A down under wine that has seen overnight success in the US market is now barrelling into Bermuda.

The Yellow Tail label, which is produced at the vineyards of the Casella family in Australia, first hit the shores of our neighbour to the east in 2001.

Two years on, Yellow Tail has firmly planted itself as the top selling Australian wine across America with 4.7 million cases (that's 56.4 million bottles) last year alone. Predictions are that that number could grow to 5 million cases in the US alone in 2004 ? and now it is here.

With requests flooding into the offices of local liquor company Gosling Brothers for the wine even before they were carrying it, the company was sure Yellow Tail would be a hit, said vice-president, marketing, Charles Gosling. But they may not have counted on it taking off as quickly as it has.

Mr. Gosling said: "We were getting requests even before the wine came in. Everyone has been asking for it."

For his own part, Mr. Gosling said he first encountered the Yellow Tail wines during a trip to the east coast of the US, and was immediately taken by its "great presence".

Although the first shipment only got into Bermuda last week, Gosling's had already placed a second order before the first arrived. And the interest and orders are flooding in not only from retailers across the Island but also restaurants and bars eager to add the wine to their menus.

It is early days still for the Bermuda market, but indications are clearly that Yellow Tail's future could be bright. With a retail price below $11, it could already be flying off shelves. Miles Market reportedly sold three cases of Yellow Tail to one customer almost as soon as it came in the door.

Mr. Gosling said of local consumers willingness to pay for wine: "There is a price break at $15; there is an immediate price point right there." But Yellow Tail comes in below that $15 mark, and with change. And Bermuda may be a small market, but as wine drinkers locals are reportedly ahead of the US.

Gosling's director of operations Elis Frazzoni said per capita, wine consumption locally stands at 27 litres.

That is no where near beer drinking levels at 80 litres per capita, but it comes close, he said, when you consider that a beer is a 12-ounce service while a 'pour' of wine is generally five ounces. Although Yellow Tail is no doubt selling based on its taste, it also cannot hurt that it is in fact a decent bottle of wine that won't break the pocketbook.

It has already been seen out on Island shelves, and although pricing depends on the establishment, it has been seen retailing for as low as $10.50, which is more or less on par with the price the wine was said to fetch in the US.

It could also be a case of perfect timing. Australian wines have increasingly been the vintage of choice in a growing number of places around the world, with news reports this week saying it now is filling more glasses in the UK than wines from any other region.

A strong taste for a drop from down under is also coupled with what scientists claim are the health benefits of drinking wine. Just this week international news reports said a new scientific study had found that a compound in the fermented grape (resveratrol) had been shown to extend life in animal testing done so far.

It is not known yet if the same finding might be true for humans, but there have been previous studies showing it could, in moderation, wine can be good for health.

William Deutsch, chairman, CEO and founder of W.J. Deutsch & Sons Ltd., which is the US and Caribbean region distributor of Yellow Tail wines as well as for two dozen other labels from around the globe, said news of the health benefits of wine date back to the 1990s when Morley Safer reported on TV newsmagazine '60 Minutes' about the benefits of wine drinking that became known as the 'French Paradox'.

Mr. Deutsch said in addition, wine was a "fabulous complement to dinner and to company; it makes people stop and talk.

"More people are drinking wine for enjoyment and health," he said.

Deutsch & Sons. and the Casella family first started talking about joining forces to distribute the wine in the US in 1998.

It was a match made in heaven, Mr. Deutsch told as both were family based companies looking to achieve the same goal ? Casella wanted to move into the US market, and Deutsch & Sons wanted to add an Australian wine to its existing representation of vintages from Argentina, California, Chile, France, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain.

But the biggest selling point for each was said to be that both firms are firmly family run. Indeed, Deutsh & Sons only represents family-run winerys.

Mr. Deutsch, on a business trip coinciding with the first delivery of the Yellow Tail wines to the Island, said: "The Casellas really provide a fabulous wine-making experience of the winery and Deutsch's contribute the marketing and sales expertise."

In January 2001, Casella's export manager John Soutter brought a new packaging concept to the Deutsch office in White Plains, New York.

The bold colourful labels, each bearing the image of a stylised kangaroo, immediately caught Mr. Deutsch's attention.

"This was the first time I had seen an animal on a wine label," he said.

But it is a concept that seems to have caught on with several other Australian producers following suit, including new branding from another producer now bearing a colourfully drawn image of Australia's indigenous penguin.

Although the Casella family emigrated to Australia from Italy, they seem to have fully embraced their adopted home, having been making wine there since the 1950s and calling their wine, yellow tail, which is a direct translation of the Aborigine word for kangaroo.

John Casella who is son of the founder, now heads the operation and was credited with having the vision to grow the Casella wine making operation into what it is today, Mr. Deutsch said.

But he said the success of their wines still is something Mr. Casella's parents ? who set out to merely produce wine for the limited Italian population in their area of Australia ? find hard to believe. He said they have been most astounded at its having become the top selling Australian wine in Italy where they were born.

But Mr. Deutsch said packaging alone does not a good product make: "If you like the packaging, you will try it once. Then it is what is in the bottle that determines if you come back the second time."

He added: "Consumers now have a taste for new world wines ? those from New Zealand, Australia, California, Argentina, Chile. And they like the taste of this Australian fruit-forward wine."

"The rest is history as they came back time and time again," he said, having seen sales grow and grow since Yellow Tail's first shipment in July, 2001.

But overnight success does not come without growing pains. That was the same in the case with the Casella family who had up until taking off in the US "like wildfire" according to Mr. Deutsch. "There have been tremendous growing pains for the Casella family, really.

"We were selling everything we could get, and they had to go from a small producer to a large vineyard."

Yellow Tail Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz-Cabernet and Shiraz are now available across the Island.