By Byron Kaye and Sherin Sunny, Reuters | February 13, 2025
Bottles of Penfolds wine are on sale at a wine shop in central Sydney August 4, 2014. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo
Penfolds wine producer Treasury Wine Estates (TWE.AX), opens new tab pulled the sale of its cheap drinks division after failing to find an attractive offer and cut its prediction for annual profit, sending its shares tumbling.
The division’s weak results and outlook soured an otherwise upbeat first-half result for Australia-listed Treasury as exports to China roared back to life after the end to three years of crippling tariffs imposed by Beijing.
Treasury had planned to offload budget labels including Wolf Bass and Lindeman’s last year amid a global trend of young drinkers turning away from alcohol. But “the offers received for these brands did not represent compelling value and therefore their retention is the best course”, it said on Thursday. Net profit excluding one-off items jumped 33% to A$239.6 million ($150 million) in the six months to end-December, just short of the average analyst forecast from data aggregator Visible Alpha.
Bottles of Penfolds Grange wine and other varieties, made by Australian wine maker Penfolds and owned by Australia’s Treasury Wine Estates, sit on shelves for sale at a winery located in the Hunter Valley, north of Sydney, Australia, February 14, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo
That owed much to the first full reporting period of exports to China since 2020 and the contribution of recently-bought U.S. winery business DAOU. But pre-tax profit from its “premium brands” unit, which includes its cheaper wine labels, halved, partly “reflecting softness in consumer demand for wine at lower price points”.
Citing reduced expectations for the unit, the company now expects pre-tax profit of about A$780 million for the financial year ending in June. That compares with an earlier estimate of A$780 million to A$810 million. Treasury shares lost 4% by midsession, having fallen as much as 8% at one point as analysts downgraded their forecasts in line with the new guidance. The overall market (.AXJO), opens new tab was flat.
“With the company deciding not to sell its commercial portfolio, (the premium brands business) might be a drag on group earnings for some time,” Citi said in a note.
UBS said the guidance downgrade was “disappointing but somewhat reflected in share price”. The stock is down 4% compared to a year ago while the broader market has gained 12%.
Treasury declared an interim dividend of 20 Australian cents per share, compared with 17 Australian cents last year.
It’s all very well making great Pinot, but what if nobody knows that is what you do?
On day three of the New Zealand Pinot Noir 2025 conference held in Christchurch, Wine-Searcher’s wine director David Allen took to the stage to talk everything data, particularly with respects to the grape’s worldwide reach and the supply and demand within key markets – and particularly how New Zealand Pinot was faring.
Using Wine-Searcher’s vast database of offers and price history broken down by both product, grape and region, Allen was able to extract where New Zealand Pinot Noir is now, with a direct comparison to where it stood eight years ago at the last New Zealand Pinot Noir conference in 2017.
However, before getting to the nitty gritty of New Zealand Pinot Noir, Allen produced some facts to give a general overview of where Wine-Searcher was in its global capture of wine and spirits data.
Today there are currently 14.7 million live offers for wines and spirits listed on Wine-Searcher – compared to the 6.7 million eight years ago. This is partly down to there simply being more products on the market; however, Allen noted, it is also down to Wine-Searcher’s greater ability to collect offers. Technology has simply gotten better.
Making up these 14.7 million offers are more than 850,000 products being listed by 37,500 merchants and auctions across 130 markets.
Every month, Wine-Searcher receives roughly 5 million unique users trawling the site for wine.
How many of those unique users are looking for Pinot Noir? Allen was happy to provide the answers.
In 2016, there were 12.8 million searches for Pinot Noir wines within 122 million wine searches worldwide – making up a total of 10.5 percent.
In 2024, there were 27.2 million searches for Pinot Noir within 176 million wine searches worldwide, accounting for 15.5 percent. A not insignificant increase, with the majority concentrated in the US.
When it comes to the number of offers for Pinot Noir listed on Wine-Searcher, the numbers tell more of the same story.
Back on 15 December 2016, there were 0.5 million offers for Pinot Noir Wine within the 5 million offers for wine worldwide, with tiny dark grape accounting for 9.5 percent of all offers.
Nine years later on 15 December 2024, there were 1.1 million offers for Pinot Noir wines within 10 million offers for wine worldwide, making up 11.5 percent.
Both sets of figures show an increase in both interest and offers for the grape variety, with it claiming an ever larger market share as the years rolled on by.
Conversely, during the same time frame, other grape varieties shuffled. Big red Bordeaux blends, for example, slipped from claiming 22.3 percent of searches back in 2016, to 17.4 percent in 2024.
Chardonnay, however, that other great Burgundian variety, claimed 6 percent of searches back in 2016, but snaffled 10.3 percent in 2024, reflecting the often commented-on rise of Burgundy while Bordeaux continues to flail.
However, regarding those 2024 search stats Pinot Noir may be on the rise, but it won’t be evenly across the globe, so where are its main fan clubs?
Well, as Allen presented, France – naturally – accounted for the majority of searches, claiming 22.5 percent, while Hong Kong came in at a close second with 21.4 percent. China sat at 20.8 percent, while the UK and New Zealand sat at 15.5 percent and 15.3 percent respectively, and the US and Australia claimed 13 percent each.
Please bear in mind, the above facts and figures are all still pertain to any Pinot Noir from anywhere in the world.
Back to NZ
Allen then switched his focus firmly to New Zealand and where its Pinot Noir stood in the global market. When it comes to the 2024 searches for New Zealand wines broken down by variety, 35 percent unsurprisingly went to Kiwi stalwart Sauvignon Blanc, while Pinot Noir came in at a close second with 32.4 percent.
However, Sauvignon Blanc has dropped off from its giddy 45 percent back in 2016, while Pinot Noir has risen, albeit marginally. Chardonnay, however, claiming 12.6 percent, has also seen a slow but steady rise.
When it comes to offers, however, the figures fall sharply out of sync. The 2024 figures show 45.1 percent offers for New Zealand wine are for its Sauvignon Blanc, with just 20.7 percent for Pinot Noir, and 9.4 percent for Chardonnay. While Sauvignon Blanc has seen its offers increase from 2016’s 39 percent, Pinot Noir has seen it fall from 24 percent – despite the increase in interest – while Chardonnay has flat-lined.
Where these offers have been made has also changed dramatically. Back in 2016, the USA had the most offers at 28.4 percent, with New Zealand second with 22.4 percent, while the UK claimed 16.6 percent and Australia 10.5 percent.
In 2024, these figures have seen a dramatic shift with the USA now offering a whopping 44 percent and New Zealand increasing slightly to 27.7 percent. However, both the UK and Australia had dropped to 6.1 percent and 6.5 percent respectively. This reflected a comment made by Stephen Wong MW who noted that UK restaurant lists were largely failing to feature New Zealand wines.
Overall, however, since 15 Dec 2016 when there were 83K offers for New Zealand wine, making up 1.6 percent of the 5 million offers for wine worldwide, there has – as of 15 Dec 2024 – been an increase to 175K offers of New Zealand wine within 10M offers for wine worldwide, claiming 1.8 percent, showing slow but steady growth.
As Allen noted, there were a few key takeaways – chiefly the rise of the Burgundian varietals, and how that places New Zealand in good stead. As well as the opportunity to target both the lower pricing tiers as well as the upper, where the big Napa giants lurk.
Finally, a message that has been drummed in over the course of the past three days by various speakers – but one worth listening to. The world is keen, ready and waiting but ever so slightly deaf, and New Zealand Pinot Noir just needs to raise its voice.
Weilong Grape Co, one of the biggest wine producers in China, has announced the sale of 320 hectares of Australian vineyards for AUS$143 million (RMB 660.6 million).
Weilong is China’s third largest wine producer and the country’s biggest organic winery.
The company announced plans to sell its vineyard holdings in Coomealla and Nyah in Murray, which account for 76% of its total wine production in Australia, as reported by Vino Joy.
According to a statement released by Weilong on 6 July, the sale will “alleviate its financial and managerial stress for its Australian subsidiary”.
But for Weilong Grape Co, punitive tariffs’ financial weight has proved too heavy.
This marks the first major selloff from a Chinese company heavily restricted by these tariffs from selling Australian wine back to the Chinese market.
The Shandong-based wine producer bought the vineyards between 2016 and 2018, when international relations were friendly, China was Australia’s most profitable export market.
Weilong purchased approximately 600 hectares of vineyards in Victoria and New South Wales, according to Vino Joy, building a 26,000-tonne capacity winery just south of Mildura.
As disclosed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the sale includes 167.6 ha of vineyards in Coomealla and 260.4 ha in Nyah, along with other associated assets, for AUS$26.6 million and AUS$44.4 million each.
International demand for New Zealand wine shows no sign of slowing, with total export value reaching a record $1.83 billion according to the 2019 Annual Report of New Zealand Winegrowers.
Export value has risen by 6% in June year-end 2019, and at a retail level, this translates to over $7 billion dollars of New Zealand wine sold around the world annually. The UK and USA led the growth, with the USA continuing to be New Zealand wine’s largest market with over $550 million in exports.
The premium reputation of New Zealand wine has translated to real value in its major markets where the country remains either the highest or second-highest priced wine category in the USA, UK, Canada, and China. “This year’s export results again reflect the New Zealand wine industry’s strengths, and reinforce our international reputation for premium, diverse and sustainable wines.” said John Clarke, Chair of New Zealand Winegrowers.
The report highlights the completion of the 2018 PwC Strategic Review, the first within the industry since 2011, which provided a wealth of usable insights into the state of the New Zealand wine sector, challenges and opportunities. “The Strategic Review report noted the continued steady growth of the industry, and identified a range of challenges and risks that need to be addressed to maintain that trajectory and ensure all members have the opportunity to benefit” said Mr Clarke.
Mr Clarke noted the Strategic Review underscored how important all aspects of sustainability were in order to maintain the New Zealand wine industry’s social license to operate. “As an industry, we need to ensure our key focus is on enhancing sustainability initiatives. Sustainability is a cornerstone of the reputation of New Zealand wine, and is vital to the ongoing success of our industry.”
Highlights over the last year include the completion of the first phase of the Bragato Research Institute’s climate change programme, the commencement of a new research winery facility, and the International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration, which saw over 100 international wine producers, experts and key influencers visit Marlborough to experience New Zealand’s diverse Sauvignon Blanc offerings.
The 2019 Annual Report can be accessed here.
For further information contact: Philip Gregan CEO, New Zealand Winegrowers 021964564
Editor’s note: • Wine is New Zealand’s sixth-largest export good. • New Zealand wine is exported to more than 100 countries.
The beer and wine aisle of a 365 by Whole Foods Market grocery store is pictured ahead of its opening day in Los Angeles. New Zealand sauvignon blanc has found a ready market in the US.
New Zealand’s wine export values continue to rise thanks to strong United States demand, reaching $1.66 billion for the year, up 6 per cent on the year before.
While the percentage increase is lower than the average yearly growth of 17 per cent for the last 20 years, the industry was still on track to reach $2b worth of exports by 2020, chairman of New Zealand Winegrowers Steve Green said.
The latest NZ Winegrowers annual report shows to the end of June this year, the US market is worth $517 million, up 12 per cent. New Zealand wine became the third most valuable wine import into the US, behind only France and Italy.
NZ wine, a 2017 snapshot.
Green forecast next year’s export volumes would be “more muted” because of the smaller harvest of 396,000 tonnes, down 9 per cent on 2016, but wineries were confident quality would remain high.
While the US provided the best returns, more litres of wine (74 million) were exported to the United Kingdom for a much smaller return of $389m. Traditionally more bulk wine has been sent into the UK market. Behind the US and the UK came Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and China.
Former US ambassador to New Zealand Mark Gilbert, along with many of his countrymen, has a nose for a good wine. He attended a tasting of New Zealand and French pinot noir last year.
The most exported variety was sauvignon blanc, followed by pinot noir and chardonnay.
The recently passed Geographical Indications (Wine and Spirits) Registration Act would offer improved protection of New Zealand’s regional identities. The industry had also launched the sustainable winegrowing New Zealand continuous improvement extension programme to enhance the reputation of wines.
Of a total growing area of 37,129 hectares, sauvignon dominates at 22,085 ha, an increase of 685 ha from the year before. The second most popular variety was pinot noir, with 5653 ha, followed by chardonnay at 3203 ha and pinot gris (2469 ha).
Marlborough is overwhelmingly the largest region with 25,135 ha planted in vines, followed by Hawke’s Bay (4694 ha), Central Otago (1896 ha) and Canterbury/Waipara (1425 ha).
The number of wineries was 677; they reached a peak of 703 in 2012.
New Zealanders drank 40 million litres of imported wine during the past year, most of it Australian (29m litres), with the next two most popular French and Chilean.
The November Kaikoura earthquake damaged an estimated 20 per cent of Marlborough’s tank capacity, but by harvest time all of the lost capacity had been restored or replaced.
Green said the industry consulted with members on possible changes to export tasting requirements, with responses suggesting a rethink of export requirements was needed.
“We continue to believe more needs to be done in our export legislation to ensure that the same standards apply to every bottle of New Zealand wine, no matter where it is bottled,” Green said.
NZ Winegrowers were concerned at the Ministry for Primary Industries’ plan to take part of New Zealand Winegrowers’ wine export certification service contract in-house.
“We fought hard to retain the status quo, which has served our members well, and are disappointed with the level of industry consultation in MPI’s decision making process. If the service changes, we will be seeking guarantees from the government that the current speedy issuance of export eligibility statements will be protected, at no additional cost to members,” Green said.
In June the New Zealand Grape Growers Council and the Wine Institute of New Zealand finished as entities, replaced by a unified New Zealand Winegrowers.
New Zealand is now the only major wine producing nation with a single industry body, representing and advocating for the interests of its entire grape and wine industry.
The industry and the Government are working through a Primary Growth Partnership on research into lighter wine production and marketing. Last year retail sales reached $33.5m. The programme runs through to 2021, by which time $16.97m would have been spent on the partnership.
Organic wine production continues to flourish with more than 60 New Zealand wineries now making fully certified organic wines, and more still in the organic conversion process.
