By Andy Young
Kollaras will be distributing the world's third largest winemaker, Famille Castel, across its on- and off-premise, cruise and duty-free and South Pacific business units.
Famille Castel is the largest winemaker in France and a range of brands from the Castel Group will be introduced as part of the business alliance between Kollaras and Australian Liquor Marketers (ALM)
Managing director of Kollaras, Michael Kollaras, said: "Australian’s continue to demand great international wines at everyday prices, and this partnership allows us to deliver this while providing tremendous scope for our French wine portfolio to develop.
"Famille Castel was a natural choice when looking at a strong quality French wine brand to bring to Australia. Faced with a plethora of wine brands, Famille Castel strives to empower consumers to choose and buy a range of French wines with total confidence. We are also excited to be working with Famille Castel on bringing a broader offering of brands from their portfolio, to customers across all of our sales channels, over time."
The partnership will see four wines initially available: Famille Castel Vin de France Chardonnay 2014, Famille Castel Vin de France Merlot 2014, Famille Castel Bordeaux A.O.C. Merlot 2014, and Famille Castel Côtes Du Rhône A.O.C Syrah Grenache 2014.
The two Vin De France wines will be widely available, with the A.O.C varietals at selected stores.
Alain Castel, executive director of The Castel Group, is understandably excited to see his wines available in Australia.
"Famille Castel has always had a clear mission, to offer consumers something slightly different," Castel said. "We have created a range of wines to showcase the best of the classic French varietals and the diversity of France’s terroirs. This relationship with Kollaras will allow us to continue this mission and bring our wines, which our family love, to the Australian consumer."