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Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/114508
WINE: Rising Star Brands CONTINUED Additional larger-volume Rising Stars include Josh Cellars, from Joseph Carr, which features above-premium-priced California cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay. The brand exploded from 20,000 cases in 2011 to an impressive 130,000 cases last year. Right behind, at sales of 129,000 cases in 2012 is Ninety+ Cellars, which features wines from California, Washington State, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina and France, all priced $10 and above. Skinnygirl wines, a line extension of the popular Skinnygirl premixed cocktail line, debuted last year with sales of 105,000 cases. The brand highlights the low-calorie profile (100 calories per 5-oz. serving) of the red blend (mostly syrah), white blend (including chardonnay and pinot grigio) and rosé blend (grenache and syrah). Skinnygirl wines retail for about $15 per 750-ml. bottle. Skinnygirl Sangria is also included in this category, itself reaching sales of 80,000 cases last year. A different take on sangria comes from Eppa Superfruit Sangria, which boasts a certified organic label for the real antioxidant fruit juices (pomegranate, acai, blueberry and blood orange) it blends with Mendocino cabernet sauvignon and syrah. The brand, which sells for about $12 a bottle, hit 40,000 cases last year. INTRIGUING IMPORTS One of the surprises of the year comes from eLunes, a line of sparkling flavored moscatos from Asti, Italy, which sold an impressive 100,000 cases in its first year on the market. The line includes peach, mango and strawberry flavors and sells for under $11 retail per bottle. Other wines new to the Rising Star category include Kono, from the Marlborough region of New Zealand (71,000 cases), which highlights its sauvignon blanc, generally selling for under $10. La Fiera includes a competitively priced portfolio of Italian wines, including pinot grigio, moscato, a rosso dolce sweet red and a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. La Fiera reported sales of 54,000 cases last year. Two brands from Quintessential Wines are also new here: Bodegas Muriel includes a lineup of Tempranillo-based wines imported from Spain (Crianza, Gran Reserva, JME, Seleccion and a Blanco). With retail prices ranging from premium to superpremium, the brand sold 52,000 cases in 2012. And Sensual wines, which hail from Argentina, include a malbec, a cabernet sauvignon and a torrontes. They retail for approximately $10, and sold 46,000 cases last year. More notable Rising Stars include Cecchetti Wine Co.'s Backhouse line of affordable California varietals, which hit 62,000 cases, and Ruta 22, from Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, which rose to 50,000 cases. Project Paso wine, from Don Sebastiani & Sons, featuring a red wine blend made from eight different varietals, plus other wines, sold 41,000 cases last year. And Cantiana di Soave, a line of premium Italian wines, from Mionetto, sold 32,000 cases in its third year in the U.S. www.cheersonline.com WELOME NEWCOMERS The remaining wine brands are all new to the rising Star category. VineSmoothies is made by combining French chardonnay and Dutch cream. The brand comes in four flavors: peach, berry, strawberry and pineapple-coconut; it is 14% winebased and gluten-free. VineSmoothies, which retails for about $10 to $12, sold 45,000 cases in its first year in the market. Targeting women consumers is Butterfly Kiss (Diageo Chateau & Estates), with its California-produced lineup of light and floral chardonnay, moscato, pinot grigio and pink pinot grigio. The wines retail for about $10 per bottle; 40,000 cases of it were sold in 2012. Diageo's Stark Raving wines are also among the new Rising Stars. Made by Rosenblum Cellars, the lineup includes a red blend, white blend, cabernet sauvignon and malbec. Stark Raving wines debuted last year with sales of 23,000 cases, with suggested retail prices of $12 to $14. Generally selling for below $10, The Path wines from Don Sebastiani & Sons feature a pinot noir and a chardonnay, and reached sales of 38,000 cases in 2012. Retailing for significantly higher prices are Chateau d'Esclans line of French rosés, which notched sales of 33,000 cases. Soleil Mimosa hails from a winery in New Mexico, which combines brut sparkling wine with fresh-squeezed orange juice to get a premixed Mimosa. The brand's 750-ml. size retails for about $11, and it recently debuted a 187-ml. aluminum slim can. The brand reached sales of 25,000 cases last year. The above-premium-priced Seven Falls label, from Ste. Michelle Wine Estates in Washington State, hit 22,000 cases for its line of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and chardonnay. The Rose'N'Blum label, including a California pinot grigio and pink moscato, reached 20,000 cases. So did Ernesto Catena, which highlights an above-premium-priced malbec from Argentina. MARCH 2013 | 43