Even ACNielsen, one of the most accurate measurers of the market, has not laid down a finite definition. Peter Crean, a spokesman for the reseacher, says: "This is a complicated issue on which the industry has never decided. What we decide to measure has to be done on intuition. Sometimes we are ahead of the game, but there will be inconsistencies." The top brands can be pinned down by volume and value but emerging products, which only have the beginnings of a marketing strategy and have yet to stick in consumers' minds, are part of a vast bank of so-called soft brands'. The crux of the issue is that the category has been one of the most unbranded sectors of the grocery market and, until the last few years, was dominated by own or exclusive label sourced by the major multiples. Sainsbury, as a brand of wine, is still a powerful image, but consumers have become more knowledgeable and are making more sophisticated choices. As the whole grocery market has become more branded so consumers have sought out names on the wine shelves they believe in and trust. The market has been in consistent volume growth of 5%-6%, but throughout the 1990s it is the brands that have been making all the running. The latest figures show the top 10 are up 30%. They have capitalised on shoppers' demands for something instantly recognisable and believable that offers the right quality at the right price. The sea change has been at the hands of the New World, the Australians in particular, who have driven a large combi through all the mystique and heritage of wine that was carefully built up by the Old World producers. The Aussies and the Californians treated wine in the same way they treated beer; they defined the product, guaranteed the quality, kept it simple and marketed it heavily. As as result the new breed of consumer knows what Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are and treats the varieties like brands, but doesn't have a clue where the grapes are grown, and doesn't particularly care. Chris Carson, the chief executive of BRL Hardy Europe, is one of the leading exponents of branded wines and can hold up the Stamp, Nottage Hill and Banrock Station ranges as examples of his success. He maintains a brand can be defined by a mix of volume sales, consumer loyalty and recall, and profitability. The latter is critical to pay for the marketing strategy. He says: "Unlike the wines of the 1960s and 1970s, the new breed of brands is raising quality each year. The producers have recognised the need to continually improve their propositions." He adds: "In the old days wines such as Mateus Rosé, Blue Nun or Black Tower were brands if they sold 100,000 cases. Now, if you are not doing 500,000, you are not really a brand, because the level of consumption has gone up." This allows Sainsbury to claim that its own label range, which has more than 100 wines and sells several million cases a year, should be considered a brand. Wine director Allan Cheesman says: "Sainsbury is a brand and so is its own label wine range. This is about perception, investment and belief in what the brand stands for. The wine business is full of soft brands. The hard ones, like Gallo, are heavily promoted and supported." The cost of turning soft into hard is not cheap. Carson says the price of supporting a brand at launch could be as much as 50% of the supply price to the trade, dropping to 10%-15% as the brand develops. "Most wines start out as a commodity and become soft brands as the volumes increase. But the wine industry is not going to develop brands in the same style as Coca-Cola or Mars, because it has an agricultural based product not a manufactured one and that means volumes and quality can be variable." He points out: "The branded wine market is growing at 30% so it is clear this is what consumers want, but it is a diverse category and it is very difficult for consumers to make a choice. If I was a retailer I would be looking to define what my core range is. It should be products that offer quality and value for money. The other wines, which help create the shop window, should be changed regularly." The first serious player to challenge the fragmented nature of the UK market was the Californian company E&J Gallo, the world's number one wine producer. It began heavily advertising its brands at the end of the 1980s at a level which its volume sales hardly justified. This strategy paid off and it is still the leading brand. Marketing manager Ian Belcher says: "A successful wine brand communicates a message to consumers, over time building a strong, positive relationship and generating an emotional response. Consumers will have a feeling of warmth, familiarity and trust towards the brand. They will also use it to communicate a statement about themselves. "This is opposed to a non wine brand which is bought purely on price and treated as a commodity." He says Gallo, along with other New World producers, has demystified the sector. "We gave consumers labels they could recognise and understand and allowed them to know what they were drinking. Consumers want a brand they can recognise with taste and quality that delivers time after time. The brands also work as pointers and direction finders in a confusing and daunting market." Sophie Gallois, the French woman at Pernod Ricard UK leading the marketing for Australia's top brand, Jacob's Creek, maintains consumers decide what a brand is. She says: "A brand is something which is recognised and has meaning for consumers and they understand it as something which has quality and value." To support this she says Jacob's Creek has 90% prompted awareness which is higher than any other wines. But she also pointed out brands such as Cloudy Bay from New Zealand and Chateau d'Yquem from France are also well known and are therefore brands, even though neither has massive volume sales or distribution. "The value of the name is key. The wine market has always been fragmented which leads to choice and experimentation. It is essential that the quality is good because you are only as good as the last glass of wine that is drunk. This is why we try to over-deliver on price and quality. "I believe brands will increase in importance because they bring reassurance. There is a view that they restrict choice, but I don't think that is the case. They encourage people to try different products within the range which leads to experimentation. "The cash they generate leads to investment in the vineyards and wineries which improves the quality. This, in turn, attracts more drinkers. It is a virtuous circle." The difficulty in pinning down a clear definition is partly due to the speed of change in the market. When Blue Nun dominated the sector in the 1970s there were only 10 million consumers and it still sold in the region of a million cases. Today, there are 30 million consumers to whom the brand leader, Gallo, sells under two million cases. John Doswell, managing partner of TMDP, a brand development agency specialising in the wine business, says: "At one time everyone relied on wines from the Sainsbury or Tesco ranges, but we have gone past that phase. People have turned to producers' brands such as Penfolds, Lindemans or Hardys. "This is a relatively new phenomenon," he says. "The New World brands have helped provide younger consumers with products that are easy to drink and which they don't view with awe. They now consume them like lager or Bacardi Breezer. This is a completely different perception from the snobby, upmarket approach of the past." It is also one reason why Blue Nun has been making a comeback. From a low point in the 1990s when it sold 80,000 cases a year it is now selling 300,000. Defining a brand is not important, it is what consumers want that is the critical factor. {{FEATURES }}

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