Top 10 best-selling wine brands

It seems naive now to think that, just five months ago, Brexit was the wine trade’s biggest issue. As the Covid-19 pandemic progresses, analysts are painting a bleak future for economic recovery. Difficult times no doubt lay ahead, but for now the wine trade is optimistic. Some brands are better placed than others to weather the storm.

This ranking is based on figures confirmed for 2019. While the landscape may have changed significantly since, and will continue to shift over the course of 2020, the following pages show the wine brands that dominate the global market for now.

They account for a vast swathe of volumes, consumed in huge quantities the world over.

Many producers on this list are changing their marketing strategies, going from boasting about their dominance of the market, to instead highlight their dedication to making a premium product.

We’ve known for a while that consumers are choosing to drink “less but better”, while younger consumers are apparently shunning wine altogether. As a result, drinks groups are scrambling to plug gaps in demand with alternative, wine-based beverages.

Wine consumption fell by 0.9% in the US last year, the first decline since 1994, sparking warnings of a potential oversupply by Wine Intelligence. The analyst declared that wine has now become a “more infrequent beverage”. Citing figures in its recently published US Landscapes 2020 report, Wine Intelligence said the number of US consumers drinking wine at least once a month had fallen by 11 million in four years.

Millennials in particular, those aged between 21 and 34, are drinking less. This demographic accounted for 29 million regular wine drinkers in 2015, compared to 21.5 million in 2019. But while they may be fewer in number, they are spending more. The report found that millennials who did drink wine were “highly involved, adventurous and higher spending wine drinkers than more mature consumers”.

It’s a similar story in the UK, with changes in consumer habits now set against a backdrop of uncertainty over the impact of covid-19. Research published by IWSR Drinks Market Analysis predicted that post-Covid, drinks producers worldwide would likely suffer “double-digit” decline in sales this year. “Even the downturn following the 2008 financial crisis was less severe than what we are seeing now,” said Mark Meek, chief executive of IWSR, in a recent webinar. “In many ways, 2019 was perhaps the last ‘normal’ year for the drinks industry.”

Only time will reveal the true scale of Covid-19’s impact on the wine trade, but these brands could prove a bellwether for the mainstream market.

Click here for a snapshot of the world’s biggest-selling wine brands, based on global sales of nine-litre cases in 2019…

You can see the last set of rankings, last carried out in 2017, here.

10. ECHO FALLS 

Brand owner: Accolade Wines

CEO: Robert Foye

Head office: Reynella Road, Reynella SA, Australia

Tel: +61 (0)8 8392 2222

Website: echofallswine.co.uk

Product range: White Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Grigio Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, White Grenache, Merlot. Blends: Red Wine Blend, Rosé Wine, White Wine. Fruit Fusions: Summer Berries, White Peach & Mango, Strawberry & Lime, Raspberry & Cassis, Strawberry & Elderflower, Tropical Fruits, Pear & Raspberry.

Volume 2018: 3.7m  Volume 2019: 3.1m 
Change: -16.2%

This Californian staple has snuck into the rankings for the first time this year, with the likes of Beringer, while still a huge global brand, unable to confirm estimates as their focus shifts from big volume lines. (Though we would suggest likely sits within a similar space in volume terms.)

Accolade was 100% acquired by US private equity firm the Carlyle Group, for AU$1 billion (£548 million) in 2018, and now comes under ownership of the Amphora Group Ltd, which was created by Carlyle for the Accolade businesses. In 2019, the UK arm of the business reported turnover of £473.4m for the year ended June 2019, down from £476m the previous year, while profits increased to £15.6m, up from £11.5m the previous year.

Despite positive growth, volumes of Echo Falls decreased by some 600,000 nine-litre cases. First launched in 2002, the brand has taken over the budget wine market, and is currently the second largest wine brand in the UK, according to its own website. Pitched as an “accessible lifestyle brand” it prides itself on being “unpretentious” and it’s a strategy that has seen it capture a huge swathe of the global wine market, helped by its advertising partnership with ITV2’s reality TV show, Love Island in 2018

9. CASILLERO DEL DIABLO

Brand owner: Concha y Toro

CEO: Eduardo Guilisasti

Head office: Avenida Nueva Tajamar 481 Torre Norte, Piso 15, Santiago, Chile

Tel: +562 2476 5000

UK tel: +44 (0)1895 813 444

Website: conchaytoro.com

Product range: Reserva, Reserva Especial, Reserva Privada, Leyenda, Red Blend, Devil’s Collection.

Volume 2018: 5.2m  Volume 2019: 5.8m 
Change: +11.5%

Named the “second most powerful wine brand in the world” by Wine Intelligence earlier this year, Conch y Toro’s Casillero del Diablo brand made significant gains in 2019, building its volumes by an impressive 11.5% to 5.8m cases worldwide.

Known as the wine from the “Devil’s Cellar”, Casillero del Diablo is the biggest wine brand in Chile, owned by the Concha y Toro wine group, and comprises several labels, including Reserva, Especial and Privada. Its flagship Reserva retails in the UK at around £7. In 2018, the brand added a new mid-range tier to its line-up in a bid to promote the country’s key wine regions. The Reserva Especial, or ‘red-label’ wine, sits between the brand’s entry-level Reserva ‘white label’ and more premium Reserva Privada ‘black-label’, and comprises a Sauvignon Blanc from Casablanca and a Cabernet Sauvignon from Cauquenes. Retailing at around £8-10, the Especial label was introduced to help increase the value of the Chilean wine brand and plug a price gap between the entry-point white label and the more upmarket black label, raising its premium by focusing on certain appellations in Chile, which are clearly indicated on the front of the bottle.

This year, the brand entered the spirits market for the first time, creating a Pisco inspired by the flagship wine label. Chilean Pisco must be made in the country’s two official D.O. regions, Atacama and Coquimbo, established by the government in 1931. The Diablo Pisco, which has an ABV of 35% and is made in Coquimbo, was first launched in Chile at the start of 2020, and has exceeded expectations and sold over 144,000 bottles since it came to market.

8: GREAT WALL


Brand owner: China Foods Limited

Head office: F11, Tower A, Cofco Plaza, 8 Jianguomennei Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100005

Tel: +86 10 8500 6688

Website: greatwallwine.com.cn

Product range: Varietal range, Château Sungod, Terroir Wine, Star Grade.

Volume 2018: 7m Volume 2019: 7m (Industry estimate) Change: 0%

With estimated global sales totalling 7m nine-litre cases Great Wall takes our eighth place in the ranking, vying for market share of the vast Chinese market with the country’s other biggest wine brand, Changyu (featured later in this ranking).

The Great Wall wine brand is owned by China Foods Limited, the trading arm of the Chinese conglomerate COFCO Group. Based in Shacheng town, Huailai County in Hebei province, the brand was founded in 1983, with its head office situated in view of the Great Wall of China. In 1979, the winery produced the country’s first dry white wine, and then the first dry red wine in 1983. Today, its top Cabernets can retail at around £50.

The company has vineyard holdings in Shandong province, home to the trademarked wine region of Yantai, and makes red,
white, rosé, sweet, sparkling and
fortified wines, which it sells at home and in 20 export markets including the UK, US, France and Germany, with around 100 wines in its portfolio. Outside of China the brand owns Château de Viaud in Lalande-de-Pomerol, which it bought in 2011 for €10m.

In detailing the company’s development strategy for 2019 in 2018, Castle Li, the then general manager of COFCO Wines and Spirits, noted a move towards targeting lower-tier cities across as China, citing them as the “main battle ground” for the winery, as disposable income increases and the middle class expands in these cities.

7: HARDYS


Brand owner: Accolade Wines

CEO: Robert Foye

Head office: Reynella Road, Reynella SA, Australia

Tel: +61 (0)8 8392 2222

Website: hardyswines.com

Product range: Icon Wines, HRB, Eileen Hardy, Thomas Hardy, William Hardy, Nottage Hill, Stamp, VR, Crest

Volume 2018: 9m

Volume 2019: 8.9m

Change: -1.1%

Another of Accolade Wines biggest brands, Australian wine label Hardys was last year named the top-selling wine brand in the UK, and shifted 8.9m cases last year, a slight decline on the previous year.

Following the appointment of Robert Foye as Accolade CEO earlier this year, the company reported on its upcoming plans in China, which include a new marketing promotion for Hardys and Banrock Station, signalling its confidence in the Chinese market (Helped by the elimination of tariffs on Australian wines into China). As Covid-19 continues to impact the hospitality sector in China, Accolade said it expects beverage sales will remain at a low level. However, it remains optimistic about 2020 and expects to see a rebound in business after the epidemic.

The brand more recently set its sights more firmly on the UK on-trade, launching a series of “foodie” wines in 2019 intended to be paired with food and available to restaurants and bars. The new ‘Foodies Range’ comprises a Shiraz, a Chardonnay and a rosé. It followed the launch of a fine wine arm in the UK and Ireland in 2018, Fine Wine Partners, set up by Accolade to “champion” the top-end range of its portfolio, which includes Petaluma and Stonier, building on its acquisition of Fine Wine Partners from Lion Nathan in 2017. Last year, the brand launched its first non-alcoholic wine, in response to the growth in sales of no- and low-alcohol products. The zero alcohol Chardonnay is made using the same grapes as its regular Chardonnay, but is de-alcoholised using a process of vacuum distillation.

6: SUTTER HOME


Brand owner: Trinchero Family Estates

CEO: Bob Torkelson

Head office: 100 St Helena Highway, St Helena, CA, 94574 USA

Tel: +1 707 963 3104

Website: tfewines.com

Product range: Varietal collection, Red Blend, Sweet Red, Sweet White, Bubbly range, Sangria

Volume 2018: 10.2m

Volume 2019: 10.2m

Change: 0%

Sutter Home’s roots date back to 1890, when its winery was founded in California. Prohibition meant it was closed for decades until its new owners, the Trinchero family, eventually reopened it in the late 1940s. However it wasn’t until the 1970s that the brand really found its footing with the launch of an affordable and sweeter style of wine, a white Zinfandel.

Sutter Home has since grown to become one of the biggest brands in the US market and worldwide, with its top export markets the UK, Poland, Ireland and Canada. In 2018 the brand celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Sutter Home Family Vineyard’s first harvest. Its range now features dozens of wines, including a Pinot Noir, Malbec, White Merlot and Riesling, alongside a range of Moscatos and a red blend, launched in 2014.

2019 saw Sutter Home sue a New York wine importer for up to US$2 million for trademark infringement over use of the term ‘Napa Cellars’. In more positive news, in January Sutter Home announced a partnership with “Tiny House Nation” on Sutter Home: Project Tiny Home, a philanthropic initiative that will see the brand help to build ’10 Tiny Homes’ for veterans, victims of natural disasters, first responders and others struggling with housing instability. It has already helped to build two homes, including one in Florida that allowed an active-duty military family to be reunited with their young daughter in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

5: ROBERT MONDAVI

Brand owner: Constellation Brands

Head office: 7801 St. Helena Highway Oakville, CA, 94562 USA

Website: robertmondaviwinery.com

Constellation CEO: Robert Sands

Product range: Robert Mondavi Private Selection, Robert Mondavi Winery, Napa Valley Wines, Reserve Wines, District Wines, Spotlight Wines, Woodbridge

Volume 2018: 10.3m

Volume 2019: 10.5m

Change: 1.94%

Sales of Robert Mondavi wines made small gains last year, with production rising by 1.94% to 10.5m cases. This was, nevertheless, down from the 12m cases it had been producing in 2015. Constellation owns three brands under the Robert Mondavi umbrella – Robert Mondavi Winery, Robert Mondavi Private Selection and Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi. Together they make up the Robert Mondavi brand family, with its key markets Canada, Switzerland and Japan, as well as at home in the US, where it is currently the third biggest wine brand.

Last year, the Mondavi brand was spared from sale after Constellation announced it was planning to sell or discontinue up to 40% of its wine and spirits portfolio in order to focus on its “power brands” that retail for over $11. The remaining 60% of Constellation’s wine and spirits portfolio are considered “power brands” and command a retail price of over $11 a bottle. Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi, however, was one sub $11 that was not up for the chop, with the Mondavi brand selling well across the board.

Earlier this year, the Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi Wines label announced a new multi-year sponsorship deal with Major League Baseball in the US, making Woodbridge Wines the Official Wine of MLB. It marks the first time Woodbridge Wines has partnered with a US sports league. The brand will support the partnership through MLB Club partnerships with the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros and Cincinnati Reds, and will introduce packaging featuring MLB marks on select Woodbridge Wines in 2021.

Other wine brands currently in the Constellation portfolio are: Kim Crawford, The Prisoner Wine Company, Meiomi, Charles Smith Wines, Schrader, Clos du Bois and Ravenswood.

4: CHANGYU


Brand owner: Changyu Pioneer Wine Co

CEO: Zhou Hongjiang

Head office: 56 Dama Road, Yantai, SDG 264000, China

Tel: + 86 535 663 3658

Website: http://www.changyu.com.cn

Product range: Noble Dragon, Château Changyu Moser XV, Château Changyu AFIP Global, Baron Balboa, Golden Icewine Valley, Château Changyu-Castel Co Ltd Yantai, Château Changyu Rena

Volume 2018: 12.5m

Volume 2019: 10.7m

Change: -14.4%

China’s oldest and largest wine brand, Changyu was founded in 1819, and is today the most prolific Chinese wine brand in the international market with its wines made under the stewardship of Austrian Grüner Veltliner pioneer Lenz Moser.

Throughout the last decade, Changyu has built a number of European-style chateaux across China, including its crown jewel Château Changyu Moser XV – a €70m winery in Ningxia that was built in collaboration with and named after Moser. It now has eight chateaux across six Chinese wine regions, with Château Changyu-Moser XV currently in the process of converting to biodynamic viticulture with the aims of being certified by 2022.

Changyu’s top export markets are the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy and Finland. Moser has recently launched the brand in Australia and will bring it to Canada later this year. Its flagship wine labels, produced from 250-hectares of vineyard in Ningxia, come under the Château Changyu Moser XV brand. Taking the Bordeaux model, the range includes ‘grand vin’ Château Changyu Moser XV Cabernet Sauvignon, second wine Moser Family Cabernert Sauvignon, and a three-strong varietal range, Moser XV, formed of a Cabernet, Merlot and Riesling, which launched with the
2015 vintage. Read more on the brand’s upcoming plans via db’s interview with Moser here

As well as its Chinese wine operation, Changyu is also the principal shareholder in Marques del Atrio, which has four wineries in Spain. It also owns property in Bordeaux, having acquired its first Bordeaux property in October 2015, after buying Bordeaux Supérieur estate Château Mirefleurs from the Castel Group for €3.3 million. Further underlining its ambitions for overseas expansion, in 2018 Changyu bought an 80% stake in Clare Valley-based winery Kilikanoon Wines for AU$20.6 million in 2017, and an 85% stake in Chile’s Bethwines, the wine division of the Bethia Group.

In terms of its management, 2018 saw the biggest shift in leadership for 20 years, with Zhou Hongjiang taking over from Sun Liquiang as its new CEO. Liqiang, who had held the position for 20 years, retired in December 2017.

3: YELLOW TAIL


Brand owner: Casella Wines

CEO: John Casella

Head office: 1471 Wakley Road, Yenda, NSW 2681 Australia

Tel: +61 2 6961 3000

Website: yellowtailwine.com

Tel: +61 2 9330 4700

Product range: Varietal collection, Reserve range, Big Bold Red, Sweet White Roo, Sweet Red Roo, Bubbles range, Sangria, Bondi RD (Australia only)

Volume 2018: 11.5m

Volume 2019: 11.5m (Industry estimate)

Change: 0%

With an estimated 11.5m nine-litre cases sold globally in 2019, Yellow Tail takes third place in the worldwide wine rankings.

Its success is a case study in how to launch a successful brand and turn it into a global icon. Launched in 2000, Yellow Tail was the first bottle wine label launched by the Casella Family, who previously supplied bulk wine to other producers. It was initially conceived as an export label, and became the number one imported wine to the US by 2011, known for its label’s yellow-footed wallaby graphic. Its success in the US has been replicated in all of the world’s major wine export markets, including the UK.

Last year Yellow Tail announced the launch of a new lower ABV wine range in the UK. The producer cited changing attitudes toward alcohol as the reason for launching a lighter wine range in the UK. At the time of its launch, head of strategy, Michael Sergeant, said health and social drivers were impacting the wine category in many ways, with drinking more moderately an aspiration for more people than ever, but that concerns over the taste of lighter wines was holding the category back. Pure Bright seeks to address this, with the aim of offering the same varietal characteristics of a Pinot Grigio, citing notes of red apple, pear and passionfruit, but at a lower abv. At 8.5% Pure Bright Pinot Grigio carries 79 calories per glass, with the range also including a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and rosé.

2: GALLO


Brand owner: E&J Gallo Winery

CEO: Joseph E. Gallo

Head office: 600 Yosemite Boulevard Modesto, CA, 95354 USA

Tel: +1 209 341 3063
UK Tel: +44 (0)1895 813 444

Website: gallo.com

Product range: Gallo Family Vineyards, Gallo Family Vineyards Spritz, Gallo Family Vineyards Summer/Autumn, Turning Leaf, Coastal Vineyards, Signature Series

Volume 2018: 15m

Volume 2019: 15m (Industry estimate)

Change: 0%

With 24,000 acres of vineyards across California, E&J Gallo is estimated to be responsible for 40% of all wine production in California, a mammoth operation that allows it the scale to produce some 15m bottles of its Gallo Family wine label alone each year.

Gallo Family Vineyards is just one of some 100 different wine brands owned by E&J Gallo, but one of its biggest and most lucrative. It’s also one of the most widely exported wines in the world, retailing at around £5 in the UK.

E&J Gallo has moved to premiumise its portfolio in recent years, snapping up a number of high-end Californian wineries in recent years. Last year, the Californian drinks giant acquired Napa Valley’s Pahlmeyer Winery, including its two brands Pahlmeyer and Jayson by Pahlmeyer, which range in price from US$30 to $350, adding to its premium portfolio. Other Gallo purchases have included Ranch Winery (2015), Talbott Vineyards in California’s Santa Lucia Highlands and sparkling wine specialist J Vineyards & Winery (both in 2014), as well as two vineyard sites in the Napa Valley – Cypress Ranch and part of the Palisades Vineyard near Calistoga.

Despite moving beyond the sub US$11 market, the Gallo Family label remains a firm fixture, with E&J Gallo still dominating this segment of the market. Indeed, E&J Gallo has agreed to pay $1.7 billion to purchase around 30 sub $11 a bottle wine brands from Constellation Brands, a deal that was nevertheless delayed, but a move that will no doubt further cement their position in the entry-level wine market.

1: BAREFOOT


Brand owner: E&J Gallo Winery

CEO: Joseph E. Gallo

Head office: 600 Yosemite Boulevard, Modesto, CA, 95354 USA

Tel: +1 209 341 3063

Website: barefootwine.com

UK Tel: +44 (0)1895 813 444

Product range: Barefoot Bubbly, Barefoot Red, Barefoot White, Barefoot Pink, Barefoot Hard Seltzer, Barefoot Spritzer, On Tap, Wine to go.

Volume 2018: 22.5m

Volume 2019: 22.5m (Industry estimate)

Change: 0%

The biggest of E&J Gallo’s wine brands, Barefoot shifted an estimated 22.5m cases globally in 2019, according to industry estimates, putting it miles ahead of its nearest competitors. According to Nielsen, the Barefoot brand has grown by 19.2% in value over the past 12 months, increasing its revenue by £21m.

Not a brand to take itself too seriously, its roots date back to 1965, when California winemaker Davis Bynum first created Barefoot Bynum Burgundy in his garage. He would crush the grapes barefoot, hence the name, which is intended to invoke the brand’s free-spirited beginnings. In 1986 entrepreneurs Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey came on board, renaming the company as Barefoot Cellars and creating the brand’s instantly recognisable footprint label. Currently Barefoot’s chief winemaker is Jennifer Wall, a mother of three and Californian native.

The brand currently has around 75 wines in its range, from single varietal wines to Moscatos, sangria, spritzers and fizz, across a range of different formats. Most recently, the brand launched a range of white wine-based hard seltzers in the UK. Available in the US and UK from May, the range includes two variants made with sparkling water, white wine and natural fruit flavours: pineapple and passion fruit, and strawberry and guava. Each 250ml can contains 70 calories, two grams of sugar, and 4% ABV. Single cans will have a UK RRP of £1.80. In the US, two additional flavours are available, peach and nectarine; cherry and cranberry. Currently worth $550 million, the hard seltzer category is booming in the US and is predicted to be worth $2.5 billion by 2021.