queen of QVC. She holds 108 patents and has launched over 300 products–grossing 500 million in worldwide retail sales.

It really will be exciting in the extreme to see if the new investors have a different view on the business to their colleagues from last season. The product is great and the Sharks and Martin came so close to a deal last time. This show will be a real cliffhanger to see what the pitch to the Sharks is and whether or not they bite this time.