ITALIAN BRAND LAUNCH

Published: 23 July, 2008

By Michele Shah

Vinitaly 2003 (Verona, 10-14 April) marked the official launch of VoloRosso, which claims to be Italy's first comprehensive brand. VoloRosso comprises four whites and 13 reds - 14 regional wines - from across Italy assembled under one brand logo. The project was conceived by five large Italian co-operatives: Madonna dei Miracoli in Casalbordino, in Abruzzo, (1,100 hectares); Cantina di Casteggio in Lombardy (1,000ha); Cantina Sociale Europa in Sicily (4,400ha); La Delizia in Friuli (1,700ha); and Cantine Leonardo da Vinci in Tuscany (500ha). Logistical assistance and partnership will be provided by a further large and well-known co-operative, Caviro in Faenza. The investment is massive,' said Nicolo Tagliarini, Caviro's international business director, who would not disclose the amount. VoloRosso will be targeting international markets through a range of high-profile importers and distributors, such as Freixenet in the UK market and Suntory in Japan, while for the US VoloRosso is still watching the markets to locate a suitable importer. We are launching an initial one million bottles this year in Europe,' said Filippo Cesarini Sforza, commercial director (and ex-MD of Cesarini Sforza Prosecco in Trentino). We plan to raise this to five million bottles for the European market over the next three years. With a total of 8,300 hectares, we have no problem with quantity and volume.' The main target will be the off-trade, especially large supermarkets. VoloRosso's UK shelf price will be between 3.99 and 4.59,' Sforza added. Attilio Pagli, one of Italy's leading winemakers, is in charge of production.

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