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January 2017 WINES&VINES 113 PACKAGING Clos LaChance decided some years ago to use more sustain- able, lightweight "eco" bottles for all of its tiers. Labels are different for each product, but all retain the winery name and its signa- ture hummingbird. Designate is screen printed, front and back. For the Estate level, all the wines are in screwcap. The corks in the Reserve and Designate level are custom, with the phone number, URL and branding in- cluded. The hummingbird is on the top of all capsules and screwcaps. Shipping cartons are custom- ized only for the Estate tier, since it is sold through distribution, and "only retailers really care about it," Durzy said. Labels are printed by Trysk in Washington state. "We use a thick paper for both, but the Reserve tier costs more due to smaller quantities," she noted. Corks, capsules and screwcaps are sourced from Cork Supply; Diablo Valley Packaging provides bottles and boxes. Peltier Glass Works now handles the winery's screen printing. One big, happy family With annual production of about 850,000 cases, Wente Vineyards is a heavyweight among family- owned wineries. Amy Hoopes, president of the Livermore, Calif.- based winery, noted that the com- pany has been growing and making wines since 1883, and has explored different options of brand hierarchy during the course of its five generations. "While there are many ways to look at how a winery can divvy up its portfolio—by channel focus, by sourcing, by production size—it is most often done with the end con- sumer in mind and simply tiered by price points," Hoopes ex- plained. "For Wente Vineyards, it is imperative for us to continue to share our story of authentic, es- tate-grown, certified-sustainable wines to our consumers, regard- less of channel or price. With this in mind, our portfolio of wines strives to keep the iconic family name at the forefront." Within the portfolio, a wide range of wines is priced from $15 to $120 per bottle. Most readily available, the Estate Grown col- lection is distributed in all 50 states and more than 75 countries worldwide, both at retail and on- premise establishments for $15- $18 per bottle. The packaging reflects the multi-generational history of the Wente brand, in- cluding a watermark of the home estate to convey a sense of place. Each of the wines also bears a proprietary name: Among Wente's four different Chardonnays, for instance, consumers can easily distinguish between the Morning Fog and Riva Ranch selections from the Single Vineyards collec- tion of three different wines from across company plantings that sprawl across the Livermore Valley as well as Arroyo Seco in Mon- terey County, Calif. This tier is sold across all trade channels in the United States and abroad at prices from $22 to $30 per bottle. Labels are somewhat simplified to focus on specific vineyards where the grapes are grown while maintain- ing the Wente Vineyards icon. Three more Wente tiers in- clude Small Lots, retailing at $24-$40 per bottle, mostly on- Lola (left), a Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend, is the least expensive Steven Kent wine at $24, while The Premier Cabernet Sauvignon (right) retails for $100.