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Whisky Advocate has announced Utah’s High West as its Distiller of the Year for 2016. The award comes as High West, led by chief executive John Esposito, joins the Constellation portfolio. Constellation acquired the fast-growing craft distiller this fall for an estimated $160 million.
High West’s core four brands are Rendezvous rye ($59.99 a 750-ml.), Double Rye ($34.99), American Prairie Bourbon ($34.99) and Campfire ($64.99), a blend of Bourbon, rye and peated Scotch. Under Esposito, who will continue to oversee the business, High West’s annual volume has risen to around 70,000 cases this year, up from just 35,000 cases just two years ago, according to Impact Databank. Next year, the company is projecting volume of 95,000-100,000 cases. The Distiller of the Year honor concludes Whisky Advocate’s 23rd annual awards.
Industry veterans Peter Click and Alan MacDonald have opened a new importing company, Golden Frog Productions. Their first offering is Awning Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($17) from the Apalta region in Chile’s Colchagua Valley. Currently in 15 states, Awning is expected to reach national distribution next year, and Click and MacDonald are targeting 50,000 cases within three to five years. “There are no fine wines from Chile’s Apalta region that retail for under $20,” says Click. “Because of our model, where we’ve taken out a lot of the fat on the importer level, Awning can retail for under $20.”
Golden Frog plans to launch one or two new imported wines a year, each under a different brand, and is currently scouting producers in Spain, France and Argentina. The idea is to focus on a single SKU for each brand, creating accessible propositions for U.S. consumers in terms of branding and packaging. Awning Estate, produced in partnership with Chile’s Viña Ventisquero, is currently concentrated on the East Coast, but will continue to expand westward, focusing first on key markets.
Click and MacDonald intend to run a lean company with slimmer margins than most importers—and thereby reduce bottle prices by as much as 30% on the shelf. “A traditional importer may take a margin of 45%, but ours are under 10%,” says MacDonald. “We’re able to do that because we’re a small operation.”
Peter Click sold his Click Wine Group—known for brands like Fat Bastard, Root: 1 and Clean Slate—to The Winebow Group in 2008. MacDonald has served with both Click Wine Group and Winebow, as well as Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, across a two-decade career in the industry.
•Trinchero Family Estates has acquired Mason Cellars, owners of Pomelo and Three Pears wines, for an undisclosed price. The move bolsters Trinchero’s presence in both the $7-$10 and $10-$15 price segments. The Napa Valley-based Mason Cellars was founded in 1993 by renowned winemaker Randy Mason and his wife Megan. It’s best known for its California-appellated Pomelo range, which has received Top 100 accolades from Wine Spectator. Under the terms of the deal, Randy Mason will remain involved in the production and promotion of Mason Cellars wines.
•As SND reported yesterday, France’s EPI Group has formed a new alliance with Brunello di Montalcino icon Biondi-Santi. The move will see Biondi-Santi join Piper and Charles Heidsieck Champagnes in EPI’s drinks portfolio. Wine Spectator caught up with both Biondi Santi and EPI to learn more about the deal and plans for the prestigious Italian winery looking ahead.
•Rodney Strong Vineyards has announced a $250,000 gift to the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University (SSU). The gift will support the completion of SSU’s Wine Spectator Learning Center, and will also fund the launch of Rodney Strong Pathways, an initiative providing co-curricular training in financial literacy, entrepreneurship, career guidance and leadership to about 600 students in SSU’s Education Opportunity Program.
•Republic National Distribution Co. (RNDC) has named Nicholas Mehall as CFO, effective February 1, 2017. Most recently, Mehall served as senior vice president, finance for Diageo’s U.S. Spirits and Canada business. He will be based in Atlanta and report to RNDC president and CEO Tom Cole.
•St. Louis’s Schlafly Beer is launching a new premium collection called From the Ibex Cellar. Featuring six beers aged in the Ibex Cellar beneath the Schlafly Tap Room in downtown St. Louis, the new series will debut with Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, matured in Kentucky Bourbon barrels. The next entry, to be released in the first quarter of next year, will be Local Oak, a brew with a light malt character aged in locally grown Ozark timber. The Ibex series will also eventually include an Imperial Coffee Stout, Gooseberry Gose, Barrel-Aged Pumpkin Ale and Single Malt Scottish Ale. Schlafly’s Ibex brews will roll out across the brewer’s distribution territory in six-packs of 11.2-ounce bottles retailing at $18.
•Fort Collins, Colorado-based Odell Brewing is set to enter the Illinois market through a partnership with Breakthru Beverage. Beginning in February, Odell’s flagship 90 Shilling, Odell IPA, Drumroll APA, Myrcenary Double IPA, as well as seasonal and limited releases will be available on draft and in bottles and cans throughout the state. With its newest market, Odell will have a distribution footprint of 14 states. Odell is the 34th-largest craft brewer nationwide, according to the Brewers Association.
•Windsor, Vermont’s Silo Distillery has partnered with Boston-based Harpoon Brewery for the release of Silo Solstice, a spirit distilled from Harpoon’s unfiltered UFO White Ale. Solstice is a clear spirit said to feature notes of orange peel and coriander. It’s rolling out to Vermont and New Hampshire state liquor stores as well as Total Wine & More in Massachusetts. Silo’s other craft spirits include Cucumber Vodka, Lavender Vodka, Cacao Vodka and a gin featuring Vermont apples.
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