Hampton Water Elevates the Art of Travel
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Hampton Water has become more than a drink. It’s a mindset. Co-founded by Jesse Bongiovi, the rosé brand feels right at home in airports, airline lounges, and cruise ships, where travelers look for comfort and connection. Whether enjoyed before takeoff at LaGuardia or on a Lufthansa flight across the Atlantic, Hampton Water captures the sense of escape that travel brings. “This is about that great memory you’re going to make,” said Bongiovi. “It’s about the trip you went on, and this is just the thing you enjoy while you’re doing it.”
When Jesse launched Hampton Water with his father, Jon Bon Jovi, and renowned French winemaker Gerard Bertrand, the goal was simple yet ambitious: redefine rosé for a global audience. Since its launch in 2018, the pink label has become synonymous with sun-soaked leisure, luxury with approachability, and an American spirit built on French winemaking.
“We wanted to create a high-end French rosé, something that my parents would want to drink, and market it in a way that spoke to that younger consumer,” said Bongiovi. “If you could bridge that gap into high-quality French wine, you could help people discover something new.”
From its vineyards in the Languedoc to airport lounges, cruise decks, and airline cabins, Hampton Water has grown beyond a wine brand. It has become an experience, a bottle that carries with it memories of summer, travel, and connection.
Creating Memories Through Travel
Hampton Water’s rise has been powered by a simple yet universal idea: wine as a memory. That concept resonates deeply in the travel industry, where moments of anticipation and escape define the customer journey.
“We learned a great lesson early on when we did a partnership with Norwegian Cruise Line,” Bongiovi said. “You have a captive audience. They’re not going anywhere for days, and they want to have an experience, something that’s memorable.”
Passengers began associating Hampton Water with the feeling of vacation itself. “The amount of people who would stop us in restaurants or liquor stores saying, ‘Oh my God, I went on this amazing cruise and we were drinking your wine,’ was incredible,” he recalled. “It creates a memory. Our whole thinking, and why the travel sector is so important to us, is that this is about that great memory you’re going to make.”
Bongiovi believes that even those far from the South of France can share in that experience. “Plenty of people who drink Hampton Water are never going to go to East Hampton, let alone the south of France, where we grow this stuff,” he said. “But if you have this, then you can sit at your above-ground pool in Arkansas and still have the same good time.”
That philosophy, he said, defines the brand’s lifestyle message: “Here’s that memory in a bottle. Here’s a good time with your friends in a bottle. Here’s you visiting your family in a bottle.”
Expanding in the Skies and Beyond
From airports to airlines, Hampton Water has strategically positioned itself where travelers seek small luxuries. The brand’s growing presence in North American airports underscores how wine can elevate even brief travel moments.
“We try to connect with that feeling of anticipation,” Bongiovi said. “You’re about to take off on that great trip, and you’re going to be drinking rosé when you land, so why not have a rosé before you take off?”
Hampton Water has built strong partnerships across the travel industry, including collaborations with OTG Concessions Management, Lufthansa, and KLM.
He sees rosé as having finally “arrived” as a category. “There’s no reason why these places shouldn’t have it,” he added. “And to have that opportunity to connect with that person, even if it’s business travel, you just crushed the meeting and you’re having a celebratory glass in the lounge on the way home, that’s the kind of occasion we want to be part of.”
Beyond lounges and restaurants, Hampton Water has designed its portfolio with travel practicality in mind. Its distinctive pink bottles range from petite single-serve sizes to impressive party-ready formats.
“We’ve had a lot of success on land with the 375 ml half bottles,” Bongiovi explained. “We sort of treat them like a single serve. The way we’ve packaged many of them in stores is to put them with a hair tie and a straw. You drop the straw in, and you’ve got a party in your seat.”
That flexibility also suits inflight service. “The 375 fits beautifully in a cart on a plane,” he said. “It’s basically the same size as a 12-ounce bottle of beer, so it’ll fit just about anywhere, and it looks very premium.”
Produced and bottled in Languedoc, France, the wine maintains its integrity while adapting to the convenience travelers expect. “Gerard Bertrand has the grapes and the bottling facility. It’s all done over there and then shipped over,” Bongiovi said.
Marketing with Personality
Part of Hampton Water’s success comes from its unconventional approach to branding. Bongiovi and his team think less like traditional vintners and more like storytellers. “We like to think of out-of-the-box ways to market the brand,” Bongiovi said.
For airlines, that means the company offers more than a product; it offers content, personality, and reach. Hampton Water is the most followed rosé brand on the internet, with over 600,000 followers. “We try very hard to be out of the box when it comes to social media content, and that’s something we can bring to any airline partnership,” he said.
The brand’s storytelling helps airlines strengthen their image, particularly among younger travelers. “We can shine a very different kind of light on any airline experience,” Bongiovi said. “We can show that the party starts when you sit down on the plane. The vacation starts the second you get to the airport. It doesn’t have to wait until you land.”
Hampton Water collaborates creatively with partners, offering custom bottles, labels, and influencer-driven campaigns. “Whether it’s the surprise of who’s pouring your drink for you or custom packaging, we’re happy to do it,” he said. “We look for places where we can be collaborative.”
Partnerships That Take Off
For airlines like Lufthansa and KLM, partnering with Hampton Water has offered passengers something fresh and unexpected. Lufthansa has been working with the brand for over three years, while KLM joined about two years ago. “When we first started, it was really just a test,” Bongiovi said. “That test expanded so quickly that they’ve kept it on year-round for a couple of years.”
The partnership proved that travelers are open to experimenting with rosé when it’s presented as part of a premium yet accessible experience. “Consumers are willing to experiment,” he said. “If you give them the option, whether they’re normally a beer drinker, a vodka soda person, or a white wine drinker, they’ll give it a shot.”
That willingness has led Hampton Water to expand beyond the skies and into terminals. Through its partnership with OTG Concessions Management, Hampton Water is now available in more than 50 airports, including Houston George Bush, Newark Liberty, LaGuardia, and JFK.
Hampton Water stands out for blending digital storytelling with real-world experiences. Its social media presence connects naturally with the feeling of travel, and Bongiovi sees every journey as part of that lifestyle. “The vacation starts the second you get through security,” he said. The brand aims to turn simple moments, like a quick drink at an airport bar, into something memorable and fun. “It’s not about being pretentious,” he added. “It’s about having fun.”
As travel continues to grow, Hampton Water’s place in hospitality and aviation is expanding fast. Its popularity in lounges and airport restaurants shows how well it fits the travel experience. “Travel is a very meaningful part of our brand,” Bongiovi said. With plans to deepen airline partnerships, the company hopes to bring its “memory in a bottle” to more flights and lounges, helping travelers capture that carefree summer feeling wherever they go.