Hahn Family Wines Sees Chain Channel Drive Growth

Hahn Family Wines enjoyed a 5% volume boost to about 415,000 cases last year, bolstered by a strong performance in chain channels, which offset a difficult year for its supply-constrained Santa Lucia Highlands tier. The company’s chain business, focused on its core Monterey-sourced range ($15 a 750-ml.), was up 12% for the year, notes company president Tony Baldini.

“We launched an Arroyo Seco rosé of Pinot Noir that was chain-only last year,” Baldini says. “That was first to market with Safeway in northern California.” For the 2017 vintage, the Arroyo Seco rosé will launch with Safeway but also extend to new chains and regions. The rosé is positioned at around $20, about $5 above the Hahn Monterey wines.

Overall, Hahn’s core Monterey portfolio was up 3% to nearly 200,000 cases in 2017, Baldini notes, with Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon driving growth. That performance included an 8% jump to 82,000 cases in the chain channel, according to IRI. Preparing the brand for further progress in the chain segment, Hahn recently named C.K. Mondavi veteran John Short as vice president of chain sales.

Meanwhile, the Hahn Santa Lucia Highlands ($25-$45) range was down slightly last year because of low yields. “The Central Coast had harvests that were down 30%-40%, so we pulled back our sales on the Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noirs,” Baldini says. For 2017, the Hahn SLH Pinot Noir was at around 40,000 cases. This year, it’s expected to rebound strongly and approach 50,000 cases.

In the on-premise, Hahn has become a player in draft wine, partnering with Free Flow Wines in the segment. Currently, the company is the number-three supplier for Free Flow’s wines on tap, Baldini notes. “We’re broadening our Arroyo Seco range to have not only rosé but also Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. We’re offering those to national accounts as wine on tap,” he says. Positioned between the Hahn Monterey and the higher-priced Santa Lucia Highlands wines, the Arroyo Seco line is expected to help premiumize the Hahn portfolio looking ahead.—Shane English

Tagged : Free Flow Wines, Hahn Family Wines, Safeway

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