Disruption has been spearheading innovation when it comes to packaging wine, from cans to no-cork closures. And in Texas, where size matters, a new kid on the block is busting out.
Enter Park Cities entrepreneur Jimmy Gallivan, CEO of Crazy Beautiful Wines, a new brand of 1-liter wine bottles. A third larger than a standard 750-milliliter bottle, the 1-liter has long been a trendy size in wine bars in Brooklyn and San Francisco.
For now, Gallivan is forgoing the hip spots in Park Slope and North Beach for Dallas, Plano and Frisco and all points in between — starting with easy-drinking wines from France, Italy and Argentina and recognizable flavors like rosé, pinot grigio and malbec, bottled simply and elegantly.
And they are delicious.
Gallivan started out as a wine collector and used the proceeds from selling a rare 1982 Chateau Lafite Rothschild to fund his fledgling company.
He traveled to Argentina to buy a vineyard, but soon found out that being a long-distance landowner didn't suit his plan. So, he built relationships with winegrowers there and followed suit in France and Italy.
His timing was awful, starting up a company in 2008 at the beginning of an economic downturn. But he kept it simple, kept it in the family (his sons work with him) and went door-to-door with his liters in Texas.
While not a full-blown national brand yet, Crazy Beautiful Wines has gathered loyal customers in Texas and 15 other states.
Wine from the three countries are named Crazy Beautiful in their own language. Hence, Loca Linda from Argentina, Jolie Folle from France and Bella Pazza from Italy. Simple, straightforward and plungeworthy.
So far, six wines are available, with the promise of a limited-production cabernet coming from California soon. The six wines — a red malbec and a white torrontes from Argentina, a rosé and a sauvignon blanc from France, and a pinot grigio and a red blend from Italy — are aimed at the casual drinker in their 20s and 30s looking for value.
They're for people who love wine but don't want to get all stuffy about it. And what a value these wines are. They all sell in the $14-$18 range for the 1-liter bottle (the equivalent of $10-$13 for a standard 750ml).
Find the wines at locally at Pogo's, Jimmy's Food Store (Italian wines only), North Oak Cliff Beer & Wine, area Central Market stores, Royal Blue Grocery and Big Little Market (in Irving and Flower Mound).
