Bottles of wine for sale at a Costco Wholesale store.
In the US wine industry, premium wine from boutique producers reigns supreme. Whether implicitly or explicitly stated, these wines garner respect and esteem from wine enthusiasts. Correspondingly, their high point scores and critic reviews positively impact bottom-line sales. In contrast, the vast majority of American consumers purchase their wines (and alcohol in general), most commonly at grocery stores and big-box wine retailers.
Scroll down for a selection of 15 wines to try from grocery and big-box stores
Producers of fine wines will often craft wines from broader appellations – rather than sub appellation or single vineyard offerings – as a way to build their brand beyond their tasting room and wine collector audiences.
Convenience is king
With more than 260 stores, Total Wine & More is now the largest alcohol retailer in the US, with revenues of over $6bn. According to Rodolphe Boulanger, vice president of wine merchandising at the chain, ‘customers rave about the convenience of being able to find all the wines, beers and spirits they’re looking for in one location.’
This convenience drives consumers. ‘While supporting small businesses is encouraged, many consumers still value the convenience of big-box stores, making accessibility a key factor in their purchasing decisions,’ says Aly Wente, vice president of marketing & experiences at Wente Vineyards, her family’s fifth-generation winery in the Livermore Valley of California.
Miami Beach, Florida, Total Wine & More store. Credit: Jeffrey Greenberg / Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Complexities of distribution
The United States alcohol industry operates within a three-tier system in which wineries must work through an importer or distributor to secure placements of their wines in both on-premise (i.e. restaurants and bars) and off-premise (i.e. wine shops and retail stores) locations.
This ‘distribution’ model is in contrast to selling their wines directly to consumers (DTC) either in a tasting room, online, or through a wine club. Profitability is higher with the DTC model, but distribution helps you more easily secure brand recognition in the marketplace, primarily through placements at large retailers.
Just because a quality producer has a wine in wide distribution does not mean the wine is made any differently than their smaller production bottlings.
Some of the best values will be found in these more significant production and broader appellation designate wines. Small, quality producers strategically distribute such wines to expose more wine drinkers to their brand. Their single vineyard or single block ultra-premium wines only have so much reach due to their small production sizes and higher price points.
Large retailers also chose to carry larger appellation premium wines in only select stores to localise the assortment. ‘We’re big believers in carrying local wines and popular brands. Although we have stores from coast to coast, every store carries a different assortment,’ says Boulanger.
Courting new consumers
Early in their wine-drinking journey, consumers may be unfamiliar with specific regional sub-AVAs, let alone understanding the corresponding quality hierarchies that these designations may imply. Still, they will likely be familiar with broad and established appellations such as ‘Napa Valley’ or ‘Columbia Valley’.
Wente agrees: ‘Broader appellation designates appeal to a wider consumer base that may not be familiar with specific wine regions and their distinctions.’ Aaron Barnett, a winemaker at Paul Hobbs’ Crossbarn brand, emphasises: ‘A broad appellation wine is a terrific introduction to the region’s terroir – to the depth and balance it’s capable of in a blend of expressions from top sites.’
Crafting approachability
The ‘red blend’ category has seen significant growth in the US wine market. It is the third largest selling category…
Source : https://www.decanter.com/features/finding-quality-us-grocery-and-big-box-stores-534944/
