DALLAS -- Before 7-Eleven Inc. first expanded its wine selection to sell premium-quality wines in 1998 and introduced an exclusive French import a year later, it had more of a reputation as a quick-stop shop for cold beer.
Now, 7-Eleven has introduced Sonoma Crest Cellars, a proprietary premium-class wine to complement its current Thousand Oaks wine.
Created by a small family-run winery in California's Sonoma wine country, Sonoma Crest is now available at participating stores in three varietalschardonnay, merlot and cabernet sauvignon. [image-nocss] Comparable to a $15 bottle of wine, the suggested retail price is $9.99.
Sonoma Crest has already garnered recognition in the wine community, the retailer said, having won an award at the Orange County Commercial Wine Competition in Costa Mesa, Calif.
The Sonoma Crest merlot was bottled first, in time to be entered in the Orange County Fair. In blind taste tests, the proprietary 7-Eleven merlot received a silver medal from the largest all-California wine judging event.
Wines fall roughly into categories by price: popular (under $7 per bottle), premium ($8-$12) super-premium ($12-$15) and ultra-premium (over $25). As Americans buy and drink more wine, they appear to be trading up or purchasing more bottles in the premium categories, according to the Wine Institute. The greatest growth in this beverage segment has been among wines in the $10-$15 range, it said.
America's growing wine sophistication was stimulated by the 2005 Academy Award-winning movie Sideways, about two friends on a road trip to the California wine country. That was also the year 7-Eleven entered the proprietary wine market with its Thousand Oaks wine selection. Since its introduction, sales of the Thousand Oaks varietals have pushed it up to the second most popular wine at 7-Eleven, only behind mega-brand Gallo.
With our second venture into proprietary wines, we can offer a broader selection, appeal to consumers who want to move up to a premium brand but with a good price point, and provide great wines for special occasions, said Mark Herron, 7-Eleven category manager for beer and wine. Our Thousand Oaks brand has gained a loyal following among the under-$10 wine consumer. We believe Sonoma Crest will become a favorite of the premium-brand wine customer.
He added, Large wineries build their advertising and marketing budgets into the cost of the wine, and the price reflects that. Because 7-Eleven doesn't have those expenses, the entire value is in the bottle. It's a better quality and a better value.
7-Eleven, a relative newcomer on the table wine scene, has seen double-digit sales increases because of expanding its selection. According to a study sponsored by the Wine Institute, women make up the majority of wine purchases in most segments. Perhaps reflecting its male-dominated customer base, 7-Eleven wine sales are more evenly split between men and women.
Our goal is to offer a convenient shopping experience for the wine consumer, Herron said. A typical 7-Eleven store with beer and wine carries 35 to 40 varieties of wine, both domestic and imports.
7-Eleven maintains relationships with more than 400 wine distributors across the country, it said.
Although 7-Eleven stores carry three or four dozen different types of wine, each store has more than 540 recommended bottles and about 3,500 other wine choices from which to make their local selections. Wine preferences vary by region, and the wide selection of wines enables store owners and operators to customize their assortment to meet local tastes.
White wines are the top-sellers at 7-Eleven, yet red wines are the fastest-growing segment. Whether it's because of reports about potential health benefits or that, as customers become more sophisticated wine consumers, they're willing to branch out to reds, I don't know, Herron said, but we continue to see steady growth across all the red varietals.
7-Eleven developed flavor profiles for the varietals the company wanted to offer and began the search. We wanted a small winery where we could work directly with the wine-maker, not just through a sales person, said Herron. We stayed in contact with the wine-maker (Popcorn Wine Group in Healdsburg, Calif.) throughout the team-merchandising processcreating the blends, bottle, label and even the cork.
The three Sonoma Crest varietals being introduced are made with fruit sourced from a variety of Sonoma County appellations with the largest percentages coming from the Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma Valley, and the Sonoma Carneros regions. The labels describe the Sonoma Crest chardonnay as having vibrant ripe apple, apricot and pineapple fruit with sweet vanilla oak and light toasty notes. The merlot is a dark garnet in color with bright cherry, dusty currant and rich chocolate flavors framed in toasty oak. A dark intense wine with multiple layers of currant, plum and holiday spices describes the cabernet sauvignon.
Chardonnay, California's most widely planted grape, remains the country's most popular wine, with continued year-over-year sales increases. Among reds, merlot is the top-seller in the U.S., a position it has held since 1999 after double-digit growth during the 1990s. Cabernet sauvignon has been called the king of red wine grapes. While not enjoying the widespread popularity of chardonnays and merlots, many cabernet wines stand among California's most prized wines, according to the Wine Institute.
California wines are far and away the preferred domestic variety of U.S. wine consumers, ranking first in favorability, familiarity and consumption, according to the Wine Institute. The state produces 90% of all American wine and two out of three bottles consumed here. In 2006, California wine sales in the United States reached an all-time high, driven in large part by the upward trend in the sales of premium wines.
Americans not only are enjoying wine more, they're enjoying higher-quality wines, Herron said. We know that 7-Eleven customers are looking for convenience first and foremost, then quality and value. Sonoma Crest offers a premium quality wine at an unbeatable value. I think we'll see the same success in this segment as we did with Thousand Oaks.
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