Our new Elegant Light Line combines the best of both worlds: unique design in a lighter weight glass, at an attractive price.  These are available at our warehouse in California!

Bordeaux Daniel

Bordeaux Carree

Burgundy Carree

Burgundy Bella

Bordeaux Max

Off to a Great Start

New Showroom

Exciting News! Over the holidays we completed our move into our new office and showroom at 2793 Napa Valley Corporate Drive in Napa. We’ll also be exhibiting in Booth 519 at the 35th Winter Fancy Food Show January 17-19 at the Moscone Center, San Francisco. Then, of course, you can catch us at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium on January 27 and 28. We’ll be in Booth 134 on the Main Floor. So stop by and check out our line of Elegant Light bottles, which are specifically designed to match the look of heavier ‘fancy glass’ packaging, but without the environmental negatives. Our best-selling bottles— Bordeaux Max, Bordeaux Daniel, and the Burgundy Bella—will be on display, and all meet production requirements for capsule application, body width for large labels, and ease of changeover. We look forward to meeting you!

New Year Trends
The San Francisco Examiner’s Adrienne Turner predicts consumers will continue to look for value in the 2010. Citing stats from the Silicon Valley Bank Premium Wine Group, wines selling below $35 will continue to do well, but wines between $50-$125 are in a “dead space,” with only established labels selling. She also thinks that wineries that utilize social media marketing tools will have an advantage over those that don’t, particularly if their brands are suited to the Millennial buyer (ages 18-34), who enjoys “belonging” to wine clubs and who drink at wine bars. Connecting to the wine blogosphere via populists like Dr. Vino, Alder Yarrow, and Gary Vaynerchuk can exponentially enhance a winery’s word-of-mouth buzz, and she believes wineries will continue their utilization of eco-friendly practices, both as a way to distinguish their brand and as a way to reduce their footprint. Finally, she predicts that wine and technology will continue to merge as more wine apps are made available on mobile devices. I’d love to hear from you if you agree or disagree with these predictions. For the article and supporting links, click here: http://bit.ly/4BjqK1

The Influencers
Most of us know that the Millennials are the fastest growing consumer segment. What we may not know is how much more influential Gen Y women (ages 18-34) are compared to their Gen X counterparts (ages 35-49). An interesting post on Millennial Marketing cites a study of both groups and found that Gen Y women consider themselves to be trend leaders and, surprise!, Gen X women agree, saying “They’re more creative in terms of selection in fashion, pop culture, cuisine, etc.” Gen Y women are also twice as likely to use online social networking sites to share their recommendations. This same posting lists ten influential Gen Y women writers, with Leah Hennessey standing out. After getting laid off from a big Hollywood talent agency she started her company and wine blog, Millennier+Wine, which has this posting, “Where Millennials Are Buying Wine: Some Tough Love For The Wine Industry” (http://millennier.wordpress.com). It features results of a study she conducted on Millennial wine buying habits (Bars 1.91%, Grocery Stores 45.71%, Liquor Stores 25.71%, Mini Mart 1.91%, Restaurant 4.76%, Wine Shops 17.14%, Other 3.80%) and an appeal to wineries to “get Millennials out of the grocery store aisles and into wine shops & wineries.” For the article “Millennial Women Disproportionately Influential,” click here: http://bit.ly/6zK8gy

Wine Sales
Wine.com’s most recent survey of customers’ Top 100 favorite wines is an interesting read. This year’s list “reflects current economic trends, with over 75 of the wines coming in under $20 and only two wines above $100,” which supports the continuing trend of “value” in consumer purchasing. Interestingly, though, the price point is up in 2009 from 2008, with an average of $23.50 being paid per bottle, an increase of 15% over last year, which hopefully indicates an increase in consumer confidence. I really like the Wine.com website because it allows folks to select criteria from the Top 100 list and easily distill information to match their tastes. I think winery customers would really like that feature; perhaps something to think about for your next website update. Click here for the survey findings: http://bit.ly/8GdIKW

News ‘n Notes
Glass is the preferred packaging for consumer health and the environment, according to a 2006 survey conducted by Newton Marketing & Research. Consumers also prefer glass because it’s made from all-natural, sustainable raw materials … More Glass Facts: Glass is 100% recyclable with no loss in quality or purity, making it the only true “cradle-to-cradle” packaging material. Glass containers go from recycling bin to store shelf in as little as 30 days, and an estimated 80% of recovered glass containers are made into new glass bottles … According to Global Wine & Spirits.com, weather conditions leading up to the 2009 harvest have again made Pinot Noir the big winner, while other varieties such as Merlot do not seem to have reached their full potential. Click here for global 2009 harvest projections: http://bit.ly/5j86Sc

Once again the media has come to Erica to find out what is happening with glass.   Jeff Quackenbush of the North Bay Business Journal recently interviewed Erica and included her comments in the March 8, 2010 issue of the North Bay Business Journal:

Vintners now have more options for lighter-weight glass to save money on purchasing and bottling and exotic bottle shapes for attention-grabbing packaging.

Some producers of higher end wines are starting to invest again in innovative packaging for attention-catching flagship or secondary labels after a steep slowdown in sales for many expensive brands last year, according to Erica Harrop of Global Package in Napa.

“There’s been a real lull, with many, many wineries that have reduced bottling in the last eight months,” Ms. Harrop said. “Now, there seems to be a rebirth, with people wanting to look at products that are unique and not the lowest common denominator.”

A global shortage of wine bottles in 2007 has turned into a surplus as wineries cut production, so small-scale makers of novel bottles in Europe are looking to attract customers by offering more novel, or “fantasy,” bottle shapes as standard molds, according to Ms. Harrop.

Exotic bottles still can be expensive, she noted. A case of 12 empty bottles from a small-production plant might cost $20 to $30.

However, more lower-cost shapes are coming from Asian and North American plants. As global supply of bottles has increased in the past few years, buyers of glass have become more selective for the quality of the glass itself, according to packaging designers and suppliers.

Another gorgeous VetroElite bottle used by Redmon for a chardonnay.  This beautiful, unique bottle is one of Erica’s favorites!