Californian brand Beringer has invested a "six-figure sum" to launch its first-ever UK advertising campaign in a bid to get consumers to trade up from the sub-5 Californian category.
The campaign aims "to change people's perceptions of the quality of Californian wines for the better," said Lucy Zorina, brand manager for Beringer Vineyards.
It will run in national newspapers and food magazines until Christmas and feature a new strapline "Pioneering great taste since 1876".
The brand currently sells nine million cases in the US but less than a million cases in the UK. It aims to sell more than two million cases in the UK and continental Europe by 2010, targeting 25-45 year-old consumers.