La Bodega Winery Expanding

"The numbers are increasing because people know wine, in moderation, is a healthy lifestyle," Gina Puente-Brancato, La Bodega's president and owner, tells GSR. The success of La Bodega's 435-sf space in D/FW's Terminal A spirited the savvy businesswoman, who honed her skills in family-owned airport newsstands, to pick up a second spot--1,249 sf--in the new international terminal, a $1.4-billion, 2.1-million-sf project with two 40,000-sf concession villages. The terminal opens July 6.

Puente-Bracato says nearly two years have been spent on coming up with the right blend for the larger airport location. Meanwhile, she's been sizing up real estate for her first off-airport location. She's not quite ready to discuss the deal, but did say she's deep into negotiations for a retail property in the Dallas area. Due to variations in laws, the concept isn't readily transferrable outside the state line or even some areas of the metroplex.

But, Puente-Bracato says she's constantly fine-tuning ideas for the dual expansion in starkly different environments. The expanded airport winery will include a patio that takes up one-third of her leased space. She intends to add to the gourmet food line-up to go with "by the glass" sales of the special Texas blends, also available by the bottle and case. Plus, she's earmarked more room for the winery's in-store fermentation tanks and tasting room.

The bonded and licensed winery stocks about 1,000 SKUs in the gift shop, including wine lovers' favorite, Ridel stemware. As an added chic treat, the team produces personalized labels for its custom blends for gift-giving and special occasions.

La Bodega's special lineup includes a limited edition, Aero Port, a private label launched last year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight. Aero Port, with a few cases still available, marked the first time that one of La Bodega's wines was cellared and aged in oak barrels in the Terminal A winery, which stocks more than 30 Texas wines from vintners statewide. The cellared Aero Port was later blended with a larger batch from an off-site production to produce a limited-edition wine. La Bodega co-ops with two wineries in the northern and southern parts of the state.

The award-winning winery has collected medals in Los Angeles, New York and GrapeFest, an annual local competition marking its 19th year. Last year, La Bodega Winery secured a $35,000 matching grant from the Go Texan program to help produce Go Texan-branded items like bottle carriers, bags, in-store displays and website development.

Puente-Bracato, sole owner since 1997, says the airport winery idea evolved just as Texas law was changed to allow case, bottle or glass to go wine sales. "The demographics of wine consumers are very similar to those of a traveler," she explains about the choice of the flagship's location. The formula gained strength when healthcare experts anointed wine as being heart healthy and movies and TV made it more chic than ever as a trendsetter's drink.

La Bodega's annual sales took a hit as did other airport retailers when 9/11 forced a slowdown in travel. "Since 2003, we have been back on steady ground," Puente-Bracato says, "and we're driving double-digit growth."