Wine from a better place

With new packaging across the entire range and screwcaps for the whites, Oxford Landing is repositioning themselves, confident that their loyal customers will follow

"ONE OF the reasons we have never continuously promoted the Oxford Landing range is that we believe that long-term success is about the quality of the wines and the value for money offered.

All our resources have gone into the winemaking itself and I think this is why Oxford Landing has been so successful without the need for constant discounting." 

So says Catherine Garrett, PR & Marketing Manager for Negociants UK who represent the Yalumba-owned Oxford Landing estate, which is currently undergoing something of a re-launch with a new recommended retail price point – £5.49 across the entire range – new packaging and screwcaps for the Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay 2004 vintages.

"Our strategy is to continue to elevate the brand’s positioning and our decision to use screwcaps should further meet customer demand for quality and convenience," continues Garrett.

"The reds are still under cork in the UK but at the moment Shiraz 2002 is under screwcap for Tesco on a trial basis."  Perhaps one of the best examples of New World brand building, Oxford Landing, established in 1958, was one of the first vineyards in the Riverland region.

The vineyards are situated (at Oxford Landing) on the banks of the Murray River in South Australia and its wines have been on UK shelves for over a decade. 

The familyowned winery’s commitment to quality begins with the care and attention devoted to the 650 acres of vines, which are managed as 130 separate five acre blocks with the focus on matching grapes to individual block conditions.

Small batch winemaking techniques such as frequent bottling and intricate vine husbandry are perhaps not what you would associate with a major brand but they are the preferred way of winemaking here.

Detailed pruning, canopy management and crop thinning are employed at the Oxford Landing vineyard to intensify the varietal flavours.  In terms of adding value for money, two significant pointers can be found in the OL Chardonnay and OL Cabernet Sauvignon/ Shiraz. Up to 5% of reserve wine aged in oak barrels is added to every new Chardonnay vintage to add creaminess and complexity to the wine.

While the Cabernet Sauvignon, the original and oldest planting at OL – in some cases vines are over 40 years old – lends intense fruit to the flagship blend.  A new look for the range was introduced because of research carried out in April this year in the UK.

"We found that one of the things that excited consumers was the fact that the brand has been around since 1958 and that Oxford Landing is a real place so we designed a clear, modern label with simple messages to reflect the brand’s history and integrity," says Garrett.

"A new 187ml size Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot will also be launched to bring new drinkers to the brand in the important single serve.  And to add further interest to the range, a smart new Viognier will be released with limited availability.

Plus an OL Grenache / Shiraz / Mourvedre will join the range in early 2005."  Plans for this Autumn include a short promotion in selected supermarkets where OL will sell for £3.99 in a pre-Christmas sales drive, but Garrett is quick to point out that OL’s philosophy is not to take part in sustained price promotions.

"All of our resources have gone into the winemaking itself and we really want to emphasise the quality of that winemaking.  We are not an aggressively mass-marketed brand as we believe that once consumers have tasted the wine they will stay loyal because of the wine quality and value for money."

With the excellent 2002 reds currently on sale, new packaging for all the wines and screwcaps for the whites, the Oxford Landing brand building strategy continues apace – proof that you can move up in price and positioning and take your customers with you.

The range

Oxford Landing

• Sauvignon Blanc (Stelvin screw-cap)

• Chardonnay (Stelvin screw-cap)

• Merlot

• Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz

• Shiraz

Coming soon (limited availability):

• Viognier (Stelvin screw-cap)

• Grenache/Shiraz/Mourvedre