Vineyard & Winery Management

January-February 2013

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Negociant Brands NAVIGATE Supply Challenges Grape and wine shortages inspire creative sourcing strategies V I N E YARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT | Jan - Feb 2013 RIEGER, SENIOR FEATURE EDITOR 70 BY TED rom 2000 to 2010, a favorable grape and bulk wine supply market enabled domestic negociants to launch and grow a number of successful wine brands. Brands such as Three Thieves, Cameron Hughes and Layer Cake entered the market, joining negociant brands that continued to grow during the same period, including Smoking Loon, Pepperwood Grove and Castle Rock. On a smaller scale, but with a similar business model, many private-label brands were also launched by individual retailers, retail chains and restaurants. By definition, a negociant owns no vineyards or winery, and instead buys grapes or bulk wines and contracts with custom crush wineries to blend and finish wines for bottling and sale. By operating with low overhead, a negociant can maintain a profitable brand at a lower price-point than operations with overhead costs associated with owning vineyards and wineries. Glenn Proctor, partner and broker with Ciatti Company based in San Rafael, Calif., specializes in spot and contract bulk wine sales for all regions of the state. During the past decade, Proctor said, negociants were often able to operate on a ���just in time��� basis ��� buying grapes or wine on the spot market, cost-effectively blending and bottling the wines, then selling with a quick turnaround to gen- w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m

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