LA RIOJANA LAUNCHES FAIR & SQUARE AT PROWEIN 2010 - THE WORLD’S ULTIMATE ETHICAL AND GREEN CONSCIOUS BRAND

La Riojana, one of the largest and most successful co-operatives in Argentina and the world’s largest producer of certified Fairtrade organic wine will launch Fair & Square, a new Fairtrade range in lightweight, 100% recyclable, attractive and innovative packaging on its stand G80, Hall 6 at Prowein 2010.

In addition to being Fairtrade certified, Fair & Square wines are packaged in one litre Tetra Prisma containers, which not only bear many benefits for the consumer, but also for La Riojana’s local communities in Argentina and for the environment. The Tetra Prisma containers themselves are light, easily portable, non breakable, and are fitted with a consumer friendly screw cap closure.  They are also 100% recyclable, made from renewable sources, and their compact, reduced packaging weight with 90% less packaging than glass bottles, means they have a low carbon footprint. 

The Fair & Square product range includes Fair & Square Red and Fair & Square White, have been produced from a selection of premium quality hand-picked grapes grown by La Riojana’s co-operative in the La Rioja province, north west Argentina.

Fair & Square Red (13% vol) is made from a blend of red grapes and is a rich, fruity and vibrant wine, which has spent 3 months in French (80%) and American (20%) oak. Fair & Square White (12.5% vol) is a fresh, fruity wine made from Argentina’s emblematic white grape variety Torrontés.

Fair & Square is aimed at the New World / Fairtrade consumer and target markets include Europe and the UK. Sweden will be the first country in Europe to launch both products on 24th March 2010.

Representatives from La Riojana at Prowein will include Walter Carol, export director, and Nick Day, sales director UK and Europe, both of whom will be on hand to give more information on Fair & Square, as well as discuss La Riojana’s ongoing activity in Europe and the UK.

LA RIOJANA WINS THE ETHICAL AWARD AT THE DRINKS BUSINESS GREEN AWARDS 2010

La Riojana, one of the largest and most successful co-operatives in Argentina and the world’s largest producer of certified Fairtrade organic wine, is delighted to have won the Ethical Award at the inaugural Drinks Business Green Awards ceremony held in central London on Thursday 11th February 2010.

The Ethical Award was presented to the company whose foundations are firmly based in, and dedicated to, the community and environment where they are based.  

Walter Carol, export director for La Riojana, commented: “We are very proud of this latest accolade. At La Riojana, we not only hold ethical practice as one of our core values, we are also strongly committed to Fairtrade and see this as a real tribute to the projects that have been implemented so far with our worldwide partners.”

Since receiving accreditation, La Riojana has carried out a number of social projects in conjunction with key retail and distribution partners to improve healthcare and educational facilities in the local communities of Tilimuqui and Malligasta where many of La Riojana’s growers, workers and their families live. These projects include the construction of a new water facility, secondary school, the provision of a new computer room and computers and the next major project is to build a new medical centre.

NICK DAY JOINS LA RIOJANA

Ehrmanns former Sales Director Nick Day has been appointed Sales Director for UK and Europe for La Riojana co-operative, Argentina. 

Day has taken up the new position and in his new role will be working closely with Walter Carol, Export Director for La Riojana and Bjorn Wittmark, Director for La Riojana Europe to support and develop existing customers and to expand into new European markets. Walter Carol said: “The UK market is an extremely important market to La Riojana, and we are delighted that Nick is joining us. He brings with him a wealth of experience including great knowledge of Fairtrade, having been the chairman of the UK Fairtrade Wine Committee since its formation in 2006.”

Day said: “This is an exciting step for me. I have been out to the winery, met the team and believe that La Riojana, which is already a key player from Argentina, together with its commitment to Fairtrade and Organic wine production, has an incredible story to tell with wines to match. I have seen what Fairtrade does for local communities in Chile and South Africa, and am thrilled to continue my work with Fairtrade in Argentina. Given the volume of Fairtrade production and its ready availability, La Riojana has the potential to grow sales significantly within the next few years and I look forward to achieving just this.”

LA RIOJANA’S FLAGSHIP RANGE RAZA ARGENTINA GETS A BRAND NEW LOOK

La Riojana, one of the largest and most successful co-operatives in Argentina where over 500 families work together to produce consistently excellent quality and award-winning wines from the picturesque Famatina Valley, will be officially launching its newly re-designed packaging for its flagship range Raza Argentina on its stand no. P20, booth no. 25, in the Argentinian Pavilion at this year’s London Wine Trade Fair.

Over the last six months, La Riojana has been busy developing a new brand image and brand strategy for Raza Argentina, and working together with the UK brand consultancy, The Brand Foundry, has established three different tiers to the brand, giving it the opportunity to compete at different quality levels and address key price points, with the aim to over-deliver in every sense.

General Manager for La Riojana, Roberto Mantovani, commented “The strategic and visual brand development work by The Brand Foundry has given the Raza Argentina range more clarity and refined distinction. The brand name and the new visual language not only expresses the brand’s Argentine roots but it also gives importance to the 500 families and their ancestors who have been working with La Riojana over the last 65 years.”

As part of the redevelopment of Raza Argentina, the packaging re-design has been professionally tested against a competitive set of New World wines through the Vinitrac® Global consumer survey conducted by the wine industry’s brand research specialist, Wine Intelligence Ltd, in both the UK and the US.  The result of the consumer research was wholly conclusive and showed that the consumers in both the UK and the US had a clear preference for the Raza Argentina design, viewing it as the most attractive packaging and to have the highest perceived price of the entire competitive sets on both sides of the Atlantic.

Mantovani said “We are really satisfied with this result as understanding consumer behaviour has been paramount to the re launch of Raza Argentina, and we feel confident that the new designs together with the different wine styles that have been developed by our chief winemaker, Dr Rodolfo Griguol, for each range will work well in both the European and American markets. These two markets are incredibly competitive, and what we wanted was a brand that communicated modernity, sophistication and innovation whilst being Argentine.”

The newly packaged Raza Argentina range of wines comprises three different levels: a varietal level (RRP £5.49) which includes a Torrontés-Chardonnay blend, as well as single varietal Torrontés, Malbec, Shiraz, and Bonarda; a Reserva level (RRP £6.49) which includes a Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Torrontés, Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon; and a Gran Reserva level (RRP £8.49 - £9.49) which includes a Torrontés, Chardonnay, Malbec and Bonarda.