Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/86618
COVER STORY general. "Consumers are more aware than they were ten years ago of what tastes good; there's no need for them to over-think a wine purchase when they're confident about a brand." Future Perfect "Wine occupies a unique niche among consumer products, and as an industry we continue to see growth," observes Wente. "As a company, 2012 is a year of balance and synergy; we're seeing double-digit growth for our Heritage Block Riva Ranch and Vineyard Selection Morning Fog Chardonnays." With consumer demand growing domestic consump- tion between three and four percent annually and the retail sweet spot now approaching the $15 mark, Wente believes that brands based on estate grown fruit, like Wente Family Estates, The 100-year-old Wente Chardonnay clone is used in the family's several distinct wines. will drive that mark to $20. "Consumers who want value from $9 to $12 are not showing signs of trading down," says Wente. "The crisp balanced style of our Chardonnays is driving consumer inter- est in these wines, and we're optimistic that they're going to trade up." Modeling Success With production for the company's estate grown wines at 500,000 cases, Carolyn Wente's first priority is insur- ing their provenance while making the decisions that will guide their growth to a quality threshold of 750,000 cases. "The challenges that come along with growth have been instrumental in mov- ing the company forward," says Wente. To better manage that growth, the company partnered with JD Edwards and Oracle to develop a fully-integrated ERP system that has now replaced a dozen different back-end systems used across the operation. After a successful period of beta testing that involved migrating from a legacy system used for over 20 years to the new platform, the winery has since gone live. The JDE system connects every aspect of its operation, from the winery's agricultural team to the marketing department to the restaurant, golf course and tasting rooms. Given the very real potential for doubling volume of sales over the next five years, Wente now has the ability to model various market scenarios and make informed projections. "We want to be able to account for what we're doing and being integrated