US IS THIRSTY FOR BEC HARDY WINES
WINEMAKER Bec Hardy’s Adelaide Hills and Mclaren Vale drops will be sold through national retail chains in the US, following a large maiden export order.
Ms Hardy launched her namesake business, Bec Hardy Wines, in July last year, when she and husband Richard Dolan took over the Pertaringa wine brand from her father, Geoff. The US order, which is to be shipped by November, will include more than 133,500 bottles of shiraz, sauvignon blanc and cabernet sauvignon.
“This initial order into the US is the culmination of 12 months of hard work and we’re thrilled with the success,” Ms Hardy said.
Mr Dolan said the distribution deal was secured through in-market consultant Ben von Doussa, who represents several Australian brands in North America.
More orders were expected, with “another 48,000 bottles currently in play” in the next few weeks.
“The new shipment represents a 25 per cent increase in the total volume of wine sold by us,” Mr Dolan said.
Diversification of exports is an important growth strategy for the business, which is also keen to get strong UK exposure.
Bec Hardy Wines exports 30 per cent of the half a million bottles of wine it produces a year, mainly to Canada, Indonesia, Vietnam and other markets.
“We obviously are still keeping in touch with all of our Chinese distributors,” Mr Dolan said.