Australian wine producer Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has introduced an Italian wine brand, Belorante, to the UK market.
TWE said it was reacting to “growing demand in the UK”, pointing to Italian wine being the "second-largest category" in the country's grocery channel.
The Penfolds owner has developed a Belorante range comprising four still wines: Italia Grillo and Italia Montepulciano D’Abruzzo DOC, both priced at £9 for 75cl, and Italia Pecorino and Italia Primitivo, each priced at £10 for 75cl.
The Grillo and Montepulciano D’Abruzzo DOC are available at Sainsbury's, while Pecorino and Primitivo are listed in Asda. Primitivo is also available at Morrisons.
TWE describes Grillo as “bursting with Sicilian delights like juicy medlar, prickly pear, and zesty grapefruit”.
Montepulciano D’Abruzzo DOC offers “aromas of red berries with a dash of peppery spice”, it said.
Primitivo is characterised as “medium-bodied with smooth tannins,” and Pecorino provides “a floral aroma with a dash of thyme and sage”.
Belorante senior brand manager Amy Fisher said: “Belorante is all about bringing colour to your table and flavour to your glass, Italian style. Belorante is a bold, modern reinvention of Italian wine, bringing colour, freshness and modernity into the Italian wine aisle, inviting consumers to stray away from the neutral and be more ‘peacock’.”
In October, TWE agreed to pay shareholders A$65m ($43.7m) in response to class action proceedings initiated four years ago. The legal action followed TWE’s tweak to FY20 guidance in January 2020, when the group cut its FY20 EBITS growth forecast to 5-10% from 15-20%.
For the financial year ending 30 June 2024, TWE reported total net sales revenues of A$2.73bn, marking a 13.1% increase on a reported basis and a 4.4% organic growth compared to 2023.
The company's total group EBITS rose 12.8% year-on-year on a reported basis and 3.6% organically to A$658.1m.
Gross profits increased by 11.3% on a reported basis and 8.6% on a constant currency basis, reaching A$1.24bn.
