117 thoughts on “Who Makes My Wine?”

1. 

   Tim Mur says:

   Product, En Saison ROSE 2019, A disgusting crystal sediment found in product making the last glass unpalatable, contacted importer Pinnacle Drinks, Surry Hills, who merely commented that yeah that sometimes happens. Not worth the money when you have to discard last glass.

2. 

   Stew says:

   Another new one for you Huon. Forest of Echoes 2019 Pinot Noir (maybe Riesling too, as have seen a review for that in winestate) has just popped up on the Dan Murphy’s online store. Tasmanian. Looked at the trademark and it is registered to Endeavour Drinks Group (Woolworths).
   Amazed they managed to source a Pinot Noir from Tasmania in 2019 with most of the southern regions not making Pinot Noir due to the smoke damage that vintage. Would be interesting to taste to see what sub-region it is from…

3. 

   keith glossop says:

   Enjoyed this blog Huon. First time reader. I have been purchasing wines through Naked Wines Aust (Wine Angels) in the belief it was assisting smaller family owned wineries. Am I on the right track or have I been railroaded again?
   Is it owned by some multi national or is it really as it portrays itself, a small winery angel.

   1. 

      Huon Hooke says:

      I’ve never heard a single complaint about Naked Wines, either from producers or consumers. It seems to do a good job, although you can’t compare prices as its wines are made exclusively for its own business. Naked Wines started in the UK in the ’80s, and was bought by the UK’s largest stand-alone wine retailer Majestic in 2015, then in 2019 Majestic was bought by a US investment co.

4. 

   John W Ross says:

   Is Duperrey really a Woolworths brand? My understanding is G.H. Martel & Co.

   1. 

      John W Ross says:

      A bit more research answered my own question. It is an exclusive Woolworths brand, though the product itself comes from Martel.

      1. 

         Huon Hooke says:

         Thanks for pointing this out John. We will rectify it.

5. 

   adam says:

   Does anyone know which of these labels were started by the retailers vs acquired by the retailer?

   1. 

      Paul says:

      All just made up names by retailer. Woolworths simply bring in juice to Cellarmaster from anywhere, doesn’t matter where, run it down a bottling line there and sell it through Cellarmaster, BWS, Dan Murphy. Their COGs is really low and the margins typically north of 200% (better than restaurant margins). They (Woolworths) import hundreds of thousands of liters or Oyster Bay Sauv Blanc and bottle it a nine different price points! This is from a Woolworths insider. It’s a rort of biblical proportions and the consumer thinks all these wine are wineries. They’re not. The clue? Read the address on the back “bottled for Pinnacle Drinks”… the address is either in Surrey Hills or Siegersdorf Rd Nuriootpa. It’s the biggest scandal in the wine industry, it undermines wineries who actually employ people in their vineyards, cellar doors and generally contribute to their local economies. Woolworths and Coles simply bring in juice and pass it off as wineries and know we the consumer will eat it up. Read the list above and stay away from Woolworths and Coles home brand wines…. someone got shafted and they’ve cleaned up

6. 

   Donny Marciano says:

   Hello all – I wanted to contact Sonata Estate and let them know that I have been buying both the red and dry white for years. However the last cask of dry white I bought seems to have been watered down more than ever. It simply has very little substance, and I must say I am very disappointed this time. I’ll try to cotact the winemakers through WW, I think they need to know what the public are thinking of their latest batch of wine.

7. 

   Matthew McCulloch says:

   Zonin is not owned by Woolworths.
   Luis Felipe Edwards and Peter Mertes are not owned by Aldi.

   1. 

      Alan Wall says:

      And any Spaniard could tell you that Vicente Gandia is not owned by Aldi either. Seems like whoever compiled this list is not familiar with anything but Australian wine.

8. 

   David Donnelly says:

   I read elsewhere that Accolade has recently been sold to the Carlyle Group

9. 

   lisa says:

   The producer is not really being as honest as you say, they are only telling half the truth, which is like being half pregnant, if you know what I mean. Unfortunately Sonata is a Woolworths owned brand so you wont be able to go on the Sonata website and contact the Sonata winemaker or the Sonata manager to find out what the deal is as you could with a real producer as you already know from your failed google search no doubt. You could try contacting Pinnacle drinks group, they might be able to help if you really want to know. My best guess is apples.

10. 

    Daile says:

    Do you know if Cellarmasters sell only Woolworths wine? Im tipping thats the case! (Pun intended). There are some brands that Cellarmasters are selling that arent on this list – could possibly be a good source for woolworths brands?

    1. 

       Huon Hooke says:

       Cellarmasters is owned by Woolworths and they do sell some own brands and wines that are made exclusively for them. But that’s by no means all they sell.

       1. 

          Mike Warren says:

          On 08 Oct 2019, the site is showing Baileys Of Glenrowan under both Treasury Wines and Casella??

11. 

    Adam Rankine says:

    This is amazing! There are really lots of company that makes wine. Such a very helpful article.

12. 

    moon says:

    On the goon box, it states that it is a “wine base beverage.” I think that honesty is awesome. The 4 litre box is $9 and it’s 9.5% (whether it’s the red or white). What’s really weird is that this wine based beverage tastes so much better than any other goon bag or even low price bottles on the market. Someone is hitting the market just right and if that’s woolworths then good on them! Not all of us can afford to drink expensive gold labelled bottles.

    1. 

       Ann says:

       What cask is that. We buy Debortoli but it’s nearly $20

13. 

    Anon says:

    Stonier wines
    Accolade I believe

14. 

    Matt says:

    Isn’t Church Road also owned by Pernod Ricard?

15. 

    Winobill says:

    Some Aldi wines were made at Victorian Alps Winery in Gapsted, North East Victoria. One label was Wren Feather which is no longer used. It was a $15.00 Chardonnay at cellar door which sold for five bucks at Aldi. it was worth the $15.00 price tag.

16. 

    Ian Juniper says:

    Who are/is Albertson’s and where are their wines made? “Southeastern Australia” is hardly a pedigree and many potential purchasers would rather not buy a pig in a plastic bag.

17. 

    Scott Davis says:

    I believe that Woolworths Limited owns a large winery in the Barossa Valley. Is that the source of all of its own-branded wine, or just some of it? Does Coles also make its own, or does it outsource the entire production?

    1. 

       Huon Hooke says:

       Most supermarket own-label wine is made by other wineries. Yes, Woolworths/Pinnacle Drinks owns the sizeable Dorrien Estate winery in the Barossa, but I’m not aware of Coles owning a winery, although it does own some vineyards.

18. 

    Michel says:

    Everyone has their own experiences and according to this, all they have their own reviews. Well nice blog, it has lots to learn.

19. 

    Nick Guggisberg says:

    One more thing. I note that Wine state mag takes sponsorship from Aldi and reviews their wines along with many of the other brands you list under the supermarket own brands. Who owns Winestate mag? Thanks again, Nick

    1. 

       Huon Hooke says:

       I assume when you say sponsorship you mean advertising? There’s no harm in that: it’s how the print media lives. Where it can become corrosive is when the newspaper or magazine attracts advertising with a promise of free editorial coverage to accompany the ad. Just look in your local free suburban newspaper – they’re full of it. But where it’s insidious is that the reader can’t always tell when an editorial is actually advertorial. They muddy the water deliberately. As to your last question, to my knowledge, Winestate is privately owned.

20. 

    Nick Guggisberg says:

    Hi Huon, I’m interested in your opinion re on-line sellers like vino mofo. I’ve bought some fantastic wines from them, often by smaller producers. I’ve sometimes felt a little guilty because I’ve ended up with a fantastic wine at often less than half the cost. But then I think we’ll the winery obviously needed to shift some product quickly to create some cash flow therefore the online seller has provided them with this opportunity. I acknowledge that once I’ve paid the low price for the wine I’m not going to pay full price for it in the future. Am I contributing to the race to the bottom by adding pressure to these producers?

    1. 

       Huon Hooke says:

       I don’t think there’s any certain answer to that. It depends on you the consumer, how you perceive the brand after you’ve bought it for a bargain price. Does it cheapen the brand? It’s why some wineries hide their brand by quitting excess wine under ‘secret labels’ and such like. You certainly can find some bargains in limited offers by online retailers.

21. 

    David Ward says:

    I just discovered the Sonata Estate goon at BWS and was googling looking to complement the producer. On the goon box, it states that it is a “wine base beverage.” I think that honesty is awesome. The 4 litre box is $9 and it’s 9.5% (whether it’s the red or white). What’s really weird is that this wine based beverage tastes so much better than any other goon bag or even low price bottles on the market. Someone is hitting the market just right and if that’s woolworths then good on them! Not all of us can afford to drink expensive gold labelled bottles.

    1. 

       Mark Aitken says:

       Hi David,
       The expression “wine based beverage” is unusual as it implies it is not composed of 100% grape product. In Australia you can only call a beverage wine if it is made 100% from wine grapes, technically any other fruit wine is not wine by this definition. If it is true that it contains fruit (or anything else) in addition to wine grapes then ‘wine based beverage’ is indeed an accurate description, but don’t you think it would be good to also state what the balance of the composition is, I would like to know what I am drinking? The producer is not really being as honest as you say, they are only telling half the truth, which is like being half pregnant, if you know what I mean. Unfortunately Sonata is a Woolworths owned brand so you wont be able to go on the Sonata website and contact the Sonata winemaker or the Sonata manager to find out what the deal is as you could with a real producer as you already know from your failed google search no doubt. You could try contacting Pinnacle drinks group, they might be able to help if you really want to know. My best guess is apples.

       1. 

          Andrew Wilsmore says:

          It is simply a small amount of water that is added to bring the alcohol content down. Very common practice for cask wine, which is why most of them are labelled ‘wine product’.

    2. 

       Huon Hooke says:

       David, See my article on the legalities and practicalities of adding water to wine/juice/must, which was posted this week.