Company Expands Category as the Only Provence Rosé Importer in the US
New York, NY, March 10, 2019 — Provence Rosé Group (PRG), the first and only US wine importer specializing solely in rosé from Provence, reports a hugely successful 2018 launch. During its first year of business, Provence Rosé Group has made outstanding strides in availability and recognition for its represented wines through key distribution partnerships, quality restaurant and retail placements and strategic media relations.
A subsidiary of French-based company MDVC, Provence Rosé Group includes 4 leading Provence rosé estates: Château de Berne, Ultimate Provence, Château des Bertrands and Château Saint Roux—with the first three properties being introduced in the US in 2018. From those estates, 4 wines were highlighted as priority in 2018: Berne Estate, Inspiration and Emotion from Château de Berne and UP Rosé from Ultimate Provence.
Starting in January 2018, Provence Rosé Group began opening markets for its wines. By the close of the year, it had achieved distribution across 38 states, with 13 states added since June 2018. Its key partners include Republic National Distributing Company, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, Fedway, Martignetti, CDI, Empire, and MS Walker.
In less than a year, Provence Rosé Group generated revenues of almost $3 million dollars in new sales and successfully placed its wines in over 3,000 accounts with help from its distribution partners; 600 of those were on-premise accounts with key placements such as Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group, Marriott, Nobu, W Hotels and House of Blues. The remainder were off-premise accounts, including leading retailers such as Whole Foods, Safeway, Fresh Market, Wine.com, Hyvee, HEB, Rouses, Vons, Albertsons, Spec’s and Central Market.
All 4 of the imported wines were well received by critics, with scores of 90 points or above. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and Vinous rated Inspiration with 90 points, while Vinous scored UP and Emotion with 90 points as well. Berne Estate received a score of 91 points from Wine Enthusiast and 90 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.
To support the roll-out of its products, Provence Rosé Group executed over 50 events in 22 states for trade and consumer attendees. The company also organized the inaugural Provence Rosé Advisory Council at 5-star Relais and Châteaux property Château de Berne with industry leaders coming together in Provence to discuss the current state of rosé wines and how they envision the category evolving.
Though they made great strides in their first year of business in the US, Provence Rosé Group is looking for ways that they can improve and build upon their current strategy in 2019. “We learned quite a bit in 2018, and in 2019 we are focusing on expanding customer choice and helping educate the market on Provence rosé. An example of this is that we are now going to add a rosé called Romance to the Château de Berne line-up to get a more complete range. It is great quality rosé that we can get on a retail shelf for less than $15 bottle, which is a significant portion of the rosé buying segment. This same wine can be sold to the on-premise trade at about $10 a bottle,” says Provence Rosé Group CEO Bob Gaudreau.
In order to capitalize on its national distribution, Provence Rosé Group has also made notable appointments: Brian Cameron as Vice President of National Accounts and Pascal Bony as Director of Latin America and the Caribbean. Additionally, Food + Wine Magazine’s 2018 Sommelier of the Year Jon McDaniel has been appointed as a trade partner to help the company build relationships with the sommelier community and the on-trade business overall across America.
Provence Rosé Group is headquartered in White Plains, New York. For more information, visit www.provencerose.com.
