Safeway and Albertsons have launched Vine & Cellar, a curated collection of wines available for sale online with direct shipping to customers in California. The selection includes wines priced from $10 per bottle to more than $1,000, with plans to expand the assortment even further.
All wines offered by Vine & Cellar are individually selected by Curtis Mann, Master of Wine and VP of Alcohol for Albertsons, along with his expert buying team. As one of only 60 Masters of Wine in the country, Mann has extensive knowledge and a deep understanding of the art, science and business of wine.
“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,” said Mann in a statement. “Our team has 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 — all conveniently shipped to their doorsteps.”
While DTC alcohol sales have increased in recent years, powered by retailers such as Drizly and Drinks, the wine industry has lagged somewhat because of its legacy distribution structure.
Advertisement
