Dutch get 'pricier' Nederburg

Cape Town - Distell recently got a foot in the door of the Dutch wine market by concluding an agreement for the sale of Nederburg wines with the Albert Heijn BV supermarket group.

Distell international director Donald Gallow said that with this agreement the company had identified with the objective of Wines of South Africa (Wosa) to sell more South African wine in The Netherlands' premium segment.

The prices of the seven catalogued Nederburg wines that will in future grace the shelves of Albert Heijn stores range from €4.99 to €5.99 a bottle.

It would seem that in The Netherlands South African wines have so far been offered mainly in the cheapest segment, at prices of less than €2 a bottle.

Gallow is fully confident that the Nederburg wines will prove to be in demand among the supermarket group's clients in more than 800 shops across the country.

"I believe the brand's strong legacy, its established prize-winning tradition and its heightened international profile - thanks to its association with the Fifa World Cup soccer tournament next year - will ensure this," he said.

The soccer controlling body awarded Nederburg an official licence to offer a special collection of wines in the run-up to next year's tournament. The collection will remain available to the end of 2010.

The wines are already available in several markets and are being actively promoted at international duty-free points of sale.

Gallow says that Distell's Two Oceans brand is doing well, despite the adverse economy.

"In the year to the end of June the company increased total export volumes of wine by 22% year-on-year, and in the current financial year should manage double-digit growth."

- Sake24.com

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