Monstrous Success

Gnarly Head revamps its packaging and gears up for Halloween

by David Gadd

The gnarled Zinfandel vines of Northern California’s Lodi region are living emblems of the area’s long grape-growing tradition. In 2005, Delicato Family Wines launched the Gnarly Head brand, naming it for these historic and still-thriving survivors.

“The brand is built on Lodi old-vine heritage,” explains Andrew Blok, a marketing director at Delicato. “It goes back to the Indelicato family, who have been in that part of the wine world since the turn of the last century.” The family’s wine business gradually expanded through frequent handshake deals with growers in Lodi—many of them also Italian Americans—and grapes for the Gnarly Head Old Vine Zin still come from the region’s 35- to 80-year-old head-trained vines.

Considering Gnarly Head was built on Zinfandel, it’s no wonder consumers consider the brand to be virtually synonymous with the popular varietal. In fact, the Gnarly Head Old Vine Zin is the number one premium Zinfandel in the U.S., and according to recent IRI data, its sales are up 20% this year to date. Today, the lineup also includes a ripe Cabernet Sauvignon, a bold Merlot, and a voluptuous Pinot Noir as well as an inky, Petite Sirah–based red blend called Authentic Black. On the white side, there’s a stylish Pinot Grigio, a full-bodied Chardonnay, and an aromatic Sauvignon Blanc, all of which source some of their fruit from Monterey County.

Gnarly Head is celebrating its 15th birthday this year with a, well, gnarly new look. Boasting striking metallic touches of copper, the new label still features the symbolic gnarled vine that speaks to the brand’s Lodi origins and helps make it a retail-shelf magnet both nationwide and abroad. As Blok says, “People gravitate toward [it].” To help spur growth even further, Delicato has invested in research on the demographics, interests, and psychographics of the brand’s widening fan base, determining that “the core Gnarly Head consumer is someone who likes to live a little on the edge, and our brand fits perfectly with their lifestyle,” says Blok.

But given the ripe, autumnal nature of Zinfandel, it’s no surprise that Gnarly Head sales tend to pick up especially as summer turns to fall and the first holiday of the season approaches. Indeed, according to Blok, “Gnarly Head has tremendous resonance with consumers around Halloween.”

The connection dates back more than a decade: In their own riff on trick-or-treating, the Delicato team develops special promotions each year with a goal of making Gnarly Head what Blok calls “a cornerstone Halloween presence” off-premise. A selection of point-of-sale materials is conceptualized and created around a specific theme each year, with 2020’s—“A Bold Wine That’s Scary Good”—aiming to lure Halloween shoppers, through cobwebs and tombstones, into Gnarly Head’s uniquely fun brand ethos.

The Delicato sales team makes the Halloween POS available to distributors throughout the country, which in turn are charged with creating alluring in-store displays in their local markets. Retailers interested in featuring a display of devilishly delicious Gnarly Head for the upcoming holiday can contact their local Delicato Family Wines distributor rep.

Tasting Notes

by Publisher Meridith May

These wines are assuredly big, rich, and ripe—but so well constructed. I am impressed.