A new range of South African wines is being launched at the competitive £4.99 price point by Capricorn Wines. The operation is the New World wine division of Wineserve, created when Paul Boutinot Wines restructured last year. The wines from the Cape feature a Chenin Blanc, a Pinotage Blanc de Noir and Pinotage Shiraz. This sector of the wine market is extremely competitive. Capricorn managing director Ciaran Lynch said: "We wanted to build a range of our own brands where we could build distribution and control production. The Achilles' Heel of a distribution company is that it does not own what it sells. This deals with that issue. "It is not an easy market to crack but we have a chance because we are a recognised producer and supplier of South African wines. "We have a strong distribution company and we have good links with the buyers. "We have done the market research and the focus groups. We have got the packaging right, and we have involved the buyers throughout the process." Lynch added: "The wines are innovative enough to be attractive first-time purchases and I believe that consumers will pick them off the shelves." He added the financial packaging supporting the wine will also meet the buyers requirements. A promotional element has been built into the case price. Above the line support is planned once distribution is gained. Boutinot's restructure led to the name change to Wineserve and the creation of five operating companies. These are: Capricorn (New World wines) Meridian (southern European wines), Paul Boutinot Agencies (French wines), Drinkserve (logistics) and Boutinot Ltd (on-trade). {{DRINKS }}

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