When hard seltzer started to take the world by storm a few short years ago, part of the reason it resonated so much with consumers is that it was in its own unique space in the market – we had yet to see anything quite like it. Lighter and lower in calories than beer and wine, and lower in alcohol and easier to drink than liquor or spirits, hard seltzer carved out its own drinks category and created a huge consumer demand. The Wine Group’s Cupcake Vineyards aims to do the same with their new, first-of-its-kind line of light wines.

Cupcake’s LightHearted Wines contain only 80 calories and less than a gram of sugar per five ounce serving, yet still manage to contain eight percent alcohol. Aiming to attract a wide variety of consumers, they’re also vegan and gluten-free.

Cupcake’s winemaker, Jessica Tomei, is excited about the vineyard’s innovative new line. “I created Cupcake LightHearted after realizing there wasn’t a lower-calorie and lower-alcohol wine option on the market that was delicious and complemented my active lifestyle,” says Tomei. “I’m an avid runner, and some days I want something that’s lower in calories and alcohol but doesn’t sacrifice flavor. Cupcake LightHearted checks all the boxes.”

The Wine Group is betting that many consumers feel the same way as Tomei. If hard seltzer’s success is any indication, they may be on to something. Much of alcowater’s early demand was due to the untapped public desire for more ready-to-drink (RTD), low calorie and alcohol options that are still delicious and easy to drink. And as Tomei says, Cupcake’s LightHearted could check all of those same boxes. According to the vineyard, the new light wine clocks in at around 20 percent fewer calories than the average hard seltzer, a significant number considering much of seltzer’s popularity comes from consumers looking for healthier drinking options.

At a suggested retail price of $10 per 750-ml bottle, Lighthearted could give the White Claws of the world a run for its money. Just as the iconic OG hard seltzer helped define the category while creating consumer demand, The Wine Group is trying to develop something equally new and unique. “We see this not as a replacement to wine, but as an opportunity to expand usage occasions,” said chief marketing officer Jeff Dubiel.

Lighthearted will initially be available nationally in four varieties: Chardonnay, Rose, Pinot Grigio, and Pinot Noir. As the third largest wine producer in the US, the new low sugar and carb, better-for-you line of wines could represent significant growth for the California vineyard.

“If you can truly get to something that starts to look like what the beer guys did in the seventies and what the soda folks did much earlier than that, then I think it’s going to unlock a lot of potential growth,” said Dubiel. According to Impact Databank, Cupcake Vineyards currently has a distribution of around 2.7 million cases per year in the US alone.

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