Fast-growing California wine conglomerate acquires Gen Z-oriented Rabble Wines

Rab­ble Wines, a Paso Rob­les brand that attracts younger drinkers with dig­i­tal, inter­ac­tive labels, has been sold to O’Neill Vint­ners and Dis­tillers, which is becom­ing one of the largest wine com­pa­nies in Cal­i­for­nia. The deal includes the Rab­ble brand and inven­to­ry, but Rab­ble founder Rob Mur­ray is retain­ing the tast­ing room for his oth­er brands, includ­ing Tooth & Nail. A pur­chase price was not disclosed.

Jeff O’Neill, the O’Neill Vint­ners CEO, said his company’s research has shown that Rabble’s wines and pack­ag­ing ​“real­ly res­onate with 21- to 35-year-olds,” a seg­ment that the O’Neill port­fo­lio has not yet captured.

He cit­ed the ​"aug­ment­ed real­i­ty" labels on Rab­ble wine bot­tles as a par­tic­u­lar­ly strong asset: When a smart­phone scans the Rab­ble labels, which depict wood­block carv­ings from a 15^th cen­tu­ry illus­trat­ed ency­clo­pe­dia, the illus­tra­tion becomes ani­mat­ed. A red blend’s label, for exam­ple, enacts a light­ning siege on a city, com­plete with thun­der­ous sound effects, while a rosé shows a siren-like mer­maid caus­ing pirates to shipwreck.