Audio By Carbonatix
Dallas-based 7-Eleven’s had a few proprietary wines on shelves for some time, among them Sonoma Crest and Thousand Oaks, but today comes word that the convenience store’s actually in the private-label business thanks to a partnership with its Japanese sibling, Seven-Eleven Japan. And, whoa, Yosemite Road is quite the bargain: Says the press release, both the Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon will sell for $3.99 a bottle. Who needs a Trader Joe’s, anyway?
“We prefer to think of it as value,” says 7-Eleven spokesperson Carole Davidson, when Unfair Park said of the Napa Valley-produced product, “Wow, that sure is cheap.” She also laughed. “But, yes, it is inexpensive. … We do have a couple of proprietary labels, but they’re a little higher-priced than this offering.”
Like, what, $4.99?
“$9.99,” Davidson says. “What’s different this time is we’ve used our global scale, to the extent we’re lauunching this in Japan today — effectively, last night. We expect this to be in 15,000 outlets under the Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. of Tokyo. We’ll have it in 2,000 stores in the U.S.; the rest will be in Japan. They have department stores and supermarket chains where we expect the wine to be sold.” She adds that the move into a private-label wine jibes with “aggressive” efforts over the last year to brand most everything edible in the joint with the 7-Eleven name.
When news happens, Dallas Observer is there —
Your support strengthens our coverage.
We’re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If the Dallas Observer matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.
The wine won’t be available in the U.S. till next week. But expect a taste test on City of Ate sooner than that. Got that, FTC?
