From the Vineyard

Weak economy energizes second labels

The sputtering economy has refocused many wineries on an old idea—second labels.

Many wineries make a secondary brand or even more than one. They traditionally did it to use grapes that didn't quite make their first cut or expand production for economy of scale and higher revenue.

Of course, the practice is hardly new. Château Mouton Rothschild released the poor 1927 vintage as Carruades de Mouton, then followed in 1930 with Mouton Cadet as a second label. The estate has since expanded with more labels pushing Mouton Cadet further down its portfolio, and Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild is the "best" second label.

Closer to home, Robert Mondavi famously introduced so-called Bob White and Bob Red, as they were called by the industry, to sell more grapes without compromising his winery's famed name. He started Woodbridge in Lodi to expand his company without diluting the primary brand, though over the years, management wavered over how closely to connect the two.

Sometimes, wineries introduce a cheaper brand to offer a wider choice to distributors and stores without diluting their franchise. Pine Ridge, for example, focuses on Napa Valley wines, but makes Forefront with grapes from Sonoma County, the Willamette Valley, Lake County, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.

Another winery that has found other brands useful is Signorello. The winery has been upgrading its already excellent Cabernets, hiring respected winemaker Luc Morlet as a consultant, and tweaking vineyard practices and winemaking in the process of cutting production. Signorello used to make 700 cases of its $125 Padrone per year; it's cut that to 100 cases. Even more dramatically, it's reduced output of its $50 estate Cabernet from 2,500 to 300 cases per year. What happens to the rest of the wine? Proprietor Ray Signorello uses it in his Edge and Fuse wines, which sell for around $20 retail.

The second labels have become more important to many high-end wineries in the last few years as consumers balked at buying expensive wines. The second label provided an alternative to buyers and a source of revenue to the wineries without discounting or otherwise cheapening the brands. In many cases at smaller wineries, these second labels are made from the same vineyards by the same winemaker and in the same facility as the primary wines, though sometimes they are from less-desirable vineyard blocks, use less expensive or used barrels (or alternatives to barrels) and cheaper bottles, corks and labels.

Many of these second labels aren't widely distributed, but may be available over the Internet or in big stores. Here are some examples, with approximate prices (some may not be current):

• Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards Prologue, $24
• Darioush Signature Cabernet Sauvignon $80 vs. Caravan, $35
• Dominus $150 vs. Napanook, $55
• Gemstone Proprietary Red, $150, vs. Facets of Gemstone, $75
• Duckhorn, $70, Napa Valley Red Wine vs. Decoy, $20
• Goldeneye, $50, vs. Migration Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, $34 (Goldeneye in fact, is Duckhorn's Pinot Noir brand.)
• Harlan Estate, about $400, vs The Maiden, about $130
• Lail J. Daniel Cuvée, $125, vs. Blueprint, $55
• Louis M. Martini Zinfandel, $40, vs. Ghost Pines Zinfandel, $15
• Melka Metisse Cabernet Sauvignon, $155, vs. Melka CJ Cabernet Sauvignon, $52
• Opus One Cabernet Sauvignon, $175, vs. Overture, $65
• Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red, $105, vs. Jayson Red, $45
• Peter Michael Le Moulin Rouge, $140, vs. Knights Valley Pinot Noir 2006, $37
• Seavey Cabernet Sauvignon, $95, vs. Caravina Cabernet Sauvignon, $55
• Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, $136, vs. Lyndenhurst Cabernet Sauvignon, $60
• Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon, $55, vs Hawk Crest Cabernet Sauvignon, $10
• Stewart Cellars Nomad, $115, vs. Hollis, $35
• Vineyard 29 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, $225, vs. Cru Cabernet Sauvignon, $54

Even if they are "second," however, most of these are very fine wines. In a few cases, the "second" label trumps the existing brand; as with Trinchero's high-end wines, which are a tiny output compared to the family's giant Sutter Home. The family realized the futility of extending the Sutter Home brand upward, and anyway, why not honor their family name?

Paul Franson is a freelance wine writer living in Napa, CA.
www.napalife.com ~ www.traveltastes.com