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Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/662062
www.cheersonline.com 37 March/April 2016 • 2016 GROWTH BRAND AWARDS WINE ESTABLISHED GROWTH BRANDS: WINES Winners must have exceeded 400,000 nine-liter cases sold in 2015, and grown each of the last four years. All brands must be more than fi ve years old. % Growth Brand Supplier 2012 2013 2014 2015 p 2014/15 Barefoot Cellars E & J Gallo Winery 14,400 15,870 17,150 18,700 9.0% Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi Constellation Brands 8,450 8,970 9,150 9,300 1.6% Liberty Creek E & J Gallo Winery 2,200 2,350 3,075 3,425 11.4% Ménage à Trois Trinchero Family Estates 2,143 2,204 2,474 2,700 9.2% Barefoot Bubbly E & J Gallo Winery 940 942 1,150 1,200 4.3% Ruffi no Constellation Brands 820 900 1,025 1,130 10.2% Alamos E & J Gallo Winery 800 875 900 950 5.6% Mark West Constellation Brands 637 800 842 855 1.5% J. Roget Constellation Brands 636 706 777 850 9.4% Taylor Dessert Constellation Brands 775 808 814 820 1% Louis Martini E & J Gallo Winery 615 630 650 675 3.8% Chateau St. Jean Treasury Wine Estates 553 621 632 633 0.3% Simi Constellation Brands 470 540 550 590 7.3% Real Sangria (Cruz Garcia - Real) Shaw-Ross Int'l Importers 548 550 560 585 4.5% Decoy Duckhorn Wine Co. 177 252 332 405 21.9% (p) Preliminary Source: The Beverage Information & Insights Group. For more data, visit www.bevinfostore.com. With the wine market today more competitive than ever, brands are capturing consumer interest and dollars with new and different varietals. "New wines that are attracting consumer attention are creating a niche for themselves within the industry, especially with Millennial consumers," Velez says. "The industry's growth has come from newer products within their respective segments, such as blended red offerings," she adds. "In addition, while Champagne growth has been soft, the majority of the category growth has been from other sparklers like prosecco and cava." MANY MILESTONES A number of wine brands hit major sales milestones in 2015. Established Growth Brand Ménage a Trois reached a whopping 2.7 million in nine-liter cases sold last year, a 9.2% increase over 2014. Meanwhile, E & J Gallo's Dark Horse wine exceeded 1 million cases in 2015, a 320% hike over the previous year. In the sparkling category, Mionetto surpassed 500,000 cases in 2015, up 10.2%. Overall, Nielsen data indicates that sparkling wine has seen a 32% increase. "We are at the forefront of the category's growth," says Enore Ceola, director and CEO of Mionetto USA. Ceola attributes this success to "strong relationships we have maintained with our customers and distributor partners." Mionetto also offers a portfolio varied in price WOODBRIDGE BY ROBERT MONDAVI The brand Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi sold 9.3 million nine-liter cases of wine last year. This was a 1.6% uptick over 2014 numbers. How does the number-two wine brand on the 2016 Established Growth Winds list continue such success? Part of it is thanks to a 360-degree marketing program, according to Michal Zeituni, marketing manager for Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi. This summer, for example, the brand rolled out a Woodbridge block party thematic. In-store displays included savings for block-party staples such as hot dogs, condiments and chips. The program also included a block party event with celebrity chef Alex Guarnaschelli. This introduced a wine-infused barbeque sauce collaboration with Daddy Sam's, which drove 580 million earned media impressions, Zeituni says. "We also boosted our Woodbridge social presence via a summer block-party sweepstakes, driving consumers to our microsite, where they could access all of the summer recipes, photography, and DIY videos that we had created throughout the program," he adds. While Millennials are not yet the core consumer of Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi, the brand is naturally exploring new ways to connect with younger wine consumers. This includes launching a more mobile- friendly website this March, as well as seasonal wine—Harvest Spiced Red Blend—unveiled in 2015 as a fresh spin on traditional mulled wine. (thousands of 9-liter cases)