on January 10, 2017 at 6:00 PM, updated There's no question that the opportunity now to sell in grocery stores across Pennsylvania is changing the dynamics for distribution at a lot of state wineries. But there's another part to the evolving business model, and that is the growth of wine clubs, especially as wineries can ship inside the state and are increasing the list of other states where consumer can receive shipments. Few, if any, wineries across the region have built a better template for a wine club than Black Ankle Winery in Mount Airy, Md., which last year already had reached 2,000 members. 2014, Black Ankle has seen its wine club turn many of its releases into a scarce commodity in a matter of days. Personally, I've been trying to get my hands on a bottle of its Albarino for a few years, but that dry white wine has pretty much vanished as soon as it has become available to club members. Kim and Jan Waltz would love to mimic that success at Waltz Vineyards, in Manheim, Lancaster County.

Already selling out of its tasting room and through shops in nearby Lititz and Ronks, it also is moving an increasing number of cases through some of that area's higher-end restaurants, including the General Sutter Inn, Hotel Hershey and John J. Jeffries. Here's the full list of restaurants and B&Bs. It's also building an audience across the country, with licenses to ship to 18 states, particularly California, Texas and Florida. Meanwhile, similar to a number of other wineries, it's building its club, up now to around 500 members who have a choice of six options for the wines they get. Members also receive the following: Those perks aren't unusual, but what is different is how Waltz plans to offer wines that aren't available to the general product and from grapes that come from their secondary vineyards. Jan noted on the phone last Friday that they're planning to make a straight-up Semillon out of the 2016 vintage; in the past that grape has been part of the winery's Fusion, one of the best white blends made and sold in the region.

"That will be exclusive, wine club only," he said of the new varietal. We're excited to see how it does. As it matures, you read about the aging capabilities of the grape and what it will do. Now this is straight steel, and maybe here in the future we'll try it in barrels as well to see what comes out of that." Which wineries placed finalists in Wine Excellence XV? Here's a look at the list Another wine, he said, set for only club members is a field blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc that's being grown in a vineyard near Bent Creek Country Club. best wine to help sleepHe said he also has planted Chardonnay on a plot of land he's renting by Lancaster Airport, giving him a chance to see how different the grapes' aromas and flavors will have from vines planted in limestone soil located in the Lancaster Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA).best cheap fruity white wine

Already making a Chardonnay that has won numerous awards, including the state's Governor's Cup last Saturday for vinifera for its 2013 Reserve Chardonnay, Jan said he's excited to see the differences in what comes off the vines and the potential for small-batch wines. "We think it will give diversity and some single-vineyard designations from other locations to keep it interesting for packages for the wine club," he said of the newer vineyards, "and I think that's what people sign up to the wine club a lot of times for. what is the best homemade wine recipeThings not necessarily run-of-the-mill stuff that you make every year the same, so to speak. Limited quantity, not that that's what we're after, but if we can offer it to the wine club so they don't always get the same red wines from this location that they get from another one of our locations, [that] keeps it exciting, keeps it different."

GroceryTarget aims to start serving alcohol for the first timeValli HermanBorrowing from the playbook of upscale grocers such as Whole Foods Market and the East Coast’s Wegmans, Target is aiming to serve alcohol right in the store.Angie Thompson, a Target spokesperson, confirmed that the Minneapolis-based retailer applied in August for liquor licenses to sell and serve alcohol at a planned store in near Chicago’s Navy Pier. If approved, it would be the first time Target has served alcohol. “We sell liquor at a number of stores, but we currently don’t have any Target stores that serve liquor on site,” she told Fortune. She declined to comment further on the plan’s details.The 24,000-square-foot store in the Streeterville neighborhood also could open the way for the chain of 1,799 U.S. stores to play bartender to dads shopping for car wax and moms seeking back-to-school sneakers. Though the Streeterville store was announced as a TargetExpress, its newest and smallest store format, when it opens on Oct. 7, it will be branded as a Target and offer other amenities such as a pharmacy, Target Mobile, in-store pickup and Starbucks.

Beginning this fall, the retailer will be rebranding its other small stores, and the TargetExpress and CityTarget stores will be known simply as Target and identified with the bullseye logo.The chain’s evolving flexible store design strategy aims to match the layout and offerings to the neighborhood. Navy Pier is a Chicago landmark and tourist destination that attracts millions every year. The Streeterville Target will be about one-fifth the size of a traditional outlet and will be “responding to local market conditions. Localization is a priority for us,” said Thompson.Though it’s easy to picture hordes cruising the housewares aisles, a cold brew snuggled in the shopping cart cup holder, the reality is likely different. If the discounter follows the lead of its grocery store competitors, it will serve beer and wine at in-store bars or lounges. Target also is paying more attention to its grocery offerings, announcing that it plans to carry more organic, natural and local products.

It also will start testing a new in-store cafe concept, USA Today reports.Target won’t be the first grocer to fulfill shopping lists for bread, butter and a beer on-the-spot. A Whole Foods Market near the planned Chicago Target already serves alcohol in the store. New York’s Columbus Circle Whole Foods has a 40-seat bar and San Francisco locations offer craft beer at the Steep Brew tap rooms.When Whole Foods began testing the in-store cocktail bar in 2011, co-CEO Walter Robb said, “Coming out of the recession, people are looking for affordable luxuries and more intimate experiences.” Other chains have added options to dine and drink in the store, such as the Midwest’s Hy-Vee Market Café , pubs and restaurants inside Wegmans and ShopRite, where customers of the Greater Morristown store can use free daycare, a learning center, yoga studio and sip beer or wine at a sit-down oyster bar. Even Starbucks has added evening craft beer, wine and snacks to its perky morning menu.As grocery stores nationwide have evolved into food-centric lifestyle centers, Target’s potential new bar looks more like an attempt to catch up with trends rather than match the needs of its customers, said David J. Livingston, a Wisconsin supermarket research consultant.