The Hardy Wine Company will add a boutique beer to its drinks portfolio as it chases high growth in Australia's premium beer market, reports the web site www.news.com.au. Hardy has signed exclusive sales and distribution rights with Western Australia's Gage Roads Brewing Company.

Hardy is Australia's largest wine producer and Gage Roads' boutique range of products will be the only beer in the group's portfolio. Hardy's parent company, the US-based Constellation Brands, is one of the biggest beer distributors in the US.

Hardy's Australian trading manager, Brian de Mamiel, said Gage Roads was the country's largest independent craft brewery with a strong presence in Western Australia.  The deal will give Gage Roads' products wider access to markets on the east coast and other Australian markets, de Mamiel said, and provides Hardy with access to the national premium beer market which is growing at a rapid rate.