GREAT WINE COMES IN SMALL PACKAGES

One reason for wine’s recent success in the U.S. is its new image. Shedding its stodgy stereotype from the past, the wine category has managed to reel in all sorts of demographics and income levels leading it to be the fastest growing sector in the alcohol industry. Screwcaps, critter labels, kooky names, and unusual packages have made the wine aisle one of the more interesting locations in any grocery store – boxed wine is the fastest growing package while screwcaps are gaining on corks. Another popular container, however, is the 375 ml bottle.

“It’s quality, not quantity,” says the old expression, and Florida’s Sonoma Wine Group took that saying and ran with it. A Better Half is the first brand in the U.S. to be packaged in 375 ml bottles sealed with screwcaps, which allows the Group not to have to rely on large wine shipments. In addition to an untraditional bottle, Better Half is the first wine brand sold exclusively through Miller/Coors wholesalers – a trend that many small wine companies may follow in the future.

“We have a wine program for our beer distributors that allows them to sell the 375 ml wines as simply as a 12-pack of beer,” said Kurt Krause, founder of Sonoma Wine Group, to Wine Business.