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METRICS Ste. Michelle Dominates $8-$10.99 Wine Sales Winery group owns No. 1 spot and three others in premium category S an Rafael, Calif.—Wines from Washington state make up less than 10% of U.S. wine produc- tion, but in at least one price segment they dominate sales: wines from $8 to $10.99 retail, also known as the "pre- mium" category by some marketers. Washington's Chateau Ste. Michelle brand leads this category in sales at major U.S. food and drug stores with $94 million in the 52 weeks ending July 8, according to the Symphony IRI Group (SIG.) Parent company Ste. Michelle Wine Estates claims three additional spots in the top 20 table wine brands at this price: 14 Hands, Columbia Crest Grand Estates and Red Diamond. Chateau Ste. Michelle, based in Woodinville, Wash., has long been the dominant U.S. wine brand in the Northwest, and in this category it stands as an equal with California marketing giants Constellation Brands, E. & J. Gallo and The Wine Group. Chateau Ste. Michelle's popularity in the category is based on Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, in descending order of sales. 14 Hands is hottest In terms of pure sales growth, Ste. Michelle's 14 Hands brand was the hottest among the top 20, expanding by 182% to $29 million. A red blend and a Cabernet Sauvignon are the brand's best-selling items in this price range. Red Diamond was the only Ste. Mi- chelle Wine Estates brand in the top 20 to lose sales. While Chateau Ste. Michelle grew in sales by 6% over 52 weeks, its nearest competitor, Cupcake Vineyards, closed the gap fast with 67% growth and $87 million in sales. Cupcake's parent company is The Wine Group. "Everything Cupcake is selling is on fire," said Curtis Mann, director of client insights for SIG, a Chicago-based market research firm. "They are growing faster than practically anything I've ever seen." Cupcake Chardonnay Cupcake's best-selling varietals are Char- donnay, Sauvignon Blanc, a red blend and Cabernet Sauvignon, according to the data from checkstand scans that SIG ana- 12 WINES & VINES SEPTEMBER 2012 Top 20 Table Wine Brands at $8-$10.99 PRODUCER STATE/ COUNTRY 1 Chateau Ste. Michelle 2 Cupcake Vineyards 3 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Constellation Brands 4 Ménage à Trois 5 Bogle Vineyards 6 Sterling Vintners Collection 7 Beringer Founders Estate 8 Mirassou 9 Blackstone Winemakers Select 10 Apothic 11 14 Hands 12 Smoking Loon 13 Columbia Crest Grand Estates 14 Schmitt Sohne 15 Gnarly Head 16 Ravenswood Vintners Blend 17 Red Diamond 18 Ecco Domani 19 Alamos 20 Dancing Bull Trinchero Family Estates Bogle Vineyards Diageo Chateau & Estate Treasury Wine Estates E. & J. Gallo Winery Constellation Brands E. & J. Gallo Winery California California California California California California California California California DOLLAR SALES IN MILLIONS DOLLAR SALES CHANGE VS. YEAR AGO Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Washington $93.8 6% Wine Group $87.4 67% $75.4 0% $61.5 13% $57.3 11% $49.0 2% $38.0 0% $37.3 1% $36.2 -8% $31.3 129% Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Washington $29.3 182% Don Sebastiani & Sons California Delicato Vineyards Constellation Brands Germany California California $29.0 -8% Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Washington $28.1 15% Schmitt Sohne Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Washington $19.3 E. & J. Gallo Winery E. & J. Gallo Winery E. & J. Gallo Winery Italy Argentina California Major U.S. food and drug stores, 52 weeks ending July 8, 2012. $27.2 -10% $24.6 9% $24.3 1% -8% $19.0 0% $18.6 26% $15.1 -12% lyzes. Its sales of the red blend grew by 222% in the past year, and its Sauvignon Blanc grew by 59%. Gallo's Apothic brand was the company's fastest growing of five brands among the top 20. Based largely on a red blend, the young $10 brand grew by 129%. Gallo imports, Alamos from Argentina and Ecco Domani from Italy, along with traditional California brand Mirassou, also made the top 20. The $8-$10.99 price category is the second largest in terms of sales after the category just below it, $5-$7.99. Mann observed that many consumers enter the wine market in this lower range, then some of them move up to $8 and above in a search for higher quality, while others shift down to even less expensive purchases. Domestic sales up 7% Domestic table wines in general had an- other good month, growing 7% in dollars during the four weeks ending July 8. This rate appears locked in this year, since the 52-week growth rate is the same. Off- premise import wine sales stayed flat dur- ing the four-week and 52-week periods. Washington table wines beat the average U.S. growth with 8%, and Oregon grew by 9% in 52 weeks. Australia, the No. 1 import country according to SIG's data, saw sales shrink by 5%, while Argentina and New Zealand enjoyed growth in the double-digits. Domestic table wines priced at $20 and up continued their growth pattern with 14% greater sales in four weeks, which was slower than their 52-week average of 25%. —Jim Gordon