Tall, neon-orange, and just a little goofy, Gulp Hablo is difficult to overlook on a wine store shelf in 2025. Since its launch in 2021, the liter-sized skin-contact wine from Spain has seen a meteoric rise in reputation, rapidly turning into a staple for these interested by orange wine.
Success tales like Gulp Hablo are uncommon in at this time’s wine business. Annually the information from sources just like the Silicon Valley Financial institution Report solid a shadow of doom and gloom over the class as gross sales proceed to plummet. Analysts level to a flurry of things: low-cost, bulk bottles; rising neo-prohibitionist sentiment; and waning curiosity amongst youthful drinkers. Ever–altering dietary tips round alcohol and the present administration’s unpredictable commerce insurance policies haven’t helped, both.
Lately, business execs and advertising strategists have wrestled with a persistent query: What can manufacturers do to interrupt by means of the hunch? Whereas many are nonetheless left scratching their heads, the small-but-mighty Gulp Hablo label appears to have cracked the code, connecting with the precise demographic that’s confirmed so elusive to a lot of the class.
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With its approachable taste profile, inviting label, and accessible value level, it’s straightforward to see why Gulp Hablo is a dependable go-to for therefore many drinkers. However the place did this model come from — and what fueled the explosive progress of this uncommon bottle?
Constructing a Model
Regardless of its reputation, the origins of Gulp Hablo stay a thriller to a lot of its followers — probably as a result of the entrance label’s massive, Comedian Sans-esque font and cartoonish weightlifter are inclined to steal consideration from the small print on the again.
Gulp Hablo’s hazy origin story traces again to 2015, when Tom Byrnes, co-founder of wine and spirits importer T. Edward, recognized a niche available in the market: a low-intervention, reasonably priced wine that could possibly be each playful and significantly made. To fill it, the importer started collaborating with Bodegas Parra Jiménez, a longtime T. Edward vineyard companion situated in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. Based in 1993, the Jiménez household vineyard was a pioneer of natural agriculture within the space and now oversees one in all Europe’s largest steady licensed natural vineyards.
The venture additionally tapped legendary Spanish winemaker Juan Antonio Ponce of Bodegas Ponce to assist craft the Gulp Hablo line. That title may not imply a lot to the common client, however Ponce’s involvement gave the venture critical credibility. Discerning retailers like Chris Leon of Brooklyn’s beloved Leon & Son instantly took discover. “The wine checks all of the packing containers, and I’ve at all times been a Bodegas Ponce fan,” he says. “These wines are nice, so the worth behind it’s fairly onerous to match.”
Finally, Gulp Hablo aimed to strike the fitting stability on each entrance: enjoyable and approachable, however backed by critical winemaking; true to the pure wine ethos, however with clear, easy (and shelf-stable) flavors; and made with biodynamically farmed, high-quality grapes, however nonetheless comparatively reasonably priced.
Large Gulp
T. Edward launched Gulp Hablo with a white and purple in 2017, however in keeping with Anthony Zraly, the importer’s chief progress officer, the model didn’t take off till the discharge of the orange wine in 2021. A juicy, fragrant mix of Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc, the debut classic bought out in lower than two months.
“I used to be a gross sales individual for T. Edward in 2021,” Zraly says. “By no means in my skilled expertise have I ever seen a wine in such demand and promote out so rapidly. It was onerous to wrap my thoughts round it.” Since its launch, Gulp Hablo’s orange expression has grown 150 % year-over-year, with 25,000 circumstances imported to the U.S. for the 2024 classic.
T. Edward targeted the expansion technique for Gulp Hablo in retail shops, and store house owners rapidly observed the wine’s spectacular skill to catch customers’ eyes.
“Gulp Hablo was actually the primary to market one-liter, licensed natural, licensed biodynamic, vegan wine that sits on the $19.99 value level on the shelf. I attribute a lot of the model’s success to the right recipe of all these key components.”
“As I recall, it was a right away hit. As quickly as we began carrying it it was the top-selling orange wine.” Ben Bohen, the beverage director at Manhattan’s Group Wine and Spirits, says. “And it’s solely grown in notoriety since. Again then folks hadn’t essentially heard of it however would see the bottle and gravitate towards it. Now, folks are available and have a look at the orange wine part and purchase it as a result of they know they prefer it.”
Bohen factors to Gulp Hablo’s “good mixture of user-friendly traits” as the key to its success — from its clear glass bottle showcasing the intense orange wine inside, to its crowd-pleasing taste profile and low 11.5 % ABV. “They captured lightning in a bottle,” he says.
The tank-top-clad character depicted on the entrance label — Señor Gulp, as some who work with the model affectionately name him — may appear to be an odd alternative, however the obscure determine rapidly gained a familiarity and dependable fan base that will even make many cereal field mascots envious. Plus, the title Gulp Hablo itself facilities the drinker’s expertise, somewhat than the producer. “It’s a name to motion,” Bohen says. “It lets you recognize the wine is quaffable.”
Timing was additionally on Gulp’s facet. It first hit cabinets at a time the place folks had been newly interested by orange wines and searching for recommendations. Bohen notes that Gulp Hablo was at all times a secure suggestion. “It’s not too funky, it’s easy-drinking, and it’s not costly,” he says.
The Value Is Proper
The Silicon Valley Financial institution’s 2025 report suggests wine is following the broader alcohol business’s pattern towards premiumization. In 2024, the highest quartile of premium wineries noticed a 22 % common income progress, whereas the underside quartile skilled a 16 % income decline.
“I believe orange wine as a class has slowed over the previous few years. However what retains promoting are the approachable variations like Gulp Hablo, and Christian Binner’s Les Les Pirouettes.”
It may be tempting for wine manufacturers to see this knowledge and chase premium value factors, however a latest Rabobank evaluation suggests Gen Z may be consuming much less attributable to financial components, and are searching for the very best bang for his or her buck. Whereas different eye-catching, glou-glou orange wines exist, none match Gulp Hablo’s quality-to-price ratio: round $20 for a liter of thoughtfully made, reliably tasty wine.
“Gulp Hablo was actually the primary to market one-liter, licensed natural, licensed biodynamic, vegan wine that sits on the $19.99 value level on the shelf,” Zraly says. “I attribute a lot of the model’s success to the right recipe of all these key components.” By giving the shoppers precisely what they need, Gulp Halblo additional underscores how main wine manufacturers proceed to fail at assembly customers the place they’re at and connecting with youthful drinkers.
The Infamous G.U.L.P.
Not solely did this model develop into an in a single day success, Gulp Hablo so fiercely dominated its area of interest that it got here to embody your complete class of “entry-level orange wine.” It even grew to become the go-to bottle in memes poking enjoyable at orange wine or pure wine on the whole. That stage of recognition is extraordinarily uncommon within the wine world. Most not too long ago, Josh Cellars — the ultra-popular California model based in 2007 — has been on the receiving finish of comparable meme remedy.
A lot bigger than the up-and-coming Gulp model, Josh surpassed 5 million circumstances in annual gross sales in 2023, making it the No. 1-selling desk wine within the U.S. It, too, sits in that candy spot of pricing between $15 and $20. Whereas Gulp Hablo may not be on each grocery retailer shelf in America, in a rising variety of markets — the biggest being New York, California, Texas, Illinois, and New Jersey — the quirky orange wine appears to seem at each picnic and celebration. Past boutique wine retailers, Gulp has discovered large success on Wine.com, supply companies like FreshDirect and Gopuff, and in Entire Meals wine shops throughout the nation.
Simply as the thought of a generic, reasonably priced California purple may name Josh Cellars to thoughts, the considered a budget-friendly orange wine now conjures the picture of an enormous bottle of Gulp Hablo. And if Josh personified is the approachable, clean-cut character you may meet at a cocktail party, Gulp Hablo is a musky, mustached Brooklynite who simply blasted out a Partiful invite for a boozy picnic in Prospect Park — and everybody’s invited.
Past the Orange
Pores and skin-contact wines nonetheless entice curious clients in lots of markets, however because the demand begins to shift towards trendier types like “chillable reds,” what does the longer term maintain for Señor Gulp?
“I believe orange wine as a class has slowed over the previous few years,” Joe Mihalchick, supervisor of FreshDirect Wine & Spirits, says. “However what retains promoting are the approachable variations like Gulp Hablo, and Christian Binner’s Les Les Pirouettes.” Nonetheless, gross sales knowledge present the tides are turning.
Unsurprisingly, T. Edward is planning a significant wine growth for Gulp Hablo together with a chillable purple referred to as Gulp Fresca and a fair lower-ABV expression referred to as Gulp LOW, each set to launch this summer time to satisfy the rising demand in these classes. Later this 12 months — in a play to additional dominate the picnic crowd — the corporate additionally plans to roll out Gulp Hablo in cans.
“It’s superb how an natural, biodynamic orange wine from La Mancha grew to become a staple,” Mihalchick says. “It’s a testomony to the wine and to the model — and it’ll permit issues like Gulp’s new chillable purple to explode as nicely.”
