Cheerwine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cheerwine is a soft drink produced by the Carolina Beverage Corporation of Salisbury, North Carolina. It has been produced since 1917.
Cheerwine is fairly unusual amongst sodas for what the company calls its "cherry taste and rich burgundy color." Cheerwine has a very sweet cherry flavor and an unusually high degree of carbonation compared with many other soft drinks.
Cheerwine typically comes in a 12 fluid oz aluminum can, 12 fluid oz glass bottle, a 16 fluid oz plastic bottle, or a 20 fluid oz plastic bottle. Cheerwine distributed in the glass bottle contains cane sugar, instead of the typical corn syrup. There are also ancillary Cheerwine products, including a line of ice cream products flavored with Cheerwine, co-branded by Cheerwine and Food Lion grocery stores.
As for the name, the company site explains "In the early 1900s, soft drinks were often named for their appearance, hence the names root beer and ginger ale. Therefore, it made sense to name a burgundy-red, bubbly, cherry concoction—Cheerwine."
Cheerwine is available in most of the southeastern United States, from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia south to Georgia. It is available in Cincinnati at Jungle Jim's. Other spots to find Cheerwine are the many "specialty soda" stores throughout the country, such as The Fondren Beverage Emporium in Jackson, Mississippi. However, as of late 2002, the beverage is now also distributed in Norway through Oslo-based American Marketing. There are plans to expand distribution to the rest of Scandinavia in coming months. In April of 2005, other regions of the United States began to bottle Cheerwine; mainly through Pepsi distributors. The first area outside the traditional market area was Quincy, Illinois. Other areas added recently include Burlington, Iowa; Duluth, Minnesota; Chattanooga, Tennessee (in certain stores); Tulsa, Oklahoma; Topeka, Kansas; Rolla, Missouri; and South Yankton, Nebraska. It can be found in vending machines in eastern Ohio.
However, these recent moves to expand outside of the southeast are not new. In the 1970s Cheerwine could be found in the Chicago area, for example.
Cheerwine is also now available at Winn-Dixie stores in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana areas.
In 1994 and 1995, Cheerwine Sponsored Morgan Shepherd's #21 Ford in the NASCAR Busch Series.
[edit] Advertising Slogans
- "Full of good cheer."
- "On all occasions, it's good taste." [former slogan]
- "Now That Would Be Different."
- "It's Time to Zag."
