New wine spritzer coming to Vancouver store shelves

Starting this month, Vancouver shoppers might notice a colorful new addition to the wine and beer lineup at the supermarket. The city is set to become a test market for a new wine spritzer line from MillerCoors, the American branch of multinational brewing company MolsonCoors.

The new product line, called Movo, is part of an effort by the company to branch out and establish itself in other markets beyond beer.

“You either innovate or you die,” said Sofia Colucci, vice president of innovations for MillerCoors. “We recognize that we have not done enough. We need to do more and we are going faster, taking risks and listening to our distributors because they know the business better than anyone.”

The 100-calorie Movo spritzers are available in Raspberry Rose, Peach White Blend and Blood Orange Sangria flavors, and are sold in 8.4-ounce cans that are 5.5 percent alcohol by volume. MillerCoors prominently declares that the sparkling beverage is made with “real wine, natural ingredients and no sugar added.”

According to MillerCoors spokesman Marty Maloney, Movo was scheduled to roll out in Vancouver around the end of April, and will be sold at approximately 150-200 locations including grocery stores, convenience stores, liquor stores and at bars and restaurants for on-premises consumption.

Vancouver is one of two Movo test markets along with Ann Arbor, Mich. The Pacific Northwest was used as a test market for the Coors Peak brand of lager beer back in 2016, Maloney said, but aside from that Vancouver doesn’t have a history as a MillerCoors test market.

In this case, Maloney says Vancouver was chosen in part because Pacific Northwest consumers tend to be more familiar with canned wine products. Beyond that, the city had the right population size and composition of available sellers.

“(It’s a) perfect mix of chain and independent retailers,” he said.

MillerCoors did not respond to additional questions asking how long the Movo test will last or how the company will measure the success of the product.