Yellow Tail adds more wine variations

YELLOW Tail or [yellow tail] wine — Australia’s famous original kangaroo label with a bracket on its brand name — continues to be the trend setter in the wine world. Aside from being Australia’s most exported wine brand for close to two decades now, Yellow Tail also retained its No. 1 position as World’s Most Powerful Wine Brand (Wine Intelligence Global Wine Brand Power Index 2021) for the fourth year in a row since 2018. Just last year, Yellow Tail celebrated its 20th year anniversary, and the brand shows no signs of slowing down.

In the Philippines, Yellow Tail has withstood the early challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and even months of liquor bans to continue improving its market share in the local wine industry.

INTRODUCING TRENDY WINES
Yellow Tail has been in the Philippines since 2005, with the first four varietal wines being Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay. Over time, the portfolio has steadily increased, and now includes a sparkling wine range called Bubbles and a more premium Reserve range. In the last quarter of 2013, Yellow Tail Pink Moscato was launched in the Philippines. This was the first pink version of the Moscato ever sold in the country, and it was a huge success. As of end of 2021, the Yellow Tail Pink Moscato is one of the best-selling wines in the country and this version of Moscato has been emulated by many other wine brands, from Australia to Chile to the US, that can be seen flooding the shelves of wine shops.

Yellow Tail very recently launched two new wine ranges: the Pure Bright, a low-calorie range, and the slightly more premium Whiskey Barrel range.

PURE BRIGHT RANGE
Yellow Tail launched the Pure Bright range in Australia to capitalize on the growing “Low and No Alcohol” wine segment in their market. The concept is still to make the same high quality wine Yellow Tail is known for, but with a reduction in both alcohol and calories. For this to happen, specific winemaking techniques needed to be employed.

Pure Bright winemaker David Joeky explained this delicate technique. “Our vines are selected and pruned to maximize the leaf protection from our summer sun, protecting the grapes and slowing their development while maintaining fruit flavor and intensity. Grapes for Pure Bright are therefore picked earlier, with lower natural sugar content converting to lower alcohol in the wine. Night harvest keeps the grapes in a condition that maximizes the aroma and flavor. The grapes are then run through a cooler fermentation process using specialized yeast to maximize the flavor profile at lower alcohol levels. In addition, the fermentable sugars are kept very low and proprietary yeast selections accentuate the flavors in each varietal.”

The Pure Bright range has only 8%-9.5% alcohol and 80-85 calories in its white wines, and 10.8% alcohol and 100 calories for its lone red wine, the Pure Bright Pinot Noir. This is 25% less alcohol content and roughly 40% lower in calories versus regular wines.

Pure Bright is also vegan-friendly and gluten-free.

The best part of this new range too is that the price is exactly in parity with the regular Yellow Tail core varietal wines.

The first varietal of the Yellow Tail Pure Bright range in the Philippines is the Pino Grigio. The popular varietal is known for its young, fresh, “white-pepper spice” and crisp finish, especially that coming from Italy’s Veneto wine region of Alto Adige and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is also known as Pinot Gris in Alsace, France — another region that makes very nice grey Pinot. Grigio in Italian and gris in French both mean “grey,” referring to the color of this grape. From my personal drinking experience, other regions with nice Pinot Grigio are Baden in Germany, and the ones from Marlborough in New Zealand.

Yellow Tail Pure Bright Pinot Grigio has a suggested retail price of P495/bottle.

In the US, actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, best known in the lead in the late 1990s hit TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is the brand ambassador of the Yellow Tail Pure Bright range.

With the successful Pure Bright roll out in the US and Australia, this trend should be coming to us too here in Asia soon.

WHISKEY BARREL RANGE
The practice of aging wine in oak barrels dates back thousands of years. Over time, barrel aging has become a norm in the winemaking process. Winemakers discovered that barrel aging improved the quality of wine, created a softer and smoother palate and also imparted additional flavors.

In the late 20th and during this 21st century, the most popular thing for winemakers is to use are brand new oak barrels, normally in typical barrel size for 225 liters. The logic behind using brand new oak is because first contact with the wood gives the wine all the nuances and flavors of the barrel. Second use gives less flavor, and then eventually the barrel just ends up being flavorless and neutral, and just a vessel like a stainless-steel tank.

Old barrels are then either disposed of or recoopered (shaved and re-toasted in most cases) after being used for four to five years. That is why it should not surprise anyone if new oak is a huge selling feature when wineries are trying to sell their premium wines. New oak, mostly American and French in origin, of course also costs more than second-hand or recoopered oaks.

Recently, we have been seeing more and more wineries use whiskey barrels to age their wines. The reason given by winemakers is that whiskey barrel aging imparts smoky notes, with hints of vanilla. So, the idea is that whiskey barrel aging gives the wine bigger and bolder flavors. Whiskey barrel aging also tempers tannins, making for an easier drinking experience. Tannins are mouth-drying compounds found in grape skins, seeds, and stems, and need to be tempered as a result. Wines like Cabernet Sauvignon are naturally high in tannins, which is one reason they stand up well to and can benefit from whiskey barrel aging. It is a bit too early to tell whether this whiskey barrel aging is just a fad or will become more mainstream. Yellow Tail has, however, joined this movement with their release of the Yellow Tail Whiskey Barrel Aged range.

The first wine released from this range is the Yellow Tail Whiskey Barrel Aged Cabernet Sauvignon, with the barrels coming from an Australian whiskey company that used a blend of French and American oak. Next to be released from this range is the Whiskey Barrel Aged Red Blend.

The Yellow Tail Whiskey Barrel Aged Cabernet Sauvignon is now available in the Philippines with a suggested retail price of P595/bottle — this is best value if compared to other brands that also have their version of the whiskey barrel wine.

Those interested in buying or distributing these two new Yellow Tail wines in the country can contact Golden Wines, Inc., the exclusive importer, at 8638-5025 or e-mail info@goldenwines.com. Or you can also ask your favorite liquor stores to order these wines from the importer.

The author is the only Filipino member of the UK-based Circle of Wine Writers. For comments, inquiries, wine event coverage, wine consultancy and other wine related concerns, e-mail the author at wineprotege@gmail.com , or check his wine training website at https://thewinetrainingcamp.wordpress.com/services/.