FEBRUARY 21, 2001

Foster's announces marketing push for Beringer

AUSTRALIAN brewery Foster's has just announced plan for a major push into Europe with its Beringer wine subsidiary. The California wine firm was purchased by Foster's last October for $1.6bn and resulted in Foster's having more income from wine than from its best known product beer. The company now intends a major marketing push for Beringer wines in the European markets where Californian wine has suffered in recent years from competition from Australian and other new world wines.

Beringer has chosen Britain, Germany, Holland and Switzerland as its primary targets - all of them countries with a large following in F1.

Sounds like a perfect opportunity for a sponsorship deal.