About united wineries

Today United Wineries is owned by the ENARTIS Wine Fund, a specialist investment vehicle managed by Madrid-based ARCO Wine Investment Group S.A. whose total assets exceed €200 million.

United Wineries operates as an independent organisation. The aim is to list the shares in the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

Company History 

In 1993 the company was established in Switzerland as Berberana International, the export branch of one of Rioja’s leading wineries (Bodegas Berberana).

In 1998 our name changed to ARCO International. We were already representing a growing number of leading wineries from Spain and Argentina (Bodegas Berberana, Bodegas Lagunilla, Cavas Marqués de Monistrol, Marqués de Griñón, Bodegas Martins, Bodegas y Viñedos Principe Alfonso de Hohenlohe, etc…).

In 2000 we became United Wineries International an independent distributor and brand owner of premium wines from Spain and Argentina.

Originally based in Fribourg (Switzerland) - from where we still cover all German-speaking countries – we start opening our wholly owned commercial subsidiaries in key international markets worldwide.

The first acquisition was Distribuidora Martins in Argentina.

In 2001 followed United Wineries Ltd. to cover United Kingdom & Ireland. We acquired the minority stake (49%) held by IWS - Waverley Group in the joint venture company Bodegas Unidas Ltd. and moved our headquarters to Central London. Today we market in excess of 14 million bottles in the UK market to all major off trade accounts. It has become our largest off-trade market worldwide.

In 2005 United Wineries A/S (Norway) was born in partnership with local agent Helge Wiig A/S, owner of successful brands like Amigo and Marqués de Oro. Operating from Stavanger, we now distribute directly to the State Monopoly Vinmonopolet. Distribution to the rest of Nordic countries (Finland, Denmark, Baltic States), Russia and Poland is also supervised from here. Today we market in excess of 5 million bottles in this region.

In 2007 United Wineries España S.A. was born to cover Spanish & Portugese markets. We’re now the largest premium wine distributor in Spain, with sales of 15 million bottles per year. In addition to dealing with all off-trade accounts in Spain, our on-trade distribution network is composed of more than 300 local wholesalers & distributors covering every town in the country with a population of more than 2,000 people.

In 2008 we incorporated United Wineries AB to start dealing directly with the Swedish Monopoly Systembolaget.

We also formed Bacchanalia –The Wine Society, our on-trade operation for the UK market in joint venture with the Spanish premium wine producer Haciendas de España.

In 2009 United Wineries entered into a joint partnership with the La-Vis Group of Italy to distribute its brands Canaletto, La-Vis, Cesarini Sforza, Poggio Morino and Villa Cafaggio.  The accord adds a strong portfolio of premium regional branded wines from Trentino Alto Adige and Tuscany as well as strong sparkling and pan-Italian brands.

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