News Briefs for April 3, 2013
April 3, 2013•Jackson Family Wines’ Arizona fine wine wholesaling business, Valley of the Sun Fine Wines, is merging into Southern Wine & Spirits of Arizona’s fine wine unit to create a new “collaborative, luxury portfolio-selling division” called VOS-Vintage Fine Wines and Spirits. The new organization will be in place by next month, Southern says. Southern COO Wayne Chaplin said the Valley of the Sun team’s “model of premiumization is right in line with Southern’s long-term fine wine strategy.” Southern’s Arizona operations had estimated revenues of $300 million in 2012, according to Impact Newsletter.
•Accolade Wines North America is extending the Geyser Peak line with a new blend, Uncensored White. The California wine is available now nationwide, priced at $14 a 750-ml. Uncensored White features Viognier, Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. It joins a Geyser Peak line that includes core Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet and Sauvignon Blanc varietals, as well as Uncensored Red, which was released last fall. The Geyser Peak range also features a Reserve line and the Block Collection.
•Hong Kong’s China Foods Ltd. is planning to purchase two to three wineries in the U.S. and Australia within the next two years, according to local media sources. At a news conference earlier this week, China Foods managing director Luan Xiuju confirmed that the company is in talks to acquire several unnamed wineries, while concurrently exploring distribution partnerships with two major global wine dealers. The acquisitions are said to total at least $20 million and will bolster China Foods’ imported wine business. A division of state-owned conglomerate Cofco, China Foods also owns Bordeaux’s Chateau Viaud and Chile’s Bisquert winery.
•The National Restaurant Association’s monthly Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) for February was down 0.8% from January’s five-month high. At 99.9, February’s RPI marks the fourth time in the last five months that the RPI slipped below 100, due to softer same-store sales and customer traffic levels. The RPI’s Current Situation Index for February was down 1.4% to 98.3, but the Expectations Index fell just slightly to 101.6 from 101.4 in January, indicating that restaurant operators remain positive about future sales growth.
•Portland, Oregon-based House Spirits Distillery—co-owned by NFL legend Joe Montana—has entered into a national agreement for its Aviation American gin with Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. Kimpton will feature Aviation on-premise across the country beginning this spring, making the brand the only gin on the menu at 49 of the company’s locations. House Spirits unveiled a new look for the Aviation packaging in early March, as well as recently signed a national distribution agreement with Southern Wine & Spirits to expand the brand’s footprint across the country.
•Beam Inc.’s Pinnacle vodka has added Rainbow Sherbet to its fast-rising line of dessert-flavored entries. Pinnacle’s newest flavor combines the tastes of orange, lime and raspberry. Rainbow Sherbet is the first of several new Pinnacle flavor innovations planned for 2013, including Strawberry Shortcake, which is coming soon.
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