Truett-Hurst launches occasion-specific wrapped wine line

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
The wine aisle at Safeway is about to get more interesting.
Truett-Hurst, the Healdsburg wine company, has inked an agreement with the grocery chain to roll out a line of wines that are wrapped in vibrant, foil-like paper designed to help consumers pair wines with special occasions.
A brand called “Curious Beasts,” a red blend geared for Halloween and Day of the Dead, has a dark foil wrapper decorated with skeletons and skulls. Another brand called “Shuck’s,” suggested for seafood pairings, has fish illustrations and recipes on its foil wrapper and will be sold near the seafood case at Safeway, said Phil Hurst, CEO of Truett-Hurst. A brut rose from the Russian River Valley is designed for occasions like an anniversary or the birth of a child.
“We sell a lot of wine with traditional labels on it, but to really do something revolutionary, we wanted to create something that never has been done before,” Hurst said. “Everyone sells wine on terroir, and barrel aging, and grape varieties, and that’s fine, but we wanted to sell wine on how people buy wine, and that is the occasion.”
Safeway has made a multi-million dollar commitment to sell more than 50,000 cases initially, Hurst said. Truett-Hurst expects to produce 100,000 cases of the wrapped bottles in the first year. Most will retail for $11.99 to $21.99 a bottle, but a premium champagne will sell for $50, Hurst said.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20120912/BUSINESS/120919871