The 10 most powerful wine brands in the world 2020

Market analyst Wine Intelligence has released a report detailing the most influential wine brands in the world.

The Global Wine Power Index 2020 looks at the performance of dozens of brands in 20 key markets, such as the UK, US, Japan, Australia, China and the Netherlands, posing survey questions to a little over 22,000 people worldwide

The survey explored a number of factors to estimate a brand’s influence with consumers, such as their awareness of the brand, how often it was purchased, how much ‘affinity’ consumers felt they had with the wine (i.e., whether it felt “right for them”), and how likely they were to recommend it to someone else.

We’ve taken a look at the 10 highest-scoring wines in the report and how their perception with consumers has changed in the past year, from Bordeaux blockbuster Mouton Cadet, to Chilean giant Concha Y Toro’s string of successful labels.

Click through to see the most powerful wines in the world, why they did well, and what they’ve been up to this year.

10. Mouton Cadet

Score in 2020: 29.5

Score in 2019: 38.1

French giant Mouton Cadet’s overall score has dropped significantly since last year, causing the Bordeaux label to fall five places in Wine intelligence’s report. Its best markets for consumer trust are, perhaps unsurprisingly, France and Belgium, where it scored 90.7 and 73 out of 100 respectively, and it is still one of the top 3 most powerful brands in Belgium.

The label lost points across a number of factors consumers were asked about, including brand awareness, rate of purchase, and affinity.

9. J.P. Chenet

Score in 2020: 29.8

Score in 2019: 36.6

8. Frontera

Score in 2020: 30.2

Score in 2019: 28.3

A member of the Childean wine group Concha Y Toro, Frontera climbed seven places to make it to 8th in this year’s report.

7. Carlo Rossi

Score in 2020: 30.7

Score in 32.5

6. Gato Negro

Score in 2020: 35.4

Score in 2019: 31.9

5. Barefoot

Score in 2020: 38.9

Score in 2019: 29.2

Barefoot’s score has significantly improved since last year, and it is most popular in Canada, the US, and the UK. The California wine giant Barefoot entered the hard seltzer game this year with a range of four white wine-based seltzers in the US.

4. Jacob’s Creek

Score in 2020: 39.0

Score in 2019: 41.1

Owned by Pernod Ricard Winemakers, Australian giant Jacob’s Creek regularly tops wine brand list thanks to a wide distribution and marketing investments, which lead to strong sales. It also came up trumps in named in Brand Finance’s Australia 100 report, ranking eighth in a list of the country’s strongest brands. it was he only drinks brand to be included in the top 10.

However, the brand has fallen one place from Wine Intelligence’s report since last year, when it tied in 3rd with Gallo.

3. Gallo Family Vineyards

Score in 2020: 42.2

Score in 2019: 41.1

Owned by California’s E&J Gallo, Gallo Family is the most-influential US brand in the ranking.

E & J Gallo is responsible for 40% of all wine production in California. It owns 24,000 acres of land and over 100 different wine brands, but while the company has started to invest more in its premium portfolio (i.e. wines that retail for over £10 per bottle), Gallo Family is its most lucrative. It performed best in the US, with a score of 68/100 overall, but received strong overall scores across each of the 19 markets where it was surveyed. Gallo Family is one of the most widely distributed wines in the report, which goes some way to explaining its high score.

2. Casillero del Diablo

Score in 2020: 49.9

Score in 2019: 51.4

Owned by Chilean wine giant Concha Y Toro, Casillero del Diablo regularly makes it into the top 3 in Wine Intelligence’s annual report. The brand dominates in its home market of Chile, but is also regarded highly with wine buyers in Colombia and Ireland, thanks to a strong purchase score.

It is one of CyT’s most valuable brands. In the UK, retail sales of Casillero del Diablo rose 13.9% over 2019, with supermarkets and corner-shops shifting selling over two million x nine-litre cases in the 52 weeks to 4 January.

1. Yellow Tail

Score in 2020: 61.1

Score in 2019: 60.3

This is the third consecrative year that Aussie brand Yellow Tail has topped Wine Intelligence’s brand power survey overall. The brand has widespread approval, and placed in the top 5 with consumers surveyed in Canada, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, the UK and the US.

Though there has been an overall decline in Yellowtails global brand awareness, the study found it has a strong connection score and a loyal customer base, which helped it to retain its top spot.