Wineries team set to take on US

Tauranga-based Lake Chalice Wines is linking up with three other family-owned winemaking companies to make a new push into the lucrative United States market.
Lake Chalice, Nelson's Seifried Estate, Marlborough's Forrest Estate and Carrick Wines from Central Otago have made an arrangement with Auckland-based importing company Pacific Prime Wines to send 80,000 to 100,000 cases of New Zealand-made wine to the US within five years.
"It's a prime time to make it happen," said the co-founder of Lake Chalice Wines, Chris Gambitsis, who has lived in Papamoa for 14 years.
"The US economy is starting to slip back into gear and New Zealand wines are well received there. Given the price point and the way we are marketing the wines, it's definitely a goer."
It is the first time that independent New Zealand winemakers have formed a joint venture to sell their wine in the US.
Latest data shows US wine sales have, for the first time, topped the wine-loving French. The overall US wine market grew 2 per cent in 2010 to nearly 330 million cases, compared with 321 million cases in France, according to the Wine Institute report.
In terms of per-capita consumption, the French are still well ahead at an average 46 litres per year compared with 9.8 litres for the US. Consumption continued to grow in the US during the recession, although many consumers switched to cheaper wines.
Estimated retail sales were US$30 billion ($40.8 billion), up 4 per cent from 2009, and wines from California accounted for a 61 per cent volume share of the total US market, with sales of nearly 200 million cases, up 1 per cent from the previous year.
New Zealand started exporting wine to the US in the late 1970s, and sales have reached about $260 million - after increasing 10 times from $26 million in 2000. Sauvignon blanc forms 87 per cent of the exports, pinot noir 7 per cent and chardonnay 3 per cent.
The new joint venture has appointed Eric Platt, from Los Angeles, as vice-president of sales. After working in the industry for 25 years, he will first concentrate on sales in the US Midwest and eastern seaboard.
Pacific Prime's directors, Stu Devine, Paul Couldrey and Dave Nicholas, will work the Californian market - Mr Devine spent six years there as resident manager for a major New Zealand winery.
The four New Zealand winemakers will set aside an allocation for the US from their annual vintages and Pacific Prime will distribute the premium brands to hotels, restaurants and fine wine stores
The wine will fall into the medium price range of US$13.99 to $34.99 - imported product can be priced at more than US$60.
"By working together, we can have more leverage and more variety in the portfolio," said Mr Gambitsis.
The first shipment in June will be a mixture of the four wineries' varietals, ranging from 2009 chardonnay to current vintages of sauvignon blanc, pinot gris, pinot noir and riesling.
All four wineries have exported to the highly regulated US market in the past, but haven't been able to nail individual distribution networks.
John Forrest, of Forrest Wines, said: "We have supplied wines into the US for 15 years but have invariably found problems in successful distribution. We believe Pacific Prime offers the best chance to sustainably establish our brands in this most difficult of markets."
Mr Gambitsis said the US market had multiple tiers and state regulations, and was very fragile because of exchange rate fluctuations.
He said the partners in the joint venture offered complementary products. Lake Chalice will focus on sauvignon blanc, pinot gris and pinot noir, although it will also promote its Cracklin' Savie and Cracklin' Rosie Rose.
Lake Chalice, with four vineyards in Marlborough and other contract growers, has just started its latest harvest after "a perfect growing season". The fruit was in superb condition, said Mr Gambitsis. The winery's 2011 sauvignon blanc will be available in June.
Lake Chalice pinot gris won its second successive gold at the Royal Easter Show competition in Auckland and the Raptor Chardonnay also collected gold.
Mr Gambitsis, who last exported to the US in 2008, expects to process 700 tonnes of grapes this harvest to produce 60,000-70,000 cases - the same as the last season - and 40 per cent will be exported. Lake Chalice's production peak was 950 tonnes in 2008.
In July, Mr Gambitsis plans to visit the West Indies to finalise a distribution network through the Caribbean islands, and he is also working to establish new markets in Tonga, Vanuatu, China and Japan.
Lake Chalice, which has been operating for 22 years, has already established export markets in Australia, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Germany and Holland.