• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

sales & marketing The New Wave of Sweet Reds Years after Riunite, fueled by Moscato’s success, a new genre of wines hits the market. Liza B. Zimmerman Liza B. Zimmerman is the editor of Cheers magazine and the San Francisco-based principal of Liza the Wine Chick, a wine writing and consulting firm. She is also the wine columnist for the San Francisco Examiner.com. She also served as managing editor of Market Watch, associate editor of Wine Enthusiast and associate editor of the magazine of La Cucina Italiana. THERE IS A CLEAR evolution in the wine market, and it has little to do The New Wave with “classic” sweet reds, like Port or Banyuls. Riunite is the likely granddaddy While many of these brands have been recently launched, some operators— of the movement, and Mateus could play the grandmother. White Zinfandel such as Bevmo!’s cellar master Wilfred Wong—traced the category’s debut might be the brilliant oldest child (of dubious background) and Moscato the to at least four or five years ago. Bevmo! carries approximately three dozen late-to-the-game, successful younger cousin. of these wines, priced from $10 to $14, at its 115 stores. Wong noted that The American public continues to drink sweet wines, though many are certain brands, like Conundrum’s Red, cost double that at approximately loathe to admit it. With all the focus on reds being potentially better for your $25 retail. Many, including PLCB’s Short, see the category-defining brand as health and seeming “more sophisticated,” many consumers are reluctant to Ménage à Trois. Gee added that Ménage à Trois has always been the category be seen with a glass of Rosé or sparkling wine at parties and restaurants. So leader and noted that many other entries into the category have been trying a collective sigh of relief was heard when the new wave of sweet reds wines to gain market share from the brand. started hitting the market. Gallo, Banfi, Trinchero and Caymus are all among Given the desire for this taste profile in a red wine, the new brands seem to the larger players, with many other big brands likely to join the game. herald a welcome evolution in wine production and marketing. “I remember “Every producer is trying to launch one. Retailers can only carry so many,” manufacturers were afraid to say ‘sweet’ on the label,” said Short. Despite said Jim Short, director of marketing and merchandising for the Harrisburg- that, Pennsylvania stores sold a million cases of Riunite 25 to 30 years ago, he based Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB), which has 609 stores. He noted. He added that now wine producers realize that “the consumer wants carries 15 to 20 sweet reds, priced from $6.99 to $12.99. He added that the a sweet red wine that is easy to drink and doesn’t have those heavy tannins.” interest in this category has grown so much that the Pennsylvania state stores have created separate sections for these sweet wines. “They are just flying off the shelf,” he noted. “They are both affordable and very popular, and people are not afraid to The Appeal and Consumer Base say they like easy drinking,” said Cost Plus World Market’s Oakland-based There are myriad reasons that these wines continue to be popular. “These vice president of food and wine Matthew Gee. “Our customers are looking wines are so soft and so easy that it becomes like a beverage,” said Short. for fun, fruit-forward wines that they can drink everyday but buy for usually And, he added, they have the added benefit and prestige of “not being pink.” under $10.” The chain has 258 locations in 30 states, not all of which sell “There are a lot of people drinking White Zinfandel privately, and they don’t wine, and carries a handful of sweet reds by the bottle with prices that start want to be drinking a pink glass of wine at a party,” he said. at $6.99. This new genre of sweet wines has the advantage of being red in an era when At the 2012 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento, Jon Fred- red is also seen as more sophisticated and potentially better for one’s health, rickson of Gomberg, Fredrickson & Associates noted that sales of sweet and the packaging has also become more upscale. This adds to the category’s red wines at U.S. food stores had increased by 202 percent (306,000 cases), appeal and facilitates its upwardly growing price-point. The category seems based on The Nielsen Company research. Danny Brager, vice president “to be a bit more sophisticated. The cork finish gives you that whole wine of the beverage alcohol team at Nielsen, equates the category’s success with experience,” said Short. both Moscato and, interestingly, dessert-flavored vodkas. “Sweet red offers This was always a category—regardless of what it was called—that was a red alternative to sweet white (i.e., Moscato) and sweet blush (i.e., White consistently embraced by consumers. “We had consumers looking for off-dry Zinfandel) at a good entry price-point.” red wines, even if they indicated that they did not ‘drink sweet,’” said David Brager added that the average price-point on these wines is $4.45 although Trone, president and co-owner of Potomac, Maryland-based Total Wine & most of the retailers I spoke to pegged it a few dollars higher in terms of the More. He carries more than 100 items that he identifies as sweet reds, priced top to bottom range. The idea that sweet reds have an affinity with sweet from $3.99 to $14.99. cocktails is also logical although none of the operators I spoke to could comment on this. 58 June 2012 WBM RAISE YOUR “As more consumers become less intimidated by wine, they’ll try other varietals, and their palates will mature and possibly take them away from the sweet category,” said Gee. He agreed that these wines also offer consumers CHOOSE a higher level of sophistication than have been seen in off-dry wines in the ALL AMERICAN past. “These wines are so consumer-friendly due to packaging, marketing and flavor profile.” A handful of on-premise operators I reached out to declined to comment on the category; perhaps they saw it as a less prestigious category that appealed to entry-level drinkers and specific demographics. One operator, who declined to be identified, said these wines don’t pair with high-end foods and are more “like sophisticated Kool-Aid with alcohol.” Short said that the category often appeals to “young people who are tran- sitioning to wine.” He added that “it’s a non-issue; people are not concerned with pairings.” He also said—as did another handful of operators—that they are likely to work well with spicy or Asian-influenced foods and can be seen on the lists at some Asian- and Italian-influenced chains. Calls requesting interviews with a few of these chains were not returned. At Cost Plus, Gee said, “Our shopper demographic skews toward the educated female in her 30s or 40s. But in general, [these] reds are appealing to many of our customers, especially those who are new to drinking wine and are enjoying the fruitiness and sweetness and the rounder mouthfeel that one finds in these wines.” He added that he also saw stronger customer appeal for these wines in southern states that don’t typically have “serious wine regions” Find a bottle you love as much as your wine. Make your wine package as opposed to the West Coast. your very own with a complete line of wine bottles, capsules, screwcaps, labels, shipping supplies, and corks in a variety of colors, shapes, styles, and sizes. Our welcoming sales team can help you with inspiration and direction, answer your questions, and make your purchase easy with A Plus or a Minus and the Future fast, clear, and consistent communication. West Coast East Coast Whenever a new, entry-level wine category gets launched, the biggest Marty Sychowski (707) 328-5316 Roberta Parmelee (315) 585-6045 question on the industry’s “lips” is whether it will manage to ultimately [email protected] [email protected] Stephanie Ramczyk (707) 544-3496 Lissa McLaughlin (727) 321-8879 transition more consumers into fine wine consumption. There were high [email protected] [email protected] hopes with Reunite, White Zin and Moscato. It has yet to be seen if these base consumers are activity transitioning into more wine consumption West Coast Wine Warehouse in Santa Rosa, CA • East Coast Wine Warehouse in Belle Vernon, PA Additional Sales Offices & Warehouses in Miami, Tampa, Atlanta, Puerto Rico, New Jersey and California from beer, cocktails and soft drinks. According to Wong, it is the higher-priced sweet reds, like Conundrum, that have the greatest opportunity to introduce new consumers to more sophisticated wines. An added advantage of this group of wines is that they are often viewed as more sophisticated because they are reds. “They will probably do better as reds than Moscato.” said Wong. “It’s a fad overall,” added Wong, who thinks the sweet red trend won’t have much staying power. Some operators were more positive in their outlook. “From a retail perspec- tive, it is bringing people to wine,” said Short. “This is always a step forward” and overall “a good thing for the industry,” said Gee. Total Wine’s Trone agreed. He said this category helps to expand “the wine category to many consumers who are just beginning to enjoy and learn about wine..

Load more

  2

Copy Link