Australia’s wine industry is worth $7.2bn, and 60 per cent of all Australian-grown and bottled wines are sent overseas.
But where in the world are the biggest lovers of Aussie wines? And which brands are putting Australia’s wine region on the map?
A new study by Australia’s Italian Street Kitchen analyses export data to identify the biggest consumers of Australian wines globally.
This data was then offset with each nation’s legal-age population census to pinpoint the consumption rate per person, per year.
Finally, Google Search volume data indicates which wines consumers are seeking to purchase the most.
Consumers by country
The study reveals New Zealand is the top Australian wine-loving nation, with an annual average consumption rate of 9.38 bottles per legal drinking age person.
Proximity may be working in New Zealand’s favour especially with the two nations trading under the ANZCERTA trade agreement.
The Kiwi wine of choice is Penfolds, followed by Jacobs Creek, 19 Crimes, Bay of Fires and Hardys.
Aligned with Penfolds being their favourite, the United Kingdom comes in second place with an annual wine consumption rate of 5.33 bottles of Aussie export per year, per person.
The other wines of choice in the UK, in order of descending popularity points, are 19 Crimes, Bay of Fires, Yellow Tail, Hardys and Saltram.
Denmark is another chief Australian wine-loving nation, ranking slightly behind the United Kingdom with an Aussie export consumption rate of 5.02 bottles per person each year, with Yellow Tail brand proving to be Denmark’s wine of choice.
Other notable brands doing the rounds in Denmark are Hardys, Penfolds, Giant Steps, Nepenthe and Beringer.