Thanksgiving celebrants who are still fretting about which wine to serve with their turkey feasts will no doubt be pleased to know 7-Eleven's put three new private-label varietals on its shelves.
The convenience store chain this week introduced Cherrywood Cellars Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. All three wines are priced around $8.
"We wanted to fill in the middle tier," explains Margaret Chabris, spokesperson for 7-Eleven, which already sells wine lines situated at the $4 and $10 price points.
Chabris says the wines and their labels were developed to appeal to members of the millennial generation -- or at least those who are old enough to drink legally. The Pew Research Center describes Americans born between 1975 and 1999 as self-expressive, upbeat and receptive to new ideas (such as wine shopping at 7-Eleven, perhaps.) But Chabris says the generational characteristic that most inspired her company was frugality.
"They're looking for value, and maybe a label that's not so traditional," Chabris says. "I'm no millennial, but I tried all three wines, and they're very good. I would bring them to a dinner party."
If she did, her hosts wouldn't necessarily know where she'd purchased her gift: The words 7-Eleven don't appear anywhere on the Cherrywood Cellars labels.
"I can't answer why it doesn't have the 7-Eleven logo," Chabris says. "I don't think it needs one."
