The availability of wine in multiple package sizes continues to expand in response to consumer demand. “There certainly has been a trend over the past several years from glass to box wines, 3-liters in particular,” says Don Bombace, owner of Bombace Wine & Spirits in Farmington, New York. “Quality has gone up, cost per ounce is affordable, and ease of storing and serving have become major influencers.”
The grab and go culture focusing on convenience is contributing to sales of chilled wine in smaller package sizes. “Although we don’t advertise specific sizes, we run local TV commercials emphasizing a newly built 750-square-foot convenience room that offers a quick way to select wines for concerts or a day on nearby Canandaigua Lake,” Bombace says. “It’s easy in, easy out with hundreds of chilled wines and other beverages in small and regular sizes.”
The top three selling wine brands in alternative packaging at Bombace are Bota Box Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio, Black Box Cabernet-Sauvignon and Pinot Grigio (each $5 a 500-ml.), and Sutter Home Chardonnay ($8 a 4-pack of 187-ml. bottles). “According to many of our customers, Tetra Paks give them more control over consumption, and they can keep the wine staying fresher by being able to serve only a few glasses before either resealing or opening a new package,” Bombace says. “While 4-packs of 187-ml. sizes have declined in sales, we offer mix and match 4-packs, where customers can select various brands and types and pay the same price as solid four packs ($8), which has helped sales with this size.”
The quality of wine available in alternative packaging appears to be improving. In Annapolis, Maryland, sales of Gratsi ($42 per 3-liters) are trending strong at Bay Ridge Wine & Spirits. Produced with French and Italian grapes, Gratsi wines are also attracting attention because they are keto-friendly with zero added sugar and very low carbs—2 grams per 5-ounces of white or rosé and 3 grams for the same serving of red wine— achieved through complete fermentation.
“Gratsi always does fine, but it did really well in June because it was on sale for $34, instead of $42 for a 3-liter box,” says Sam Audia, store sommelier and wine buyer, noting that a Gratsi representative created a retail display with a beach umbrella and big stack of three-liter boxes underneath. “It did well there. Our boxed wine sales have been driven by boaters, but there are a lot of people looking for a bargain.”
Gratsi sales have remained strong at Bay Ridge throughout July. “Even though it has gone back to the original price, sales have not slowed down of the blended white, red, or rosè,” Audia says. “The wines are very good. The zero sugar is something helping drive sales. Whenever we do a Gratsi tasting, people buy it.”
In Miami, Florida, wines in 500-ml. Tetra Paks and single serve 187-ml. bottles are experiencing steady sales at the three-unit convenience store chain Mendez Fuel. “Sales of the 500-ml. Bota Box Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc ($5) are trending well at my 7490 Coral Way store. It’s more my Hispanic side,” says Andrew Mendez, vice president of operations. “It has a consistent customer base and always a steady seller for me for people on the go. I do ok with a couple of the reds, but Bota Box Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc are my top sellers. We occasionally get some rosè.”
The 500-ml. Bota Box wines are displayed in an open-ended cooler not far from the register. The wine is so popular with Mendez’s customers it requires no marketing or advertising from him. “It sells itself,” Mendez says. “I have it established for so long, it’s any easy sale.”
Mendez also does quite well in all three of his stores with the 187-ml. mini bottles of Cavit, Frontera, Crane Lake, and Lunetta Prosecco (each $3). “They are nice little glass bottles, and I always try to get every varietal available,” Mendez says. “I always keep them in the coolers. All three of my stores have them no matter what. In my 3201 Coral Way and 701 Northwest 72nd Avenue stores, the 187-ml. size are very big movers.”
Mendez tries not to carry both the 187-ml. and larger sizes of the same brand. “I try to do one or the other,” he says. “Most of the people drinking the smaller 187-ml. sizes, that’s where their mentality is at. That’s what they are drinking, and they are going to stick to that.”
Mendez says the perception of 187-ml. wines is evolving as sales grow at his stores. “They always used to get looked down upon but have become more normalized and are for people who want just one glass of wine,” he says. “We will occasionally get impulse buying, but we have steady customers who walk into the store and that’s what they’re going straight for.”
Mendez says distributors are responding to consumer trends and more wines are available in alternative packages and particularly smaller sizes. “Now the distributors are carrying many more sizes,” he says. “The smaller sizes are going to stick around. They aren’t going away. Consumers want a more premium brand in these smaller packages.”