Dive Brief:
- Albertsons and Safeway announced Thursday the launch of Vine & Cellar, a collection of curated wines available for ship-to-home.
- Available only in California and for Albertsons “for U” loyalty members, the collection includes “an expanded assortment of wine varietals and global wine regions” with price points ranging from $10 to more than $1,000 per bottle. The collection’s selection was curated by Albertsons’ Master of Wine and Group Vice President Alcohol Curtis Mann and his buying team, per the press release.
- The offering adds an additional perk to the grocery company’s banner-branded loyalty programs while aiming to elevate the grocery company’s alcohol expertise.
Dive Insight:
Mann said in a statement that Vine & Cellar is serving as a destination for customers looking to build their own wine collections, introducing them to new blends and regions.
“We are launching Vine & Cellar to give our customers and fellow wine enthusiasts the ability to discover and shop regional and specialty wines from smaller vineyards that are not usually available at national supermarket retailers,” Mann said in the announcement.
Along with the educational and discovery components of the collection, Albertsons is leaning into the convenience of the ship-to-home offering to customers. “Skip the lines & traffic. Have your favorite wines shipped to your front door,” per Vine & Cellar on Safeway’s website.
California customers, who must be members of the grocery company’s free banner-branded “for U” loyalty programs, can shop Vine & Cellar under the “featured” category on the websites and apps for Safeway, Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions. Wine from the collection will arrive in one to three business days.
Per the collection’s FAQs on the Safeway and Vons websites, Vine & Cellar orders must be placed separately and cannot be combined with grocery delivery or pickup transactions. Vine & Cellar orders are excluded from the unlimited delivery benefits under the FreshPass membership and offers and discounts connected to the “for U” loyalty program do not apply to the wine collection, according to those FAQs.
In the announcement, Albertsons highlighted Mann’s wine expertise, noting that he is “one of only 60 Masters of Wine in the country.” Mann said his team tasted “thousands of wines from Sancerre to Burgundy to Napa Valley so our customers can enjoy the tannin, body and fruit of old world and new world vintages.”
Albertsons noted that Vine & Cellar further expands the grocery company’s growing wine portfolio, which includes its private label wines such as Vinaforé, Signature Reserve, O Organics and Kaylana. In November, Albertsons announced a new private label collection of premium wines called the Vinaforé Collection, featuring offerings curated by Mann in partnership with the winery DC Flynt MW Selections. The wines in that collection cost between $14.99 and $21.99.
