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Giant Food highlights private label wine

Exclusive brand helps chain position itself as wine-buying destination

Russell Redman

December 21, 2018

4 Min Read
Supermarket News logo in a gray background | Supermarket News

Giant Food is looking to be on shoppers’ short lists of places to go for high-quality yet affordable wine.

The Landover, Md.-based supermarket chain this week began promoting award-winning and highly rated wines in stores, including Artisan Vintners Wine, a private label exclusive to the retailer. Efforts include additional signage, a prominent display space dedicated to the brand and marketing in the retailer’s Savory magazine.

Artisan_Vintners_Wine_Giant_Landover_3.jpgJeffrey Pygott, category manager for beer and wine at Giant, curated the Artisan brand in tandem with Larson Family Winery, a Sonoma, Calif.-based vintner. Pygott, who has more than 30 years of experience tasting wines from around the world, tastes and hand-selects all wines on Giant shelves.

At any given time, Giant locations with a wine and beer selection carry up to 1,200 varieties. The grocery retailer said it now has wine and beer sections at 67 stores in Virginia, the District of Columbia and Maryland.

"Artisan Vintners Wine is a line we are so proud to be able to offer our shoppers," Pygott said in a statement.

This year, at the Indy International Wine Competition, Artisan won silver medal awards for its 2016 Chardonnay, 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2015 Pinot Noir wines. The chardonnay features bright aromas of golden apple and pear with a hint of lime, while the cabernet offers intense aromas of cassis and dark cherry plus a hint of blueberry, toffee and nutmeg. Giant said earthy undertones of spice and cedar balance cherry and strawberry flavors in the pinot.

Related:Ahold Delhaize USA makes Giant investment

"Each award-winning variety was recognized for both flavor and quality, and shoppers can experiment its versatility at home by trying pairings with numerous foods," Pygott said.

Besides the private label, Giant also carries a collection of highly rated wine at discounted prices for shoppers. Those offerings include the 1907 Malbec, Time Waits For No One Red, Tonel 46 Malbec and Villa Pillo Toscana Red.

In upgrading its store base, Giant has put more emphasis on wine and beer. The company said earlier this month that a $175 million, two-year program to open one new store and remodel 24 will include an enhanced beer and wine assortment. The bigger selection also is part of remodeled stores opened last month in Herndon and Alexandria, Va., and a new store in Olney, Md., due to open next spring. Overall, the Ahold Delhaize USA chain operates 164 stores in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and Washington, D.C.

Private label wines, in particular, have gained traction at supermarkets as the quality level has risen and the pricing has caught the eyes of consumers, according to the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA).

Related:Kroger online wine store makes debut

At the 2018 PLMA Trade Show in Chicago, wine experts and grocery industry participants in a wine-tasting event and discussion said supermarkets can become wine destinations by carrying an assortment of high-quality private brands, which can cost a third less than similar bottles from the nation’s largest wine producers.

“Why not buy the retailer’s own brands of wine at the supermarket and save? That’s the way it works in Europe. So why shouldn’t it work that way in the U.S.?” asked wine writer Jeff Siegel, whose “The Wine Curmudgeon” blog is a leading wine website. “Imagine how happy their wine-drinking customers would be hearing they can buy terrific sparkling wine for $5? They’d be waiting in line for the store to open, too.”

PLMA noted that wines from retailers like Costco, Trader Joe’s and Aldi were honored at the show with its International Salute to Excellence Awards, which reviewed over 300 wines from 39 supermarket chains in 13 countries. The association also pointed out that Whole Foods Markets last year introduced a seasonal wine program, and Walmart launched its curated wine label at competitive prices.

And Siegel thinks U.S. supermarkets can branch out from popular wine varieties like chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon. “That should be just the beginning. It shouldn’t be three wines, but dozens of wines. Why not a $6 rose? Or an $8 sauvignon blanc? Or a $9 pinot noir?” he said. “The idea that quality wine has to cost a certain amount is as old fashioned as a dial telephone. Otherwise, how would the Europeans be so successful?”

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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