The Unstoppable Rise of Gulp Hablo, Everyone’s Favorite Liter of Orange Wine
Tall, neon-orange, and a little goofy, Gulp Hablo is hard to miss on a wine shop shelf in 2025. Since its launch in 2021, the liter-sized skin-contact wine from Spain has seen a meteoric rise in popularity, quickly becoming a staple for those curious about orange wine.
Success stories like Gulp Hablo are rare in today’s wine industry. Each year the data from sources like the Silicon Valley Bank Report cast a shadow of doom and gloom over the category as sales continue to plummet. Analysts point to a flurry of factors: cheap, bulk bottles; rising neo-prohibitionist sentiment; and waning interest among younger drinkers. Ever–changing dietary guidelines around alcohol and the current administration’s unpredictable trade policies haven’t helped, either.
In recent years, industry pros and marketing strategists have wrestled with a persistent question: What can brands do to break through the slump? While many are still left scratching their heads, the small-but-mighty Gulp Hablo label seems to have cracked the code, connecting with the exact demographic that’s proven so elusive to most of the category.
With its approachable flavor profile, inviting label, and accessible price point, it’s easy to see why Gulp Hablo is a reliable go-to for so many drinkers. But where did this brand come from — and what fueled the explosive growth of this unusual bottle?
Building a Brand
Despite its popularity, the origins of Gulp Hablo remain a mystery to many of its fans — likely because the front label’s large, Comic Sans-esque font and cartoonish weightlifter tend to steal attention from the small print on the back.
Gulp Hablo’s hazy origin story traces back to 2015, when Tom Byrnes, co-founder of wine and spirits importer T. Edward, identified a gap in the market: a low-intervention, affordable wine that could be both playful and seriously made. To fill it, the importer began collaborating with Bodegas Parra Jiménez, a longtime T. Edward winery partner located in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. Founded in 1993, the Jiménez family winery was a pioneer of organic agriculture in the area and now oversees one of Europe’s largest continuous certified organic vineyards.
The project also tapped legendary Spanish winemaker Juan Antonio Ponce of Bodegas Ponce to help craft the Gulp Hablo line. That name might not mean much to the average consumer, but Ponce’s involvement gave the project serious credibility. Discerning retailers like Chris Leon of Brooklyn’s beloved Leon & Son immediately took notice. “The wine checks all the boxes, and I’ve always been a Bodegas Ponce fan,” he says. “Those wines are great, so the value behind it is pretty hard to match.”
Ultimately, Gulp Hablo aimed to strike the right balance on every front: fun and approachable, but backed by serious winemaking; true to the natural wine ethos, but with clean, straightforward (and shelf-stable) flavors; and made with biodynamically farmed, high-quality grapes, but still relatively affordable.
Big Gulp
T. Edward launched Gulp Hablo with a white and red in 2017, but according to Anthony Zraly, the importer’s chief growth officer, the brand didn’t take off until the release of the orange wine in 2021. A juicy, aromatic blend of Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc, the debut vintage sold out in less than two months.
“I was a sales person for T. Edward in 2021,” Zraly says. “Never in my professional experience have I ever seen a wine in such demand and sell out so quickly. It was hard to wrap my mind around it.” Since its launch, Gulp Hablo’s orange expression has grown 150 percent year-over-year, with 25,000 cases imported to the U.S. for the 2024 vintage.
T. Edward focused the growth strategy for Gulp Hablo in retail stores, and shop owners quickly noticed the wine’s impressive ability to catch consumers’ eyes.
“Gulp Hablo was truly the first to market one-liter, certified organic, certified biodynamic, vegan wine that sits at the $19.99 price point on the shelf. I attribute much of the brand’s success to the perfect recipe of all these key factors.”
“As I recall, it was an immediate hit. As soon as we started carrying it it was the top-selling orange wine.” Ben Bohen, the beverage director at Manhattan’s Community Wine and Spirits, says. “And it’s only grown in notoriety since. Back then people hadn’t necessarily heard of it but would see the bottle and gravitate toward it. Now, people come in and look at the orange wine section and buy it because they know they like it.”
Bohen points to Gulp Hablo’s “perfect combination of user-friendly traits” as the secret to its success — from its clear glass bottle showcasing the bright orange wine inside, to its crowd-pleasing flavor profile and low 11.5 percent ABV. “They captured lightning in a bottle,” he says.
The tank-top-clad character depicted on the front label — Señor Gulp, as some who work with the brand affectionately call him — might seem like an odd choice, but the vague figure quickly gained a familiarity and loyal fan base that would even make many cereal box mascots envious. Plus, the name Gulp Hablo itself centers the drinker’s experience, rather than the producer. “It’s a call to action,” Bohen says. “It lets you know the wine is quaffable.”
Timing was also on Gulp’s side. It first hit shelves at a time where people were newly curious about orange wines and seeking suggestions. Bohen notes that Gulp Hablo was always a safe recommendation. “It’s not too funky, it’s easy-drinking, and it’s not expensive,” he says.
The Price Is Right
The Silicon Valley Bank’s 2025 report suggests wine is following the broader alcohol industry’s trend toward premiumization. In 2024, the top quartile of premium wineries saw a 22 percent average revenue growth, while the bottom quartile experienced a 16 percent revenue decline.
“I think orange wine as a category has slowed over the past few years. But what keeps selling are the approachable versions like Gulp Hablo, and Christian Binner’s Les Les Pirouettes.”
It might be tempting for wine brands to see this data and chase premium price points, but a recent Rabobank analysis suggests Gen Z might be drinking less due to economic factors, and are seeking the best bang for their buck. While other eye-catching, glou-glou orange wines exist, none match Gulp Hablo’s quality-to-price ratio: around $20 for a liter of thoughtfully made, reliably tasty wine.
“Gulp Hablo was truly the first to market one-liter, certified organic, certified biodynamic, vegan wine that sits at the $19.99 price point on the shelf,” Zraly says. “I attribute much of the brand’s success to the perfect recipe of all these key factors.” By giving the customers exactly what they want, Gulp Halblo further underscores how major wine brands continue to fail at meeting consumers where they’re at and connecting with younger drinkers.
The Notorious G.U.L.P.
Not only did this brand become an overnight success, Gulp Hablo so fiercely dominated its niche that it came to embody the entire category of “entry-level orange wine.” It even became the go-to bottle in memes poking fun at orange wine or natural wine in general. That level of recognition is extremely rare in the wine world. Most recently, Josh Cellars — the ultra-popular California brand founded in 2007 — has been on the receiving end of similar meme treatment.
Credit: Gulp Hablo via Instagram
Much larger than the up-and-coming Gulp brand, Josh surpassed 5 million cases in annual sales in 2023, making it the No. 1-selling table wine in the U.S. It, too, sits in that sweet spot of pricing between $15 and $20. While Gulp Hablo might not be on every grocery store shelf in America, in a growing number of markets — the largest being New York, California, Texas, Illinois, and New Jersey — the quirky orange wine seems to appear at every picnic and party. Beyond boutique wine shops, Gulp has found massive success on Wine.com, delivery services like FreshDirect and Gopuff, and in Whole Foods wine stores across the country.
Just as the idea of a generic, affordable California red might call Josh Cellars to mind, the thought of a budget-friendly orange wine now conjures the image of a big bottle of Gulp Hablo. And if Josh personified is the approachable, clean-cut character you might meet at a dinner party, Gulp Hablo is a musky, mustached Brooklynite who just blasted out a Partiful invite for a boozy picnic in Prospect Park — and everyone’s invited.
Beyond the Orange
Skin-contact wines still attract curious customers in many markets, but as the demand starts to shift toward trendier styles like “chillable reds,” what does the future hold for Señor Gulp?
“I think orange wine as a category has slowed over the past few years,” Joe Mihalchick, manager of FreshDirect Wine & Spirits, says. “But what keeps selling are the approachable versions like Gulp Hablo, and Christian Binner’s Les Les Pirouettes.” Still, sales data show the tides are turning.
Unsurprisingly, T. Edward is planning a major wine expansion for Gulp Hablo including a chillable red called Gulp Fresca and an even lower-ABV expression called Gulp LOW, both set to launch this summer to meet the growing demand in these categories. Later this year — in a play to further dominate the picnic crowd — the company also plans to roll out Gulp Hablo in cans.
“It’s amazing how an organic, biodynamic orange wine from La Mancha became a staple,” Mihalchick says. “It’s a testament to the wine and to the brand — and it will allow things like Gulp’s new chillable red to blow up as well.”
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