Hello Kitty Wines were originally conceived by Camomilla S.p.A. which is a very successful fashion company in Italy that does a huge amount of business manufacturing and selling Hello Kitty licensed merchandise in Italy and beyond. Camomilla S.p.A. partnered up with Torti "Tenimenti Castelrotto" boutique Italian winery located in the highly regarded Lombardy wine region...Our company, Innovation Spirits, has been awarded the agency to market and sell the products here in the U.S. and other select markets.
I was not involved in the original approval process, but my limited experience with Sanrio indicates to me that they see the Hello Kitty brand identity as being somewhat mature at this stage and open to all kinds of product interpretations. Our tagline for the wine products is "Our favorite girl has grown up", which is done intentionally to indicate that Hello Kitty, in her 35 years of existence, has crossed over from being a children's brand to being a brand for children and adults alike.