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Imitations of famous Australian wine spotted for sale in Chinese store sparks outrage
Imitations of Australia’s famous Penfolds wine are appearing on store shelves in China, months after exports were hit with trade sanctions. It’s prompted an investigation from the company that owns the brand.
Wine bottles are being spotted on store shelves in China that appear to be imitations of famous Australian wine Penfolds, prompting an investigation by the brand’s parent company and no small amount of outrage online.
According to 9News, China-based journalist Patrick Fok spotted the alleged counterfeit bottles and posted a picture of them to Twitter.
“Spotted in Hainan. Must admit I have never come across these Australian labels,” he captioned the image.
Spotted in Hainan. Must admit I have never come across these Australian labels! pic.twitter.com/aNNEk259re
— 霍炳宗 (@PaddyFok) February 14, 2021
The bottles appear to bear a resemblance to the red and white label and font used by Penfolds, though instead are named ‘Penfunils’ and ‘Benfords’.
Treasury Wine Estates, the company that owns Penfolds, said in a statement cited by news.com.au that the apparent findings are being investigated.
“We take any infringement of our Penfolds brand very seriously and we continue to make significant investments in our brand protection program across markets including China,” a spokesperson said.
“Our team will be investigating this case further.”
China has imposed tariffs on Australian exports in recent months, with Beijing claiming that Australian winemakers have flooded its markets with cheap wine, sold for less than it sells in Australia.