Yellow Tail launches lower ABV wine range

Australian wine brand Yellow Tail is launching a lower ABV wine in the UK.

The Yellow Tail Pure Bright range has launched in the UK with a Pinot Grigio, which clocks in at 8.5% ABV and contains 79 calories per 125ml glass. It has been listed by Tesco with an RRP of £7.00.

The complete Pure Bright range comprises the Pinot Grigio, a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Rosé which are currently being explored with a view to launching them in other global markets.

Casella Family Brand, which owns the brand, said consumers’ changing attitudes towards alcohol had prompted the development.

Head of strategy Michael Sergeant said the moderation trend, which is underpinned by health and social drivers, was impacting the wine category in many ways but that concerns over the taste was often a barrier to purchase.

“People are drinking less frequently, abstaining or just drinking less volume when they do drink.  However, these wine drinkers are still looking for quality, flavour and varietal character in lower alcohol wine,” he said.

The new Yellow Trail Pure Bright range had the same commitment to taste and consistency as the core Yellow Tail range, he said.

“Through our global consumer research, we found that in most developed wine markets including the UK, US and Australia, taste concerns were the key barrier for trial and consumer acceptance of lighter style wines, hence our focus on this space with Yellow Tail Pure Bright.

“We believe that Yellow Tail Pure Bright has real potential to add tremendous value to the wine category by offering a light style of wine within the range of the UK’s 3^rd largest wine brand,” Sergeant added.

The no and low wine market has been gathering pace in the UK and other markets, with a slew of new products being launched, including Australian Vintage, who last week announced its flagship McGuigan brand had entered the category with a range of five 0% ABV expressions.

Retailers appear to be developing greater emphasis on the category in recognition of this, by ranging no and low separately. Tesco was the first to up its focus on the category back in March 2017, with a dedicated bay for no and low alcohol wine, while Sainsbury’s opened a no and low alcohol pop-up pub in July this year.  Asda has become the latest retailer to trial a bay dedicated no and low alcohol bay in 40 of its stores, according to The Grocer, after seeing significant growth.

See here for our analysis of no and low alcohol wine trends, and Five no and low trends to watch out for in 2020.