7-Eleven Grows Proprietary Wine List

DALLAS -- 7-Eleven Inc. is adding a pinot grigio to its proprietary wine lineup. VitAlma will be available in the retailer's locations in California, Washington, Oregon and Florida.

VitAlma is produced and bottled in the Lombardy region of Northern Italy specifically for 7-Eleven. A bottle of the imported wine carries a $7.99 price tag. VitAlma is the retailer's first proprietary wine imported from Italy. It joins 7-Eleven's other private label brand wines, Cherrywood Cellars, Sonoma Crest and Yosemite Road, which are produced in California.

"7-Eleven offers great wine values with chardonnays, merlots and cabernets, all priced at $10 per bottle," said Jesus Delgado-Jenkins, senior vice president of merchandising, marketing and logistics. "Pinot grigio was a niche we needed to fill in our wine assortment and Italy is recognized as the world's No. 1 producer of pinot grigio varietals. Because of its quality and value, we think we have another winner with VitAlma."

The convenience store giant held two rounds of tasting events for vintners, narrowing the contenders from six to three, and then from three to one, VitAlma. The wines were scored on six attributes, including clarity, bouquet and flavor.