Top 10 wine brands

New world favourites stand firm as we count down the world’s top 10 wine brands by volume.

The traditional market leaders continue to lead the chasing pack by some distance as the top 10 wine brands remain unchanged positionwise, apart from Beringer overtaking Sutter Home.

The results highlight how strong branding and a coherent marketing strategy can help lift brands above their rivals, but also serve to emphasise the dominance of the leading players in the global wine industry.

What is particularly noticeable, however, is the dominance of the New World wine-producing nations in the rankings.

In reverse order here are the top 10 wine brands.

10. BLOSSOM HILL

Brand owner: Diageo
Head office: Lakeside Drive, Park Royal, London, NW10 7HQ
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8978 6000
Website: blossomhill.com
Brand director: Simon Lawson
PR: Mercieca +44 (0)20 7482 8592
Product range: Blossom Hill Soft and Fruity Red, Crisp and Fruity White, Blossom Hill Vineyard Collection, Blossom Hill Winemakers Reserve Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Blossom Hill White Zinfandel and White Grenache
Volume 2010: 5,700,000 9l cases
Volume 2009: 5,100,000 9l cases
Change 09-10: 11.8%
2010 ranking: 10

Blossom Hill is the UK’s number one wine brand and fourth largest alcoholic drinks brand in the UK off-trade.

The brand has launched a summer campaign called the “Enjoy a Glass on the Grass experience”, which involved creating the wine’s first Facebook app.

The campaign is scheduled to run until the end of October and will also include instore, press and online advertising and at the end of August, using codes on bottles of the white and rosé wines, consumers will have the chance to win tickets to music festivals and other events.

9. LINDEMAN’S

Brand owner: Treasury Wine Estates

Head office: Regal House 70 London Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 3QS, UK

Tel: +44 (0) 20 8843 8411

Website: lindemans.com

Marketing dir: Matthew Bird

PR (in-house): Sarah Bentley

Product range: Cawarra; Bin Series; Reserves

Volume 2010: 6,700,000 9l cases

Volume 2009: 6,300,000 9l cases

Change 09-10: 6.3%

2010 ranking: 9

Lindeman’s is benefiting immensely from its surge in markets such as Sweden and the Netherlands, where it is outperforming the category by as much as four times overall growth.

The brand has recently appointed a new agency to drive a consumer PR programme to associate Lindeman’s with books by developing the existing Lindemans Wine and Book Club in order to maximise exposure for the brand across multiple media channels.

Comprising a Facebook page and Twitter feed, the Wine and Book Club is offering participants weekly prizes and the chance to appear as a guest blogger. Last autumn the brand also refreshed its packaging, including an updated logo and more back label information.

8. JACOB’S CREEK

Brand owner: Pernod Ricard

Head office: 12 Places des Etats-Unis, 75783 Paris cedex 16, France

Tel: +33 (0) 1 41 00 41 00

Website: jacobscreek.com

PR: Weber Shandwick, +44 (0) 20 7067 0313

Product range: Classic range: Single varietals; Blends; 3 Vines; Reserves Range;

Heritage range: Steingarten Riesling; Reeves Point Chardonnay; St Hugo Cabernet Sauvignon; Centenary Hill Shiraz; Icon: Johann; Shiraz Cabernet

Volume 2010: 7,065,000 9l cases

Volume 2009: 7,800,000 9l cases

Change 09-10: -9.4%

2010 ranking: 8

Jacob’s Creek has been investing heavily in brand-building activity and associations with premium events such as the Wimbledon Championships, to build on last year’s activity, which included TV advertising and a tie-up with digital station Dave in the UK.

This year’s activity surrounding Wimbledon involved Tim Henman and Goran Ivanisevic and on-pack promotions over one million bottles. Meanwhile, chief winemaker, Bernard Hickin, stated that the brand “believed” in the UK market.

Jacob’s Creek was also heavily involved with the Melbourne-based Australian Open, which saw a 36% rise in value and 4% rise in volume through a travel retail-heavy promotion in Melbourne and Sydney airports.

7. SUTTER HOME

Brand owner: Trinchero Family Estates

Head office: 100 St. Helena Hwy, St. Helena, California, 94574

Tel: +1 707 963 3104

Website: tfewines.com

Marketing dir: Wendy Nyberg

PR (in-house): Juliana French-Arnold

Product range: Cabernet Sauvignon; Chardonnay; Chenin Blanc; Merlot; Moscato; Gewurtztraminer; Pinot Grigio; Red; Sauvignon Blanc; White Cabernet Sauvignon; White Merlot; White Zinfandel; Zinfandel

Volume 2010: 8,100,000 9l cases

Volume 2009: 9,258,000 9l cases

Change 09-10: -12.5%

2010 ranking: 6

The brand that claims to have invented White Zinfandel back in the early 1970s continues to innovate with a series of environmentally friendly packaging solutions as part of its drive to enhance its sustainability and eco-friendly credentials.

Today, Sutter Home is the sixth largest winery in the US. All winemaking, bottling, shipping and warehousing operations are concentrated in three modern facilities in Napa County. The original winery site on Highway 29 houses the winery’s Visitors Center.

6. BERINGER

Brand owner: Treasury Wine Estates

Head office: Regal House, 70 London Road, Middlesex, TW1 3QS

Tel: +44 (0) 20 8843 8411

Website: beringer.com

Marketing dir: Matthew Bird

PR (in-house): Peter English

Product range: California Collection; Stone Cellars; Founders Estate; Appellation Collection; Private Reserve

Volume 2010: 8,300,000 9l cases

Volume 2009: 8,800,000 9l cases

Change 09-10: -5.7%

2010 ranking: 7

Beringer has put particular focus on its links with the gastronomic world over the past couple of years, as well as developing its relationships with sports.

The brand is the official wine of the PGA Tour and is the exclusive wine served at PGA tournaments across the US, with the brand forming a strong partnership with the country’s luxury sporting association.

Beringer Vineyards was founded in 1875 and is “the oldest continuously operating winery in the Napa Valley”. Located in St Helena, California, it was the first California winery to offer public tours in 1934, following the repeal of Prohibition.

5. HARDYS

Brand owner: Accolade Wines

Head office: Accolade Wines Reynell Road, Reynella SA Australia

Tel: +61 (0) 8 8392 2222

Website: accolade-wines.com

Brand controller: Neil Anderson

PR (UK): Clarion Comms +44 (0)20 7479 0910

Product range: Hardys Voyage; Hardys VR; Hardys Stamp of Australia; Hardys Nottage Hill; Hardys Crest; Hardys Oomoo; Hardys Chronicles; HRB; Sir James Sparkling; Eileen; Hardy; Thomas Hardy

Volume 2010: 9,690,000 9l cases

Volume 2009: 9,300,000 9l cases

Change 09-10: 4.2%

2010 ranking: 5

Despite the recent change of ownership of its parent company, Hardys retains its key sponsorship deals which ensure it remains a major brand, particularly in the UK, with deals such as its sponsorship of popular TV show Come Dine With Me, which sees the brand reach the screens of an estimated 40 million consumers.

Along with high-profile marketing activity, Accolade Wines says the key to its continuing success in the UK market is the sub-£10 bracket, which creates strong brand awareness as well as promoting frequent purchases.

4. ROBERT MONDAVI

Brand owner: Constellation Wines

Head office: 207 High Point Drive Building 100 Victor, New York 14564 US

Tel: +1 585 678 7100

Website: robertmondaviwinery.com

Marketing dir: Kevin Conner

PR (in-house): Anne Baker-Siegel

Product range: Napa Valley Wines; Reserve Wines; District Wines; Spotlight Wines; Woodbridge Wines

Volume 2010: 10,400,000 9l cases

Volume 2009: 10,500,000 9l cases

Change 09-10: -0.9%

2010 ranking: 4

Robert Mondavi’s 98th birthday was marked around the wine world this year with a global online toast, broadcast live from the winery in Oakville, California on 17 June.

Also this year the company’s 450 acre To Kalon Vineyard was awarded the “Vineyard of the Year” prize by the California Farm Bureau.

The winery also hosted its annual Summer Music Festival with a performance from Grammy-award winner Colbie Caillat.

Meanwhile, winemaking director Genevieve Janssens was named Wine Enthusiast’s 2010 Winemaker of the Year last October.

3. YELLOW TAIL

Brand owner: Casella Wines

Head office: Wakley Road, Yenda, NSW, 2681, Australia

Tel: +61 2 6961 3000

Website: yellowtailwine.com

Marketing: Libby Nutt

PR (UK): R&R Teamwork +44 (0) 20 7384 1333

Product range: Yellow Tail; The Reserve; Limited Release

Volume 2010: 11,230,000 9l cases

Volume 2009: 11,230,000 9l cases

Change 09-10: 2.5%

2010 ranking: 3

Yellow Tail, the flagship wine of the Casella Wines company, has over the years become Australia’s biggest single wine exporter, shipping wine to over 50 countries across the globe.

YellowTail was developed around the year 2000, originally marketed to export countries and became the number one imported wine to the US by 2003.

In that time the family-owned winery expanded to 10 times its original size.

The winery has the capacity to have approximately 300 million litres on site with more wine produced and stored elsewhere. The brand has recently launched a a risk-free-purchase promotion called “love the taste or your money back” in the UK off-trade.

The aim is to provide an incentive for consumers who may not have tried the brand before and is also intended to help drive the rate of sale for retailers.

2. CONCHA Y TORO

Brand owner: Concha y Toro

Head office: Avda. Neuva Tajamar 481, Torre Norte, Piso 15, Chile

Tel: +56 2 476 5000

Website: conchaytoro.com

CEO: Eduardo Guilisasti

PR (UK): Corporate / Icon brands – Mandarin Communications: +44 (0 )20 8670 2891

Casillero del Diablo; Sunrise; Frontera – CUBE Communications: +44 (0) 20 8401 5505

Product range: Sunrise; Frontera; Viña Maipo; Casillero del Diablo; Trio; Marques de Casa Concha; Terrunyo; Maycas del Limari; Palo Alto, Amelia; Don Melchor

Volume 2010: 17,160,000 9l cases

Volume 2009: 17,319,000 9l cases

Change 09-10: -0.9%

2010 ranking: 2

Concha y Toro last year signed a deal with Manchester United Football Club which not only made the brand the official wine of the UK’s best-supported sports team but also ensured global exposure through pitch-side advertising and various other marketing schemes run in conjunction with the club.

Earlier this year the company made its first foray outside South America with the US$238 million (£146m) purchase of Californian winery Fetzer Vineyards from Brown-Forman.

The acquisition of the company includes a portfolio of brands with attractive positioning in the American wine market: Fetzer, Bonterra, Five Rivers, Jekel, Sanctuary and Little Black Dress.

1. GALLO

Brand owner: E&J Gallo Winery

Head office: 600 Yosemite Boulevard, Modesto 95354 California, US

UK tel: +44 (0) 1895 813444

Website: gallo.com

Mktg manager: Susanne Buchmann

PR: CUBE Communications +44 (0) 20 8401 5505

Product range: Gallo Family Vineyards; Turning Leaf; Redwood Creek; Barefoot Wine; Coastal Vineyards; Twin Valley; Frei Brothers Reserve; Starborough; Mirassou; Merlot Rosé; Dancing Bull; Summer Red

Volume 2010: 20,500,000 9l cases

Volume 2009: 20,000,000 9l cases

Change 09-10: 2.5%

2010 ranking: 1

The juggernaut that is E&J Gallo continues to leave the chasing pack trailing in its wake and is showing no desire to rest on its laurels in an effort to cater for even more areas of the wine market.

This year the Californian company launched the latest addition to its range, Summer Red, which is designed to be drunk chilled and has a slightly lower alcoholic content at 10.5% abv.

Sugarbabes singer Heidi Range signed up to be the face of an extensive consumer marketing campaign over the course of summer 2011, and she even turned her blonde hair red in order to promote the new wine. Its Gallo Family Vineyards range also launched its new Merlot Rosé into the UK market this year, primarily targeted to its key female demographic and is focused around “pink” as a key consumer trend.

Meanwhile its Barefoot portfolio is continuing to nurture its partnership with Surfers Against Sewage.