12 May 2008


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Sainsbury's to launch wine style guide and new packaging

Sainsbury's

alcoholic drinks

wines

by Mike Dennis
Sainsbury's will be launching a new consumer style guide for its wines at the same time it introduces new packaging for its own label wines in August.

A colour-coded style guide will have three descriptions each for red and white wines. Red wines will be described as “light and elegant”, “smooth and mellow” and “rich and complex”, while white wines will carry the descriptors “crisp and delicate”, “soft and fruity” and “complex and elegant”.

Warren Anderson, beers, wines and spirits category manager at Sainsbury’s, said research showed consumers looked at the style of wine before the grape variety or country of origin.

“As a result, we have created a style guide, the idea being that if a customer buys Sainsbury’s Soave in the ‘crisp and delicate’ category, they could also try any of the other wines in this category, which would be a similar style,” he said. “We think this will help broaden customers’ repertoire of wines and help them gut out of their ‘wine rut’.”

August will also see the re-design of the Sainsbury’s own brand wine with the new labels incorporating the style guide, which will also be featured on top of the capsule.

These moves follow last month’s (April’s) introduction of a ‘Top 10’ merchandising unit that features themes such as “buyers’ favourites”, summer rosés and award-winning wines.

Sainsbury’s is also looking to cash in on summer picnics, barbecues and parties by launching a wine range packaged in PET ‘wine glasses’.

The Italian red, white and rosé will come in twin packs of 187.5ml glasses, with an expected retail price of £4.99. A 3.8% alcohol-by-volume Belgian lager, Bière des Moulins, is being launched in mid-June in a 330ml PET bottle.

The supermarket is extending its Fairtrade wine offering by launching the Stellar Organics Cabernet Shiraz (£5.15), Sainsbury’s Fairtrade Pinotage (£5.15) and the Sainsbury’s own label SO Organic South African Fairtrade Cabernet Sauvignon (£5.15), bringing the total number of Fairtrade wines to 14.

New additions to the Sainsbury’s beer range in the summer will include its SO Organic French Lager in a larger 650ml bottle (£2.49) and Sainsbury’s new Abbaye Bière de Belgique in a 750ml bottle (£2.89). Sainsbury’s is next month (June) stocking the premium Russian Standard Platinum Vodka at a price yet to be confirmed.

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