Wally’s Puts Auctions On Hold While It Looks For A Partner, Reports Wine Spectator

Wally’s Wine Auctions, the young auction division of Los Angeles retailer Wally’s Wine & Spirits, has suspended sales for the time being while it discusses partnering with a major international auction house, Wine Spectator has learned. The company postponed a New York auction scheduled for March but plans to resume sales this fall.

“Wally’s is going to be partnering with an international auction house,” said Wally’s Wine & Spirits president Christian Navarro. “We’re doing this to expand our brand globally.”

Although Navarro would not name the auction house in question, there are only a few international houses with experience in wine: the two leading names are Christie’s and Sotheby’s. The wine departments for both houses did not respond to requests for comment. Wine Spectator has more on this story.

Ste. Michelle Debuts Intrinsic, An “Extreme Extended Maceration” Wine

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates is hitting the market with its latest new product, an upscale Washington Cabernet called Intrinsic, characterized by “extreme extended maceration.” Featuring a label designed by Brooklyn street artist Zimer, Intrinsic is launching nationally at around $22 a bottle. A Ste. Michelle spokesperson told SND that the company produced 30,000 cases of Intrinsic for the inaugural 2014 vintage, and intends the brand to be a fixture in its portfolio moving forward, with a 2015 vintage currently in the works.

Intrinsic was created by Columbia Crest head winemaker Juan Muñoz-Oca after years of trial and error with extreme extended maceration. Sourced from the Beverly Vineyard in the Columbia Valley AVA and Eagle & Plow Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills, nearly half of the grapes for Intrinsic were left on the skins for nine months (compared with an average of under one month for a typical red wine), a technique that Muñoz-Oca says unlocks additional layers of depth and flavor.

News Briefs:

•E.&J. Gallo has added a new edition to its fast-rising Viniq liqueur range with the launch of Viniq Glow, a blend of vodka and Moscato with hints of peach and apricot. Glow joins the grapefruit-flavored Ruby and the core offering in the Viniq line. Introduced in mid-2014, Viniq recently received Impact “Hot Brand” honors after selling 225,000 cases in 2015.

•New York’s Dreyfus Ashby & Co. is launching French pear liqueur Golden Eight in the U.S. Produced by Alsace-based distiller G.E. Massenez, Golden Eight is made with Pear Williams eau-de-vie that has been aged for eight years. The 25%-abv entry is available in a gift-boxed 750-ml. bottle, retailing at $TK. In addition to Golden Eight, Dreyfus Ashby handles a variety of G.E. Massenez liqueurs, including its Crème de Peche, Crème de Cassis di Dijon, Crème de Fraise des Bois, G.E. Massenez Poire Prisonnière and G.E. Massenez Calvados Vieux, among others.

•Luxco has detailed plans to open a new distillery along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail in Bardstown, Kentucky. Construction on the project is slated to begin this summer, with the 18,000-square-foot facility set to feature six barrel warehouses, a tasting room and event space. The distillery, which is expected to be operational by late 2017, will help Luxco keep pace with growing demand for its Bourbon portfolio, which includes the Rebel Yell, Blood Oath and Ezra Brooks brands.

•A. Hardy USA has become the exclusive importer for Prince de Polignac Cognac. The Des Plains, Illinois-based importer will be handling the entire Polignac range, which was recently repackaged in a fashion that celebrates the brand’s history. A. Hardy USA currently markets another Cognac line—Hardy—as well as an array of other spirits and wine brands.

Craft Brewing and Distilling News:

•New Belgium Brewing has begun production at its new 500,000-barrel, 127,000-square-foot brewery in Asheville, North Carolina. The craft brewer’s Asheville site will focus mainly on producing flagship label Fat Tire Amber Ale, with production of other brews ramping up according to demand. The output of the Asheville brewery, combined with that of New Belgium’s Fort Collins, Colorado home base, gives the company a total annual capacity of 1.5 million barrels.

•Narragansett Beer is planning to bring brewing operations back to its home state of Rhode Island for the first time since 1983. The craft player has been contract brewing its beer through Genesee Brewery in Rochester, New York and Buzzards Bay Brewing in Westport, Massachusetts. This week, Narragansett will be relocating its offices to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, with a brewhouse slated to open at the site later this year. According to a brewery spokesperson, Narragansett plans to continue contract brewing a portion of its brews—including its flagship lager and some seasonals—and will initially focus on producing limited edition and small-batch offerings at its Rhode Island facility.

•A combined tiki bar and rum distillery called Potomac Distilling Co. is planned within a new mixed-use development called The Wharf on Washington D.C.’s southwest side along the Potomac River. Backed by the Eat Good Food Group, which owns the local Restaurant Eve and a bar called PX, Potomac will be headed by the PX’s current mixologist, Todd Thrasher, who will be the distiller. His plan is to acquire a 200-gallon still and produce four different rums—white, traditional spiced, rum for aging and a non-traditional spiced. Among his spices, he expects to employ cardamom, lemongrass and mint. The facility will encompass three bars, including a grassy rooftop space with a fire pit and tiki torches, with seating overall for 100 people. Restaurant Eve’s chef, Cathal Armstrong, will create a 20-item small-plates bar menu designed to be paired with rum-based cocktails. There will also be a retail shop for sale of Potomac rums by the bottle. The new venue will open in 2017, with no precise launch date fixed as yet.

•Illinois-based Few Spirits is expanding distribution of its namesake 84-proof Breakfast Gin following a successful run in the Chicago area, where the gin launched last summer. Retailing at around $40 a bottle, Few Breakfast Gin—flavored with juniper, lemon peel and Earl Grey tea—is now available in seven states, Washington, D.C., and the U.K., with more markets slated to follow. It’s geared toward brunch cocktails such as the Ramos Gin Fizz and French 75.

 

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