Exclusive: Mionetto USA Teams With Vintage Point To Target Chain Channel

Mionetto USA has forged a new partnership with Sonoma-based wine marketer Vintage Point. The new alliance will focus on growing Mionetto USA’s namesake Prosecco brand in the U.S. chain channel, as well as strengthening its presence west of the Mississippi, according to Mionetto USA CEO and managing director Enore Ceola.

“Chains and grocery stores are embracing Prosecco, so there’s a need for us to strategically develop that sales channel,” says Ceola, noting that Mionetto has built its business primarily on the East Coast, with the bulk of sales coming from independent on- and off-premise accounts. In addition to leveraging Vintage Point’s chain-focused efforts, Mionetto USA will continue to sell and market Mionetto in independent channels.

An Impact “Hot Brand,” Mionetto Prosecco grew 10% to 550,000 cases in the U.S. last year. The range is led by its flagship Prestige Prosecco Brut ($14 a 750-ml.), with its Prestige Gran Rosé ($14) also demonstrating strong traction. Ceola tells SND that the brand is aiming to reach the 1-million-case mark within the next three to five years, recently upping its advertising spend to approximately $3 million for 2016.

The addition of Mionetto fills a gap for Vintage Point, which parted ways with Layer Cake—formerly one of its top-selling brands—in February. (Layer Cake, as well as Hundred Acre, If You See Kay, Cherry Pie and Fortunate Son, are now marketed by One True Vine, the umbrella company of winemaker Jayson Woodbridge.) The Mionetto USA portfolio, which also includes the Castello Di Monsanto, Capezzana and Livio Felluga labels, among others, will serve as Vintage Point’s exclusive Italian wine and Prosecco supplier. In addition to Mionetto, Vintage Point’s lineup includes the Educated Guess, Gary Farrell, Goose Ridge, Moone-Tsai, Hidden Ridge and Stonecap brands, among others.

“With Layer Cake, we were very restricted in terms of the brands we could sign, because of varietal and pricing conflicts,” says Vintage Point president David Biggar. “We’re always careful not to conflict with our portfolio partners, but now we’re freer to add brands again. Mionetto USA is a big addition and has a very in-depth Italian portfolio, so we’re very excited about it.”

Tagged : Capezzana, Castello Di Monsanto, Cherry Pie, Educated Guess, Fortunate Son, Gary Farrell, Goose Ridge, Hidden Ridge, Hundred Acres, If You See Kay, Layer Cake, Livio Felluga, Mionetto USA, Moone-Tsai, One True Vine, Stonecap, Vintage Point

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