Copestick extends ‘i heart brand’ with regional wines

Copestick Murray is adding a new range of region-led wines to its I heart Wine brand.

The new additions include a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, a Mendoza Malbec and a classic Rioja.

The move marks a slight departure from the original variety-led direction of the wines brand, which aimed to tap into the 70% of consumers who buy wine purely by grape variety. The focus on variety also allowed greater flexibility of sourcing, which helped the producer boost its competitiveness.

The brand launched at the end of 2011, gaining listings across the major multiples, the convenience sector and national on-trade. It has since become one of the fastest growing top 20 wines brands in the UK, with the I heart Pinot Grigio becoming the leading Pinot Grigio in the impulse market and its I heart Prosecco topping the impulse and convenience sector for the first time in 2016.

It is also rolling out an I heart Asti to the range as it extends is sparkling range, and launching a contemporary brand to “invigorate’ the Eastern European markets and generate “mainstream interest and demand” at this year’s London Wine Fair.

The producers, which has been fully owned by German group Henkell since May 2016, has recently upped its commitment to the on-trade, with a new strategic partnership with online drinks distributor Ooberstock.

The move will allow Copestick to offer a selection of its commercial wine portfolio, including its I heart wines and Mionetto Prosecco, into the UK on-trade from the middle of this month, which is delivered through Ooberstock.com’s existing network.

Robin Copestick, founder and managing director of Copestick Murray said the company was “extremely ambitious” to strengthen its position in the on-trade. “We are very excited to be working with Ooberstock to help us showcase our varied and interesting wines to their fantastic customer base,” he said.