Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/687399
78 / the tasting panel / june 2016 Riboli Family Wine Estates, the parent company of Stella Rosa, started as San Antonio Winery in 1917. The winery is now the oldest operating winery in Los Angeles, and the tasting room and restaurant are highly successful. The Riboli family continues to listen to their customers and innovate in order to please them, creating inventive products and new brands along the way. Fourth-generation winemaker Anthony Riboli explains, "It's always about trying new things. My grandparents taught us to always evolve as a company." The latest innovation plays with packaging, and it is unprecedented in the wine business: They are bottling Stella Rosa Platinum and Stella Rosa Black in 250-ml. aluminum bottles. Aluminum bottles continue to gain popularity in the beverage industry but have not yet been widely employed for wine. Now that Stella Rosa has decided to use them, it makes one wonder—why has no one done this before? Cracking open a cold, aluminum bottle of refreshing wine on a hot day by the pool sounds amazing. Or, certainly, at a baseball game. In fact, Stella Rosa aluminum bottles are now served at Dodger Stadium in L.A., as well as at the San Diego Padres' Petco Park. With an alcohol level on par with beer, and a slight sparkle for rejuvenation, Stella Rosa is on to some- thing. In the first week, they sold an astounding number of bottles at Dodger Stadium. "The key is low alcohol, frizzante and the aromatics," enthuses Riboli. INNOVATION Winemaker Anthony Riboli celebrates the new Stella Rosa aluminum bottles being served at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.