Imbibe
May/June 2007

Alliance Wine Heads South

'Scottish importer and distributor Alliance Wine has opened a satellite office in Soho Square and is expanding its central London on-trade sales force as part of a push into the south east. 'The London on-trade market is our core focus at the moment,' explained Wine Development Director Giles Cooke MW. 'Our portfolio has changed dramatically in recent years, with an increasing number of high-profile producers coming on board who want to see their wines in the top London restaurants.'

Alliance has made a name for itself as an Australian specialist, with a list that includes brands such as Stella Bella, Two Hands and Domaine A, but in recent years it has also been stealthily building up its Spanish agencies, which now include the likes of Luis Cañas, Remelluri and Manzanos in Rioja and Cillar de Silos, Alvarez y Diez and Buil & Giné in Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Priorat respectively.

The latest additions to the line-up are new Somantano winery Bodegas Laus, Castel de Bouza in Rias Baixas, which has never been represented in the UK before, Viñas Viejas, with its award-winning 'Leda' made from old vines in Toro, Cigales and Ribera del Duero, Casa del Canto in Yecla and Bodegas Adria in Bierzo.'