Treasury eyes flow-on effects
Beringer, one of the largest and oldest wine brands in California's Napa Valley, is owned by Australian winemaker Treasury Wine Estates. Beringer controls a string of prestige brands but lags well behind its Australian colleagues in export sales.
In an interview with industry publication Shanken News Daily, Mr Grant said Treasury Wine Estates' Australian brand business exported about two-thirds of what it produced, whereas Beringer exported less than 10 per cent.
"So I think there's a clear opportunity to develop an export business with Beringer," he said.
Mr Grant is responsible for key Napa Valley wines including Beringer. "We believe the luxury end of the portfolio is positioned to get some traction in certain markets around the world," he told Shanken News Daily.
"Not just the Beringer brand - although that would be the basis of it - but also our other estate brands like Chateau St Jean, Stags' Leap, Etude and Souverain."
A 20-year wine industry veteran, before his appointment last August, Mr Grant was the vice-president, global brand director, for Beringer, and responsible for brand development and marketing.
Mr Grant said his business unit would leverage from the success of Treasury Wine Estates' Australian wine sales into Asia, particularly China, where labels such as Penfolds had forged a robust business.
"We're leveraging our strength in a market like China. Very few wine companies have a strong route to market there, and we have an infrastructure already. It's built around the pioneering efforts by Penfolds, Wolf Blass and Lindeman's with our importer."
He said China, Hong Kong and Taiwan were the key target for his US wine export strategy.
"The [China] mainland's huge emerging middle class is looking to take cues from the West in terms of consumer behaviour - part of that is wine consumption.
"There are 200 cities in mainland China with populations in excess of 2 million. We've only just begun to scratch the surface in terms of connecting there."
The best Grange? —Page 36
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Treasury Wine Estates plans to lift Beringer’s exports by piggybacking on the strong export success of its Australian brands, especially into Asia. The company intends to push the luxury end of its Napa portfolio and use its existing routes to market in places like China, Hong Kong and Taiwan to grow US wine exports.
According to the article, Treasury’s Australian brand business exports about two‑thirds of what it produces, whereas Beringer exports less than 10%—showing a big gap and room to expand Beringer’s international sales.
Treasury is targeting mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan as key markets for expanding exports of Beringer and other Napa estate wines, citing growing demand and its existing importer relationships in those markets.
The company is focusing not just on the Beringer house brand but also on estate and luxury labels such as Chateau St Jean, Stags’ Leap, Etude and Souverain as the basis for growing export traction.
Treasury plans to use the route‑to‑market and importer infrastructure already developed by its Australian labels—notably the pioneering efforts of Penfolds, Wolf Blass and Lindeman’s—to introduce and scale Beringer and other US wines in Asia.
John Grant is the head responsible for key Napa Valley wines including Beringer. A 20‑year wine industry veteran, he was previously vice‑president and global brand director for Beringer, responsible for brand development and marketing, and he is driving the export development effort.
The article notes China’s large and growing middle class is adopting Western consumption habits, including wine. Treasury highlights that there are about 200 mainland Chinese cities with populations over 2 million, suggesting substantial untapped consumer markets for wine.
Investors might monitor signs of increased export volumes and revenue from Beringer and the listed Napa estate brands, traction in key Asian markets (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan), and any reports of the luxury portfolio gaining market share—indicators the export strategy is taking effect.
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