Ste. Michelle Wine Estates said it formed ēlicit Wine Project, an innovation hub to develop and incubate new brands and products grounded in rich consumer insights.
“Over the past five years, virtually all growth in the premium wine segment has come from new products – products that didn’t exist prior to that period,” said Jim Mortensen, President/CEO of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. “We’ve successfully introduced several products during this time, but this new team will enable us to move more quickly to bring innovative concepts to market and capture our share of this growth.”
ēlicit Wine Project will be led by Patrick Kozel, previously Director of Insights and Innovation for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and now Director for ēlicit Wine Project. Prior to joining Ste. Michelle in 2011, Kozel held similar roles with Ascentia Wine Estates, Beam Wine Estates and Allied Domecq; and has more than 20 years of wine industry experience in marketing, market research, business development and sales.
“ēlicit Wine Project will be insulated but not isolated from the rest of our organization, allowing the team to move quickly to respond to rapidly-evolving consumer and industry trends,” said Dan Werth, Chief Operating Officer. “ēlicit Wine Project will leverage our world-class winemaking team and our best-in-class field sales team to bring ideas from conception to consumption as quickly as possible.”
ēlicit Wine Project will launch three new brands in 2020:
— Liquid Light ($13.99) – a vibrant, crisp, refreshing Sauvignon Blanc from Washington State – launched in Illinois and Florida in 2019 and will be available nationwide in January. Inspired by the recently-discovered fifth state of matter – liquid crystals – Liquid Light™ is an ultra-high-acid expression of Sauvignon Blanc that reflects a vibrant spectrum of citrus, tropical and orchard fruit aromas and flavors.
— Fruit & Flower ($12.99, $10.99 for a two-can pack), which includes a Chardonnay in 750ml bottles as well as Sparkling, Chardonnay, and Rosé in two-packs of 250ml cans, is the ideal lifestyle accessory for the urban interior greenery movement. All three Fruit & Flower wines feature fruit-forward flavors and floral aromas, along with highly-expressive, fruit and flower-themed packaging.
All wines and formats will be available nationwide in January.
— Altered Dimension, inspired by visually-intensive, perception-bending experiential art installations – Altered Dimension offers three package expressions – black (Cabernet Sauvignon), white (Sauvignon Blanc), and pink (Rosé) – all retailing for $14.99 and all available nationwide in January.
ēlicit Wine Project will also manage several brands previously introduced under the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates portfolio: ANEW, Borne of Fire, The Cosmic Egg Wine Co., INTRINSIC Wine Co., MERF Wines, Prayers of Sinners & Saints, and Tenet Wines.