Peroni Brewery

'''Peroni Brewery (Birra Peroni)''', is a [[brewing company]], founded in [[Vigevano]] in [[Lombardia]], Italy in 1846. It is now based in Rome and is owned by [[SABMiller]]. The company's main brand in Italy is ''Peroni'' (4.7% [[ABV]]) a [[pale lager]] sometimes known as ''Peroni Red'' in export markets, but it is probably best known worldwide for its [[premium lager]] ''Nastro Azzurro'' (5.1% [[ABV]]), which was the thirteenth best-selling beer in the United Kingdom in 2010, boosted largely by word of mouth promotion. ==History== The Peroni company was established under the founding family name in the town of Vigevano, Italy (1846). The company was moved to Rome by Giovanni Peroni in 1864, six years prior to the establishment of the city as a capital centre in 1870. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the company became one of the most prominent brewing companies in the newly unified Italian nation. The company’s brand strategy continued to refine itself to match industry trends of the 1980s. By the 1990s, both the Peroni brand name and product line were distributed and known worldwide. The London-based brewing giant [[SABMiller]] bought the company in 2005, making it one of the few international brands in its portfolio. To re-launch the brand, SABMiller hired an empty boutique on 202 Sloane Street, London to align it with other Italian fashion brands; the boutique was entitled "Emporio Peroni". ==Brands== Beers under the Peroni brand include: ''Crystall'', a 5.6% [[abv]] [[pale lager]]; ''Peroni Gran Riserva'', a 6.6% abv [[strong lager]]; ''Peroncino'', a 5% pale lager; ''Peroni Leggera'', a 3.5% pale lager. The company also produces the ''Wuhrer'' brand - a 4.7% pale lager launched in Brescia in 1829. The main brands are ''Nastro Azzurro'' and ''Peroni''. ===Nastro Azzurro=== [[Image:Nastro Azzurro.JPG|thumb|left|Nastro Azzurro at a sidewalk cafe in [[St Mark's Square (Venice)|St Mark's Square]], [[Venice]], Italy.]] ''Nastro Azzurro'' is a 5.1% [[alcohol by volume]] [[pale lager]]. It is the Peroni Brewery's premium lager brand which was launched in 1963. The name means "Blue Ribbon" in Italian, in honor of the [[Blue Riband]] won by Italian [[ocean liner]] [[SS Rex|SS ''Rex'']] in 1933. {{Citation needed|date=June 2011}} Nastro Azzurro has also sponsored teams in [[Grand Prix motorcycle racing]]. In 1997 they sponsored a 125cc [[Aprilia]] team with rider [[Valentino Rossi]], who won the championship in that season.{{Citation needed|date=June 2011}} In 2000 and 2001 they sponsored a 500cc [[Honda]] team, again with Rossi as the rider. Rossi placed second and first in the championship in 2000 and 2001 respectively.{{Citation needed|date=June 2011}} ===Peroni=== ''Peroni'' is the Peroni company's original brand, and the best selling [[pale lager]] in Italy. It is 4.7% [[abv]], and is made with barley malt, corn grits, hop pellets and hop extract. By the 1950s and 1960s, ''Peroni'' had become the brand of beer most recognized throughout the Italian peninsula. The following decade saw the expansion of ''Peroni'' into foreign markets through international distribution, itself spurred by recognition of the increasingly popular advertising for the Peroni brand. Today, market research confirms ''Peroni'' as the most recognized and most widely consumed Italian beer. ==External links== *[http://www.peroni.it Birra Peroni website] *[http://www.facebook.com/peroniuk Peroni Nastro Azzurro Facebook Page] * [http://www.peroniitaly.com/ Peroni Nastro Azzurro International Site] * [http://www.nastroazzurro.it/ Nastro Azzurro Homepage] * [http://www.jcreport.com/intelligence/trend/190608/style-and-spirits/ Fashion designer Antonio Berardi's art direction for Peroni Nastro Azzurro's Russian advertising campaign, JCReport.com] * [http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=141916 Emporio Peroni Press Release, 2005] {{SABMiller}} {{coord missing|Italy}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2011}}