Champagne imports may have dipped 1.8% in Australia in 2018, but French bubbles came out on top in the sparkling wine category at the 2019 Australian Drinks Awards.
Moët & Chandon took out Fan Favourite Sparkling Wine at the awards ceremony, held on August 22 at Doltone House, Jones Bay Wharf.
Based on industry scan data, the top 200 wine brands were automatically entered in the brand awards, which include Fan Favourite, Gaining in Popularity and Most Distinctive Brand. All three categories were judged via a Thrive Research survey of 4000 consumers.
There was an even split between Champagne and domestic sparkling in the top 10 list of Fan Favourite sparkling wines. Last year saw a local sparkling, Brown Brothers, win the award.
After a hiatus from advertising, Moët & Chandon launched its first global Champagne campaign in three years in 2018, a 60-second spot called “Must Be”.
This year, the Hunter Valley's Tempus Two sparkling took out the Gaining In Popularity Award, but Most Distinctive Sparkling Award went to Dom Perignon. In fact, the top 4 wines in the Most Distinctive section were French.
Manildra sponsored the Fan Favourite award at the 2019 Australian Drinks Awards, while BevChain sponsored Gaining in Popularity and IRI sponsored Most Distinctive Brand.
"We’re delighted to present the prestigious Fan Favourite awards, which celebrates brands that excelled in appeal with the drinks sector and fans across Australia," said Product Manager Debbie Forster.
"The Thrive consumer survey offers fascinating insights into consumer behaviour, which obviously informs the thinking of our customers and ultimately the kinds of supply chains they need, so for us, getting behind this particular award was a no brainer," explained Josh Morris, BevChain Group Manager – Strategy, Transformation & PMO.
According to IRI data released in June, the top three selling Champagne brands, which collectively account for 68% of white champagne varietal sales, were Mumm, Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot.
Despite the drop in Champagne imports, Australia is still the sixth-biggest consumer of bubbly in the world. We drink more than the Italians, twice as much as the Spanish, and four times more than the Russians.
IRI is a leading global provider of big data, predictive analytics and forward-looking insights that help FMCG, OTC health care organisations, retailers, and media companies grow their businesses.
“We are thrilled to be part of the Australian Drinks Awards and to be sponsoring the Most Distinctive Brand of the Year Award,” said Alistair Leathwood, Chief Commercial Officer – Asia Pacific.
“We'd like to congratulate Dom Perignon on their marvellous win. Behind the scenes, the award reflects a lot of hard work and a huge amount of passion, effort and commitment. Congratulations again, well done.”
Here is the full list of wine winners at the 2019 Australian Drinks Awards:
Fan Favourite wine
White: Jacob's Creek
Red: Penfolds
Rose: Jacob's Creek
Sparkling: Moët
Gaining in popularity
White: Bird in Hand
Red: 19 Crimes
Rose: Squealing Pig
Sparkling: Tempus Two
Most Distinctive
White: Shaw + Smith
Red: 19 Crimes
Rose: De Bortoli
Sparkling: Dom Perignon
Share the content
