Leading Californian winemaker Gallo is planning to take on the Australians at their own game by adding two Aussie styles to its Garnet Point range. When the brand was launched two years ago the twin varietals were all sourced from California but the advertising and marketing emphasised only their New World credentials with the strapline "From the Edge of the New World". The two new wines are a Semillon Chardonnay and a Shiraz Cabernet. Both are from south east Australia and are produced for Gallo by Adelaide Wine Estate. Each will retail at £4.99. Marketing manager Ian Jones said: "The move into Australian wines has always been part of the strategy for the brand." And there are compelling reasons for doing it. Australian wines have been consistently the fastest growing category in the UK market. Last year ACNielsen reported they were up 24.6% (vol) and held 16% of the market while US wines grew 21.5% but only have 6% of the market. France, the market leader with 23% declined 5.5%. Australia's success is built on the growing importance of brands. In 1998 they had 13% of the off-trade market and only two years later this had climbed to 22%. Jones said Garnet Point was now selling almost 500,000 cases a year in the UK which provided a stable base from which to move to the second phase of the brand's development. The two wines are being introduced to the trade during its spring reviews. Once on shelf they will feature neck collars explaining the difference between them and the Californian styles. They will also benefit from the £2m marketing investment behind the brand this year. {{DRINKS }}

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