Giant Eagle Uncorks Technology with the Addition of the WineStation Retailer Adds "try before you buy" Option for Wine Customers
Consumers are increasingly more discerning and knowledgeable about wine and retailers nationwide are taking note.
CAMPBELL, CA, November 14, 2012
Pittsburgh-based food and fuel retailer Giant Eagle, Inc. has joined other retailers including HEB, Whole Foods, Harris Teeter, Kroger and Wegmans in making wine tasting more accessible, less intimidating and more exciting for customers, with the addition of the WineStation by Napa TechnologyThe WineStation is the world's first automated temperature-controlled, wine dispensing and preservation system, providing retailers the ability to offer customers a chance to taste a variety of wines before making a purchase decision.
Giant Eagle has placed three WineStations in their Pittsburgh-area Market District stores, where wine by the glass sales provide an opportunity for customers to enjoy wine with a meal in a state that prohibits privatized wine sales. Additional locations are planned in Ohio, where customers will be able to try one ounce samples from a selection of up to eight featured wines before making a purchase.
The WineStation features various size pours, for example in Pennsylvania, Giant Eagle offers customers the ability to purchase one, three or five ounce glasses to accompany a meal in their cafes. A Thermo-Electric cooling system and 60-day preservation capability allows the WineStation to maintain the integrity of wine and assures proper serving temperatures.
"We are excited to bring such technology to our customers," says Olivier Kielwasser, Giant Eagle's Senior Director of Beer, Wine and Liquor. "The WineStation allows us to provide a superior experience that truly enhances the overall shopping and dining experience."
Napa Technology, LLC is a designer and manufacturer of Intelligent Dispensing Solutions for wine that ensures optimum freshness with each pour. The company's breakthrough product, WineStation , is designed to drive revenues and maximize the profitability of each bottle. WineStation has been adopted by hospitality, entertainment and food service industries as a new way to serve, preserve and capitalize on the value of available customer preference data.
About Giant Eagle, Inc.:
Giant Eagle Inc. is one of the nation's largest food retailers and distributors with approximately $9.9 billion in annual sales, which would place the company among the top 30 largest privately held companies on Forbes magazine's largest private corporations list. Giant Eagle is also a recent recipient of Grocery Headquarters' Retailer of the Year Award and the EPA's ENERGY STAR Retail Partner of the Year Award. Founded in 1931, Giant Eagle, Inc. has grown to be the number one supermarket retailer in the region with 230 supermarkets and 179 fuel and convenience stores throughout western Pennsylvania, north central Ohio, northern West Virginia and Maryland.