by Jasper Russo
If you are a Swedish company trying to sell French box wines you better have an ace up your sleeve. Having internationally recognized designers Takis Soldatos and Sofia Bloomberg design award winning packaging certainly qualifies. Vernissage will soon be peddling White (Chardonnay/Viognier), Red (Cabernet/Syrah) & Rose’ (Syrah) wines from the Vin de Pays d’Oc appellation in the south of France in these upscale packages. Importer Elliot Stern tells me that the first shipments will not arrive in the US until October 25th and that puts the wine in the Dallas market around Thanksgiving.
Suggested retail for a 1.5 Liter purse should be around $20, with the 3 Liter handbag around $40. How’s the wine? Who knows? But stellar sales in Scandinavia, China and Japan suggest the wine is at least quaffable and the barrage of advance publicity on morning talk shows is already driving searchers to wine retailers looking for the next hot accessory.
Welcome our newest writer, Jasper Russo who has spent over 30 years as a wine professional in Dallas in all facets of the business including restaurant, retail, wholesale and importing and is a respected wine competition judge. Jasper has been the Wine Buyer for Sigel’s Fine Wine and Spirits for the last 10 years.
