FRED FRANZIA KICKS OFF LATEST INSTALLMENT
Fred Franzia’s Bronco Wine Company has officially released varietals from its new Napa River Brand – created after Bronco lost its legal battle with Napa Valley Vintners over the use of “Napa” in brand names that do not in fact contain Napa Valley grapes. The wines are available exclusively at Trader Joe’s retail stores for $4.99 a bottle.
Some people in the wine industry perceive the new brand, titled Napa River Brand, as a jab to Napa vintners who had recently opposed Bronco. To the contrary apparently, as Franzia told Wine & Vines that Bronco was merely “reacting to the realities of the marketplace.”
Franzia – who is famous for saying “no wine should cost more than 10 bucks” – is able to offer such low-priced wines as Charles Shaw and Napa River Brand because of the continuing supply of surplus grapes. Napa River might actually help the California industry by clearing out some of the inventory. However, as UBS analyst Kaumil Gajrawala pointed out:
“While Franzia's new product launch is priced more rationally ($4.99 vs. $1.99), we believe Constellation's below $9 wines (80% of volumes) could be at risk in the near-term.”
Some people in the wine industry perceive the new brand, titled Napa River Brand, as a jab to Napa vintners who had recently opposed Bronco. To the contrary apparently, as Franzia told Wine & Vines that Bronco was merely “reacting to the realities of the marketplace.”
Franzia – who is famous for saying “no wine should cost more than 10 bucks” – is able to offer such low-priced wines as Charles Shaw and Napa River Brand because of the continuing supply of surplus grapes. Napa River might actually help the California industry by clearing out some of the inventory. However, as UBS analyst Kaumil Gajrawala pointed out:
“While Franzia's new product launch is priced more rationally ($4.99 vs. $1.99), we believe Constellation's below $9 wines (80% of volumes) could be at risk in the near-term.”
posted at 1:02 PM
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