A campaign to boost UK sales of wines from the Spanish Rioja region kicked off this week with a tasting event for multiple and independent retailers.

The Rethink Rioja campaign, developed using consumer research commissioned by the Rioja Regulatory Council, aims to capitalise on the strong consumer-awareness for Rioja by highlighting the regions' diversity in the run-up to Christmas.

"The strategy is to expose consumers to things like Crianza as well as white and rosado wines from the region," said a spokeswoman for the Rioja Wine Information Centre. "People think it is all about Reserva wines and this is a bit of a stumbling block for us. Consumers recognise the older styles, but we want to open up their way of thinking about Rioja."

She said increased investment in marketing in the UK this year - the number one export market for Rioja - would help the group to appeal to 25- to 30-year-old consumers, the same age group as the generation that discovered Rioja wines in the seventies.

Exhibitors at the event were keen to emphasise points of difference with competitors, although some had mixed feelings about highlighting the diversity of Rioja wines as part of their own in-store marketing strategies.

Co-op category marketing manager Vicky Steel said its Rioja Reserva 1999 from Bodegas Muriel, priced at £7.99, had always been a strong seller, so the retailer planned to move it from half to full-store distribution.

Tesco said it had recorded strong sales of Spanish wines and had added new lines, but not Rioja. "Tesco is really trying to move the consumer focus to other areas of Spanish wines," said a spokeswoman.

But some multiples said they were keen to introduce people to Rioja's white wines. A spokeswoman for Marks & Spencer wines said its Torresoto Oaked White Rioja 2004 did well this summer and should also do well this Christmas.

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