Yellow Tail (wine)
Yellow tail is a vineyard based in Australia now owned by Casella Wines Pty Ltd. Yellow tail was originally a family venture that began in the 1820s in Italy by the Casella family. However in the 1951 the Casella family, headed by Filippo Casella and his wife Maria, moved to Australia for a better life. Yellow tail is not only known for their wines but also for their enourmous advertising campaign in the United States. Their campaign ranges from TV commercials to trucks. The yellow tail trucks can be seen all throughout the USA with the large yellow tail kangaroo logo.
Vineyard
The vineyard is approximately 540 acres, located in the Riverina region of Australia.
Wines
Approximately a third of the grapes that are produced by yellow tail is from their vineyard in Riverina, Australia. The rest is from other vineyards in South Eastern Australia. All yellow tail wines have their own specific label color.
- [ yellow tail ] Semillon Sauvignon Blanc
- This is a very light coloured white sauvignon blanc made by winemaker Alan Kennett. The label color is light green.
- [ yellow tail ] Chardonnay
- This is a red chardonnay aged in French oak barrels. The label color is black
- [ yellow tail ] Shiraz
- This red wine was recently ranked #1 selling 750 ml red wine in the USA. The label color is yellow
- [ yellow tail ] Merlot
- The yellow tail Merlot was recently ranked number one selling Merlot in the USA. The label color is orange.
- [ yellow tail ] Cabernet Sauvignon
- A red Cabernet savignon. The label color is red.
- [ yellow tail ] Shiraz-Grenache
- A red Shiraz aged in a French oak barrel. The label color is light purple.
- [ yellow tail ] Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon
- A red Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon. The label color is dark purple
- [ yellow tail ] Cabernet Merlot
- A red Cabernet Merlot. The label color is bright blue
- [ yellow tail ] Reserve Pinot Grigio
- This is a very light colored white Pinot Grigio. There is only a limited number of these wines made. This wine is at its prime before 12 months after production. The label of this wine is black and the bottom of the neck has a green label.
- [ yellow tail ] Reserve Chardonnay
- Aged in French oak barrels, this red win is at its prime within 4 years after production. The label is black and the lower neck label is light yellow
- [ yellow tail ] Reserve Merlot
- This red wine is at its prime within 4 years after production. The label light yellow, the lower neck label is orange.
- [ yellow tail ] Reserve Shiraz
- This red wine is at its prime withing 4 years after its production. It has a light yellow label. The lower neck label is black.
- [ yellow tail ] Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
- This red wine is at its prime within 4 years after its production. It has a light yellow label with a dark red label on the bottom of the neck.
Awards
- Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy - Premium [ yellow tail ] Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 in class 19 in October 2004 at the Royal Melbourne Wine Show.
- Stodart Trophy - [ yellow tail ] Shiraz 2003 in class 20 for first place One-year-old Dry Red Table Wine at the Royal Queensland Wine Show.
- Brisbane Wine Show - [ yellow tail ] Shiraz was awarded the gold medal. [ yellow tail ] was also awarded three gold, five silver and 21 bronze medals during the show.
- Australian Agribusiness Exporter of the Year - Awarded in 2002, 2003, and 2004
- DHL Exporter of the Year - Awarded in 2004
- Best of the week - Wine Spectator magazine awarded [ yellow tail ] Shiraz a total of 85 points.
- Induction into Australian Export Awards Hall of Fame - In 2005, after 20 millionth case of [ yellow tail ] was exported to Japan. Casella was the first inductee since 2002.
Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby
The namesake of the brand, yellow tail, is the yellow-footed rock wallaby, a species of kangaroo. Due to the amount of this species that are seen in the vineyard in Riverina, the Casella's decided to name their wines from that vinyard by the brand name, yellow tail.
Bringing Wine to the United States
In 2000 the Casella’s joined with W.J. Deutsch & Sons, another family owned winery, in order to distribute the yellow tail wines in the United States and other parts of North America.