February 08, 2018
Delicato Family Vineyards Appointed Exclusive U.S. Importer for Viña Santa Rita
Delicato will expand into imports with top-selling Chilean wine portfolio
NAPA, Calif. (February 8, 2018) – Family-owned and managed wine company Delicato Family Vineyards (“Delicato”) and Chilean wine company Viña Santa Rita (“Santa Rita”) announced today an agreement to appoint Delicato as the exclusive U.S. importer for Santa Rita brands with authorization to import, register, distribute and sell in all U.S. states beginning on April 1, 2018. Delicato will manage the sales and marketing, and Santa Rita will maintain ownership and production of the wines. Santa Rita is the #1 selling wine in Chile and the #2 Chilean Brand in the U.S.*
Delicato is the fastest growing ‘Top Ten’ wine company as reported by The Nielsen Company*, and was recognized at the January 24, 2018 Unified Wine Symposium with the top growth award for 2017**, led by the performance of Bota Box, Noble Vines, Gnarly Head, Black Stallion Estate Winery and Z. Alexander Brown wines.
In 2017, Delicato made a strategic investment in V2 Wine Group of Sonoma (“V2”), to expand the company’s presence in the on premise and fine wine selling channels. The company now has two distinct sales and marketing organizations, each with its unique product portfolio and channel strategy, supported by a singular national accounts team. V2’s portfolio includes luxury wines from top wine growing regions such as Napa’s Merryvale and Starmont Wineries, Sonoma’s Toad Hollow, Donati Family Vineyards, Oregon’s Wine by Joe, Washington’s Mercer Estates, and Torbreck Vintners of the Barossa Valley. The addition of the Santa Rita brands showcases the dual sales organization strategy with Delicato’s national division managing the premium tier, and the V2 division managing the luxury tiers of Santa Rita.
“Our partnership with Santa Rita marks our first entrance into the imported wine category, allowing us to better serve our customers with category leading brands such as the popular Santa Rita 120 and the iconic Casa Real,” noted Delicato President and CEO Chris Indelicato. “Like Delicato, Santa Rita has a rich history rooted in family and we are thrilled to be working alongside them to grow these brands”.
“We are excited to join forces with Delicato as our partner in the U.S. based on the company’s continued growth trajectory and the cultural continuity of working with a family run business,” said Viña Santa Rita CEO Andrés Lavados. “Delicato has the sales and marketing expertise and the national distribution network to take Santa Rita to the next level.”
Viña Santa Rita is one of the leaders of the Chilean Wine Industry with vineyards in the most important premium valleys in Chile and main facilities in the heart of Maipo Valley, closed to the capital Santiago. Viña Santa Rita was founded in 1880 and in 1980 was acquired by Santiago-based Claro Group, a leading producer of premium wines in South America. Today the property in Maipo Alto, Alto Jahuel, is declared Historical Heritage with historic buildings and a 19th century park, museum, hotel and restaurant.
*Nielsen, xAOC Liquor Plus, 52 Weeks Ending 12-30-17
** Nielsen “Best of the Best 2017” – 100K case growth + double digit % increases