Market Watch: After Coppola Acquisition, Delicato Looks Ahead

Tony Indelicato used to advise his sons with one simple adage: if you’re not growing in the wine industry, you’re going backwards. Brothers Jay and Chris, along with their cousins, have taken the words to heart. The third generation of Indelicato family members have been running Delicato Family Wines for roughly the past two decades, and in that time the company has become one of the top five branded wine suppliers in the United States.

That position was reinforced earlier this year with the acquisition of Francis Ford Coppola Winery, which significantly bolstered Delicato’s premium portfolio. The deal adds more than a million cases of volume to Delicato’s total, including Coppola’s Diamond Collection, retailing in the fast-growing $20 range. Impact Databank estimates that, including Coppola, Delicato’s volume was up 26% to 17 million cases last year, on a pro forma basis.

President and CEO Chris Indelicato says the brand is an excellent fit in Delicato’s growing portfolio. “It gives us a top three super-premium brand,” he says. “It gives us tremendous North Coast wine-making facilities with three million cases of production capacity. The Sophia brand gives us cans and sparkling wine. Those are all really nice categories that we hadn’t been participating in, up to this point.”

“For years we’ve been producing wines from grapes out of the North Coast, out of Sonoma and the surrounding growing areas,” says Chris’s brother, COO Jay Indelicato, noting that because Delicato lacked production in the area, grapes were shipped to one of its wineries outside the region or processed by a third party. “With this acquisition, we not only have a footprint, but we’ve got a couple of great facilities. We’re super happy to get that footprint, and so are our growers.”

Francis Ford Coppola now holds an equity stake in the company, and has joined the board. Chris Indelicato says the energy from someone like Coppola, of an earlier generation, is motivational. “That generation is just extraordinarily optimistic and they have no fear of failure,” he says. “I think it’s infectious to have that in the organization. It gives people swagger, it motivates them.” Market Watch has the full story.—Carol Ward

Tagged : Delicato, Francis Ford Coppola Winery, Market Watch

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