Home diva Martha Stewart, who has stamped her name on all things domestic from sheets and towels to pots and pans, will be serving up another edition: wine.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. said late Friday that it forged a partnership with E.&J. Gallo Winery to develop a brand of wines under the label “Martha Stewart Vintage” to be offered in six cities beginning in January. The wines will sell for about $15.
The initial launch of 15,000 cases will include three wines: 2006 Sonoma County Chardonnay, 2005 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvingon and 2006 Sonoma County Merlot. The wines will be offered in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, N.C., Denver, Phoenix, and Portland, Ore.
“Wine is an important part of entertaining and cooking,” said Elizabeth Estroff, spokeswoman for Martha Stewart Living. “We have a lot of credibility and a strong brand equity in these categories.” She noted that wine was just natural to explore.
In May, Martha Stewart announced that it signed an agreement with Costco Wholesale Corp. to sell a cobranded line of frozen and fresh food under the label Kirkland Signature by Martha Stewart. Kirkland is a key store brand for the wholesale club operator.
Over the past year or so, Martha Stewart Living has stepped up a number of initiatives from magazines like Blue Print to developing branded homes with KB Home, one of the nation’s largest homebuilders. In May, it launched its new Martha Stewart Crafts line of paper-based crafting and storage products in more than 900 Michael’s Inc. stores, with plans to roll out the line to independent dealers later in the year.
In August, Martha Stewart launched Martha Stewart Collection of home products that is being sold exclusively at Macy’s stores and on macys.com.
Shares of Martha Stewart rose 13 cents to $11.86 in trading on Friday.