Wilson Daniels: Wine’s $20 And Up Tier Showing Solid Momentum
New York-based importer, marketer, and wholesaler Wilson Daniels is focused firmly on the premium and above tier of the wine market, and president Rocco Lombardo tells SND that momentum remains strong currently, especially higher on the pricing ladder. Within Wilson Daniels’ 700,000-case national range, wines from the likes of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Domaine Leflaive, Biondi-Santi, and Gaja, among others, are outperforming.
“All in all, depletions are up about 6% at midyear,” Lombardo says. “The luxury sector continues to outperform. Anything above $20 is doing well, anything above $50 is doing better, and anything below $20 is not doing as well.”
Lombardo adds that momentum is continuing for Wilson Daniels’ sparkling portfolio, which includes labels like Champagne Gosset at about 9,000 cases, according to Impact Databank; the Bisol portfolio of Proseccos, including both the namesake label (9,000 cases) and Jeio (130,000 cases); and the Schramsberg range, which totals about 82,000 cases including the top-tier J Schram, the flagship Schramsberg brand, and the second label Mirabelle.
Tete de cuvee J Schram ($100) now features three different wines and has seen strong growth from a small base lately, up about 50% this year, with volume at around 1,000 cases. The Schramsberg namesake brand grew 6% to 57,000 cases last year, led by its Blanc de Blancs, which sells in the $40-$44 area. Mirabelle, meanwhile, retails at $30 and contributes about 24,000 cases.
The Schramsberg portfolio is part of an expanding range of domestic wines handled by Wilson Daniels, with Napa Valley’s Chateau Montelena the most recent to join the fold. Montelena unveiled two limited releases in June—a 2023 Blanc de Blancs sparkler and a brandy—coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the legendary Judgment of Paris tasting, in which the winery’s 1973 Chardonnay triumphed.
In recent weeks, Wilson Daniels aligned with Johnson Brothers and Reyes Beverage Group across 12 states where its brands have previously been handled by RNDC. Johnson Brothers is gaining the Wilson Daniels range in five states—Indiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and West Virginia—while Reyes will take on the portfolio in seven markets, including Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia. The deal with Johnson Brothers took effect August 1 and the appointment of Reyes was effective June 1.
“I think we’ll be stronger coming out of [the change in distribution] than we were going in because I like the fact that we’ll be more diversified,” says Lombardo.—Daniel Marsteller
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Tagged : Biondi-Santi, Bisol, Gaja, Jeio, Leflaive, Romanee-Conti, Schramsberg, Wilson Daniels
