Boston-based 90+ Cellars launched its Discovery Series this week, a new sub-line built around underrepresented grape varieties and emerging wine regions. The debut release includes two white wines priced under $15 SRP: Lot 236 Pecorino from Abruzzo, Italy, and Lot 240 Torrontés from Argentina's high-altitude Cafayate Valley in Salta. Two additional wines are slated for later in 2026.
Why Buyers Are Watching
For on-premise operators and retail buyers, the Discovery Series is a signal worth tracking. The sub-$15 premium white category has been crowded with Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc for years, and brands positioned to capture the next wave of consumer curiosity stand to win disproportionate shelf and pour placement. Alexandra Shaughnessy, Wine Director at 90+ Cellars, frames the shift clearly: younger wine drinkers are less anchored to recognized grapes and more motivated by story, quality, and value — a combination that makes lesser-known varietals easier to sell by the glass when staff can contextualize them.
Pecorino, a coastal Abruzzo grape with strong minerality, has been gaining traction in the Italian import segment as sommeliers look for alternatives to overexposed appellations. Torrontés from Salta plays a similar role in the Argentine white category — aromatic and food-versatile, but still unfamiliar enough to generate table conversation. Both fit neatly into the by-the-glass discovery slot that independent restaurants and boutique wine bars have been building into their programs.
Retail and Channel Implications
90+ Cellars, owned by Latitude Beverage and a top-five premium wine brand in the Northeast, distributes through select retailers and its own e-commerce channel at ninetypluscellars.com. The Discovery Series appears designed to move through both, with the sub-$15 price point lowering the trial barrier for new consumers while the lot-numbering system — a signature of the 90+ Cellars model — reinforces the brand's curated, sourcing-forward identity.
For brand launch and retail readiness planning, the structure here is instructive: two debut SKUs with two more to follow gives buyers a manageable commitment at the shelf-set stage while the brand builds category awareness around the series name. It also allows for a staggered PR and sampling cadence rather than a single burst at launch.
Operators evaluating their fall wine programs should pay attention to how this series performs at retail — emerging varietal trends consistently move from bottle shop to wine list within one to two seasons once a value-priced gateway SKU establishes consumer familiarity. Procurement teams sourcing for hotel F&B or multi-unit restaurant groups may want to request samples now before regional allocations tighten.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
