US: Bronco to launch cheap Napa wine - report
06 Jun 2005
Source: just-drinks.com editorial team
Bronco Wine Co. has come out fighting following a court ruling against it using the Napa Valley name on non-Napa wines. The Californian winery is looking to launch a Napa-labelled wine - using grapes from the area - priced at US$3.99 a bottle, according to local reports.
Bronco, which is owned by Fred Franzia, lost its legal claim last week to use the Napa Valley name on non-Napa wines. Californian newspaper The Modesto Bee said this weekend that Franzia will market vintage-dated, Napa Valley-appellation chardonnay and merlot under its Napa Creek label.
The paper cites Bronco spokesman Harvey Posert in the report, saying that the wine will be available exclusively through the Trader Joe’s retail chain within the next fortnight.
When asked by the paper if the US$3.99 Napa Valley wine is a reaction to Bronco’s long battle with Napa vintners, Posert said: “It certainly sends a message that good Napa Valley wine can be produced and sold for a low price.”
Bronco is the company behind the Charles Shaw brand, a wine available solely through Trader Joe’s in the US for US$1.99. The wine is more commonly known as Two Buck Chuck.
“Now there is enough Napa Valley wine out there to be able to do this,” Posert told the paper. “Fred wants to put wine on everybody’s table, and he can do it when the wine is out there.”
Chef2Chef News Desk