California Cooler

Last updated

California Cooler is a brand of alcoholic beverage. The product is a sangria packaged in a 12 fl. oz. glass bottle. The California Cooler formula and packaging was the first to be known as a wine cooler.

Originally named Canada Cooler, the California Cooler package was re-designed by Glenn Martinez and Assoc, which was eventually also sold in a 2-liter bottle.

After its founding in 1976, the original California Cooler exploded on the beverage market when Lodi High School friends, Michael Crete and R. Stuart Bewley, [1] and their original partners (mostly friends and family) raised $140,000 to begin commercial production. By 1985, it was selling a reported 12.3 million cases a year worth $125 million. In 1985, Crete and Bewley sold the company to liquor giant Brown-Forman Inc. in a deal valued up to $146 million. Brown Forman were national distributor of wine and spirits brands such as Jack Daniels and Korbel Sparkling wines. [2]

Soon after, the competition began from wine maker giants E&J Gallo Winery who started strong marketing of its Bartles & Jaymes coolers and Seagram's own brand of wine coolers, California Cooler's market share began to slide. The cooler craze of the mid-eighties was celebrated with an Ad campaign by Chiat Day "The Chairman" (Kailo Messier) featuring beach life scenes. Bartles & Jaymes, the second entrant into the wine cooler marketplace quickly came and took market share. Their ad campaign featured two actors playing the fictitious Frank Bartles and Ed Jaymes "Bartles and Jaymes" saying "Thank you for your support".

Overall wine-cooler sales dropped 98 percent in 1987 from 1976. California Cooler volume had dropped to 5 million cases, less than one-third of what Seagram's and Gallo each were moving.[ citation needed ]

On 30 March 2007, Majestic Brands, a Danville beverage company, announced plans to try to revive the California Cooler brand.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcopop</span> Flavored beverage with relatively low alcohol content

An alcopop is any of certain mixed alcoholic beverages with relatively low alcohol content, including:

  1. Malt beverages to which various fruit juices or other flavorings have been added
  2. Wine coolers: beverages containing wine to which ingredients such as fruit juice or other flavorings have been added
  3. Mixed drinks containing distilled alcohol and sweet liquids such as fruit juices or other flavourings
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finlandia Vodka</span> Finnish brand of vodka

Finlandia is a brand of vodka produced in Finland. It is made from barley distilled into a neutral spirit in the village of Koskenkorva in Ilmajoki, operated by Finland's Altia Corporation. The distilled alcohol is then transported to a production facility in the village of Rajamäki in Nurmijärvi, about 45 kilometers north of Helsinki. In Rajamäki, the spirit is blended with glacial water, flavored, and bottled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seagram</span> Former Canadian multinational conglomerate

The Seagram Company Ltd. was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was in the 1990s the largest owner of alcoholic beverage lines in the world.

A wine cooler is an alcoholic beverage made from wine and fruit juice, often in combination with a carbonated beverage and sugar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Box wine</span> Wine packaged in a bag-in-box arrangement

Boxed wine is a wine sold in "bag-in-box" packaging. Traditionally, this consists of a cardboard box containing a wine filled plastic reservoir. The flow of the wine from the box is controlled by a valve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Coca-Cola Company</span> American multinational beverage corporation

The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It produces Coca-Cola. The drink industry company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. The company's stock is listed on the NYSE and is part of the DJIA and the S&P 500 and S&P 100 indexes.

Clearly Canadian is a brand of premium sparkling waters produced by The Clearly Food & Beverage Company Ltd., of Canada. The brand was founded in 1987 in British Columbia, Canada. Outside of Canada, it is well known throughout the United States, parts of Europe and Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Masson</span> American businessman (1859–1940)

Paul Masson was an early pioneer of California viticulture known for his brand of Californian sparkling wine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Container-deposit legislation</span> Return of beverage containers for refund

Container-deposit legislation is any law that requires the collection of a monetary deposit on beverage containers at the point of sale and/or the payment of refund value to the consumers. When the container is returned to an authorized redemption center, or retailer in some jurisdictions, the deposit is partly or fully refunded to the redeemer. It is a deposit-refund system.

E & J Gallo Winery is a winery and distributor headquartered in Modesto, California. It was founded in 1933 by Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo of the Gallo family, and is the largest exporter of California wines. It is the largest wine producer in the world, producing over 3% of the world's entire annual supply of 35 billion bottles with an annual revenue of $5.3 billion it is also the largest family-owned winery in the United States. Gallo provides about 3,500 jobs to Modesto residents and 2,500 jobs in other parts of the state, country, and world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franzia</span> Wine brand (founded 1906)

Franzia is a brand of wine produced by The Wine Group, known for its box wines sold in 3 and 5-liter cartons. Franzia wines, throughout their history, were known as affordable table wines, popular in the 1960s and 1970s as "jug wine", and now as "box wine". The Wine Group is the third largest wine company in the world, behind Constellation Brands and the E&J Gallo Winery. The Franzia brand today has no business relationship with Fred Franzia of the Bronco Wine Company, known for its low-cost Charles Shaw wines. The Franzia family sold the brand to Coca-Cola in 1973 when Fred Franzia was in his early adult years; and it was sold to The Wine Group in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constellation Brands</span> American alcohol company

Constellation Brands, Inc. is an American producer and marketer of beer, wine, and spirits. A Fortune 500 company, Constellation is the largest beer import company in the US, measured by sales, and has the third-largest market share of all major beer suppliers. It also has sizable investments in medical and recreational cannabis through its association with Canopy Growth. Based in Victor, New York, Constellation has about 40 facilities and approximately 9,000 employees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bartles & Jaymes</span> American brand of fruit-flavored and malt beverages

Bartles & Jaymes is a flavored wine cooler and malt beverage line produced by the E & J Gallo Winery in the United States, introduced in 1985, and available in various fruit flavors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown–Forman</span> American-owned spirit and wine producer and distributor

The Brown–Forman Corporation is an American-based company, one of the largest in the spirits and wine business. Based in Louisville, Kentucky, it manufactures several very well known brands throughout the world, including Jack Daniel's, Old Forester, Woodford Reserve, GlenDronach, BenRiach, Glenglassaugh, Herradura, Korbel, and Chambord. Brown–Forman formerly owned Southern Comfort and Tuaca before selling them off in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flavored fortified wine</span> Category of alcoholic beverages

Flavored fortified wines or tonic wines are inexpensive fortified wines that typically have an alcohol content between 13% and 20% alcohol by volume (ABV). They are made from various fruits with added sugar, artificial flavor, and artificial color.

White Mountain Cooler was an alcoholic beverage that debuted in the US market in 1985. It was produced by the Stroh Brewery Company. By 1987, it was ranked fifth in the malted beverage cooler market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naked Juice</span> American brand

Naked Juice is an American brand that produces juices and smoothies. The company is based in Monrovia, California and is owned by PAI Partners. The first Naked Juice drink was produced in 1983 and sold in California under the name "Naked Juice", referring to the composition of no artificial flavors, added sugar, or preservatives. Distribution has since expanded, and Naked Juice products are distributed in the United States, as well as in Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and France, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sazerac Company</span> Alcoholic drinks company based in New Orleans, US

Sazerac Company, Inc. is a privately held American alcoholic beverage company headquartered in Metairie in the metropolitan area of New Orleans, Louisiana, but with its principal office in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is owned by billionaire William Goldring and his family. As of 2017, it operated nine distilleries, had 2,000 employees, and operated in 112 countries. It is one of the two largest spirits companies in the United States, with annual revenue of about $1 billion made from selling about 300 beverage brands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Stag</span> Brand of Indian Whisky

Royal Stag, also known as Seagram's Royal Stag, is an Indian whisky launched in 1995. It is available in many countries across the world in various pack sizes. It is Pernod Ricard's best selling brand by volume. It is a blend of grain spirits and imported Scotch malts. It is commonly available in 1 L, 750 mL, 375 mL and 180 mL bottles and also available in 90 mL and 60 mL bottles. The brand is named after a species of deer famous for its antlers, that is also featured in its logo. It is produced in several company-owned as well as bottler-owned distilleries. It was the first whisky brand launched in India that did not use any artificial flavours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Fun Wine Company</span> American alcoholic beverage company

The Fun Wine Company, Inc. is an American alcoholic beverage company headquartered in Miami, Florida. Founded in 2010, it manufactures gluten-free wine cocktails, whose products are distributed in the United States by Republic National Distributing Company. In 2021, their executives has announced a global expansion to markets in Asia, Latin America and Europe.

References

  1. Hanner, Richard (23 July 2000). "Michael Crete: Local boy becomes cooler king". lodinews.com. The Lodi News-Sentinel. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  2. "What year did California coolers come out? - Oven Via". 2022-01-28. Retrieved 2022-07-29.