Australia: Casella winery eyes local beer market

The Casella family, behind one of the world's most powerful wine brands, Yellow Tail, is making a grab for the hearts and wallets of Australian beer drinkers, The Age reported on June, 26.

Having created a multimillion-dollar empire with an easygoing, $8 Aussie wine, the Casella family is taking on Australian brewing, promising another no-fuss drinking style - but with hops. The first beer off the line is Arvo premium lager.

This is not some toe-dipping exercise. A mega-brewery, with a capacity of 1.6 mln litres, has sprouted mushroom-like beside the expanding Casella winery at Yenda, outside Griffith.

The brewery has a bottling line in place that can fill 35,000 bottles an hour. It will be one of two. Further along the beer path, the company plans smaller boutique lines.

Managing director John Casella - one of the three Casella brothers behind the wine giant - dreams of taking a 5 per cent slice of the local beer market. With his track record in wine, no one is challenging the newcomer's ambition.

Accused of being big and ''industrial'' in its approach to wine, a maker of McWines for people who don't like wine, and of hurting the reputation of Australian wine overseas, Casella returns fire with a big move into beer.

He promises more of the same everyman philosophy - soft, easygoing beers and keen pricing.

27 June, 2012