Australian wine brands have taken something of a hammering in the last year, if The Power 100, a listing of the world’s most powerful wine and spirits brands produced by UK-based international brand valuation consultancy Intangible Business, is anything to go by. Hardy’s, the highest-ranked Australian wine brand (which Intangible Business actually identifies as American), retains its place as second most powerful wine brand behind US behemoth Gallo. Yellowtail, ranked fifth overall behind Concha Y Toro (3rd) and Robert Mondavi (4th), holds its place, but thereafter the tale is not a happy one. Jacob’s Creek slips from 6th to 7th, Lindemans from 7th to 9th, Penfolds slides from 12th to 14th, while Rosemount falls off a cliff to not even rate in the top 17 from its previous position of 10th. There’s some compensation in Wolf Blass climbing from 13th to 11th and Banrock Station from 14th to 13th. This, perhaps, is the way of the future for Australia, since our current and projected future circumstances are likely to limit the number of huge international wine brands this industry can sustainably support.
