Treasury Wine Estates owns Penfolds, one of the world’s most famous wine brands. Here’s how it makes its money, and why its U.S. business has been a headache.
Treasury Wine Estates, or TWE, is one of the world’s largest wine companies, and is based in Melbourne. It was spun off from brewer Foster’s Group in 2011. It reports in Australian dollars, and its financial year ends on 30 June.
Penfolds
Penfolds is TWE’s crown jewel. Founded in South Australia in 1844, it is famous for luxury wines such as Grange, which sells for well over $1,000 a bottle, and its Bin range. Luxury wine earns much higher margins than everyday wine, so Penfolds makes most of TWE’s profit.
China is Penfolds’ most important overseas market, where its wines are popular as gifts and at celebrations. When China imposed tariffs of up to 218 per cent on Australian wine in 2020, TWE’s sales there collapsed. The tariffs were removed in 2024, and Penfolds has been rebuilding its business in China.
TWE has also had problems with “grey market” imports, where wine is shipped into China outside its official channels, and has restricted some shipments to protect the brand.
The U.S. and other brands
TWE’s other big business is Treasury Americas, which sells luxury wines in the U.S. In 2023, it paid about $1.6 billion for Daou Vineyards in California. But U.S. wine sales have struggled, and TWE has written down the value of its U.S. assets.
Its Treasury Collective division sells more affordable wines, including Wolf Blass, Lindeman’s and 19 Crimes.
The risks
Wine drinking is falling in many countries, as younger people drink less alcohol. The risks include weaker demand in China and the U.S., trade tensions, bad vintages caused by drought, bushfires or frost, and an oversupply of grapes.
Sam Fischer became chief executive in 2025.
Latest results, as at 9 November 2026
Full year to June 2026, reported 13 August 2026: underlying earnings fell 36 per cent to $492 million, and TWE posted a net loss of $1.1 billion, mainly because of a $1.3 billion write-down of its U.S. assets. Penfolds’ earnings rose 15 per cent to $404 million, helped by sales in China, Asia and Australia.
Next update: TWE reports its half-year results, to December 2026, in February 2027.
