Rouses Launches Store-Brand Wine

CAROL ANGRISANI

NEW ORLEANS — Rouses Supermarkets has just introduced a line of store-brand traditional and premium wines.

The wine is marketed in two lines — Heritage and Reserve — sold under the Rouses’ brand. The Heritage line is available in chardonnay, cabernet, merlot and several other varietals for $7.99 per 750-mililiter bottled. The Reserve line is a super-premium line of zinfandel, sauvignon blanc and others for about $12.99 a bottle.

Rouses played a major role in the package design, said Dana Fehler, marketing and public relations manager, Adler Fels Winery, Santa Rosa, Calif., which sources, packages and distributes the wine.

“Rouses came to use with a label design and asked us to fine-tune it,” Fehler told SN at the Private Label Manufacturers Association’s annual trade show in Chicago Sunday through yesterday. Rouses’ and several other private-label wines were on display at Adler’s booth.

While other retailers have shied away from putting their names on private-label wine, Rouses welcomed the opportunity to promote its brand, according to Fehler. “They wanted to tout their stores,” Fehler told SN.

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