Stateways

StateWays Q www.stateways.com Q March/April 2014 24 M ost Rising Star brands have been on the market for three years or less and have shown early sales success or, for even newer brands, initial potential. This year's list includes 46 wine brands (versus 44 Rising Stars from last year) that vary in price range from value on up. And there are 25 wines here new to the Rising Star cat- egory. Though some of these Rising Stars (all must have sold at least 20,000 cases) are imported from well-known wine-producing regions, the majority of the brands hail from California. The top brand on the list is The Wine Group's Flip Flop, which features the image of a pair of fl ip fl ops on the label. The line of easy drinking varietals retails for about $7 a bottle and generated sales of 785,000 cases in 2013. The Dreaming Tree line, from Constellation, had another stellar year in 2103, increasing sales by 53.1% to 323,000 cases. The California wine features a Chardonnay, Caber- net Sauvignon and Crush, a red blend. Other Constellation brands listed here include Arbor Mist Frozen Wine Cock- tails, which sold 316,000 cases in its second year on the market (the RTD drink is comprised of single-serve, 10-oz. pouches that come in a range of fl avors, with each pouch retailing for $2 to $3); Thorny Rose, a returning Rising Star, which includes several Washington State (Columbia Valley) varietals and a Red Blend, as well as a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, with retail prices ranging from about $9 to $12 per bottle (85,000 cases); and the new Ris- ing Star Ooh La La (about $11 retail), a line featuring a pinot grigio, riesling, chardonnay and rose, all presented in a colorful polka dot label aimed at female consumers (35,000 cases). Underlining the appeal of fresh, effervescent wines, the new Rising Star Risata Moscato d'Asti is listed here. Im- ported from Italy, Risata retails for above $10 and hit sales of 202,000 cases last year. The entwine label, a partnership between Wente Vineyards and The Food Network, continues to grow in popularity. It reached sales of 200,000 cases last year. The food-friendly lineup of wines includes several varietals, retailing for $11-$13. Wente also includes Hayes Ranch wines in this category (36,000 cases). The brand bills itself as "California wines that embrace the spirit of the Ameri- can West," and include a Chardonnay ($10) and Cabernet Sauvignon ($12). Trinchero Family Estates features three brands new to the Rising Star category: Fancy Pants, a line of Califor- nia varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Red blend, in the $11 retail range (66,000 cases in its fi rst full year on the market); Duck Commander (38,000 cases), launched in the fourth quarter last year, from the Robertson Family wines of TV's Duck Dynasty fame, with a line including Triple Threat Red Blend, Miss Priss Pink Moscato, and Wood Duck Chardonnay, all $10; and Charles & Charles (37,000 cases), Trinchero's fi rst Washington State brand and a collaboration between Walla Walla winemaker Charles Smith and NYC wine innovator Charles Bieler. The line includes a Rose, Chardonnay and a Red at $14 each. For its part, DFV Wines (Delicato Family Vine- yards) numbers a quintet of Rising Star brands, with the Handcraft Artisan Collection Wines having the largest impact at 125,000 cases. The brand features a lineup of robust, fl avorful California varietals (Caber- net Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Petite Sirah and Chardon- nay) made with a "dash of Italian varietals" added, the company says. Also from DFV are the returning Rising Stars Massimo wines (48,000 cases), which includes a Spanish Rioja and a Malbec from Argentina; and Black Stallion (32,000 cases), a Napa Valley winery featuring handcrafted, superpremium-priced varietals. DFV's new Rising Star entries include Sequin wines (67,000 cases in its fi rst full year on the market), a line that includes Moscato, Pinot Grigio and Rose in the $12 price range; and La Merika (38,000 cases), California Central Coast varietals retailing for $13-$15. Other Returning Rising Stars include Quintessential Wines' Bodegas Muriel (105,000 cases), which 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 superpre- mium; Cecchetti Wine Co.'s Backhouse line of afford- able California varietals, which hit 72,000 cases; Ruta 22, from Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, which rose to 65,000 cases; Butterfl y Kiss (65,000 cases), from Diageo Chateau & Estate, which targets female consumers with its California-produced lineup of light and fl oral Char- donnay, Moscato, Pinot Grigio and Pink Pinot Grigio, retailing for about $10 per bottle; Stark Raving wines (50,000 cases), also from Diageo, is made by Rosenblum Cellars, with a lineup that includes a Red Blend, White Blend, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, with suggested retail prices of $12 to $14; Shaw-Ross Int'l. Import- ers' Chateau d'Eslans line of French roses, retailing for above-premium prices, notched sales of 50,000 cases; Soleil Mimosa (35,000 cases), from Southwest Wines in New Mexico, combines brut sparkling wine with fresh- squeezed orange juice to get a pre-mixed Mimosa (about $11 retail); the above-premium-priced Seven Falls label, from Ste. Michelle Wine Estates in Washington State, hit 41,000 cases for its line of Cabernet Sauvignon, Mer- lot and Chardonnay; Vineyard Brands' Ernesto Catena (32,000 cases), which highlights an above-premium- WINE RISING STAR BRANDS

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