The brand showing the best performance was Jacob's Creek from Pernod Ricard which had the top sales and increased its value growth by 20%. The best-seller was also given a big helping hand by the general consumer swing to premium wine. Marketing director at Pernod Ricard Sophie Gallois says: "We are pleased with the mix of sales because the single varietals and reds did particularly well and the direction we want to go is towards a more premium offer, and that is what happened this Christmas." The fastest growth came from Percy Fox's Blossom Hill whose value in November and December nearly doubled compared with the same period in 2000. Here too the premium shift is paying dividends. Brand manager Emma Chamberlain puts the growth down to greater interest in varietals and better distribution. "We did not promote as deeply as our competitors and we think we have higher customer loyalty," she says. The big loser was Southcorp's Lindemans range which was down by more than a fifth, but the company's other brands, Penfolds and Rosemount, both put on impressive growth. BRL Hardy's trading development director Adrian McKeon says: "Brands on promotion went through the roof and if your brands did not get the promotional slots they did not get the volumes. "We did not promote Banrock Station (up 9%) or Stamp (up 3%) as heavily pre-Christmas and we were pleased with their performances, while Nottage Hill had a fantastic bimonth (up 68%) as a result of the promotional activity." McKeon points out that if the Hardy brands were taken as one it would be the market leader, but agrees the price sensitivity is something that should give the category cause for concern and says: "The onus is on the branded wine suppliers to drive loyalty and I think we will see a lot of advertising investment from the main players," he says. Southcorp's European marketing director James Lousada says both Rosemount and Penfolds had strong promotional support within the grocery multiples and Penfolds secured leading promotions in two of the top off licence chains, while Rosemount was re-listed in one of them. "Better planning and forecasting for Penfolds greatly improved its availability. Price increases on Lindemans Bin range reduced distribution in some multiples and it failed to secure promotional slots in the grocers, which led to a drop in volume," Lousada adds. The concentration on key wines is helping to polarise the market with the big players drawing ahead of the rest. Grants of St James's managing director John Mills says: "The market is devolving into just a few major brands." His Stowells of Chelsea range is benefiting from this and he is confident it will become the off-trade brand leader some time this year. "We are closing the gap on Jacob's Creek and this has not all been done by promotional activity." {{FEATURES }}

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