World's Most Admired Wine Brands 2021

Welcome to the world's most admired wine brands 2021. This eagerly anticipated list is now in its 11th year, and it rewards the wine brands that have earned the deepest respect among global industry leaders. Drinks International polled wine buyers, sommeliers, wholesalers, bar owners, global travel retail operators, masters of wine, writers, educators, and other specialists from every continent before arriving at this prestigious list. Academy members are each given five votes, and they are asked to name the wine brands that they most admire in descending order. The criteria for voting was as follows. The quality and consistency of the wine, the price to quality ratio, and the strength of the branding and marketing. The brands featured on this list have earned recognition from the most influential group of global wine experts ever assembled. Being named among the world's most admired wine brands is a special achievement, and today we celebrate their success, all 50 of them. You can join the conversation over on our social media channels as the countdown progresses using the details shown on the screen. Before we begin, a big thank you to our partners for this year. Catena, Connoisseur, Esperal, and Familia Torres. So it's the moment you've all been waiting for. Let's get started with the countdown of the world's most admired wine brands 2021. At number 50, we have a new entry from Spain. It's the iconic La Rioja Alta, one of the most iconic producers in Spain. At 49, from Italy, it's the original super Tuscan Tignanello. At 48, from Chile, it's Santa Rita. This famous producer celebrated its 140th anniversary last year, and it continues to enjoy strong growth around the world. And so on to 47, it's a re-entry for Spanish producer Reventos Cordonio. Cordonio is renowned for producing high quality cava, but it also makes superb still wines. At 46, from the USA, we welcome back Behringer, which has long been a force in California. At 45, from Hungary, it's the world's original sweet wine, Royal Tokaj. At 44, from New Zealand, it's an icon of the Marlborough region, Oyster Bay. At 43, from Spain, it's Ramón Bilbao. Ramón Bilbao is hailed as one of Spain's most innovative producers, and it continually delights with a number of exceptional wines. And so on to 42, from Australia, we have celebrated Hunter Valley winery McGuigan, which makes a welcome return to the top 50 after impressing voters with its consistent winemaking ability. At 41, climbing up six places, from France, it's the Burgundian powerhouse Louis Latour. At 40, from Italy, we have the legendary super Tuscan Sassicaia, one of the world's most sought after wines due to its elegance and finesse. Moving into the 30s, at 39, from the USA and climbing up seven places, we welcome none other than Gallo Family Vineyards. At 38, from Portugal, it's Esperal, which has really helped put the Alentejo region on the map. At 37, we have a re-entry. From Spain, it's Bodegas Abadal, returning to the world's most admired wine brands list after a seven-year absence. At number 36, a South African classic and climbing seven places this year, it's Bruce Jack. The South African wine legend's eponymous brand is only three years old, but it has already chalked up annual sales of 120,000 cases. 35 sees a re-entry for a Bordeaux first growth. It's Chateau Mouton Rothschild. It's now 48 years since Mouton was promoted to first growth status, and it is firmly established as one of the world's most revered brands. At 34, from South Africa, we welcome back Nederberg, where the new vintages under head winemaker Neil Grunewald have earned rave reviews. At 33, we welcome back another Bordeaux classic, Chateau Haut-Briand. The most revered property in the Grave area has delighted everyone from Thomas Jefferson to King Charles II over the years. At 32, we have one of Spain's heavy hitters, Campo Viejo. An all-female winemaking team works with around 800 growers to make the much-loved wines from this major Rioja producer. At 31, from Bordeaux, Chateau Margaux. This iconic Bordeaux first growth owes its remarkable quality to its rate and unique terroir, and it has made great wines in recent years. We've made it to 30, from New Zealand, family-owned winery Craigie Range. Craigie Range's impressive showing on this year's list reflects its consistent quality. And so on to the roaring 20s. At 29, we have a new entry for Californian heavyweight Jackson family wines. At 28, from Chile, it's the ever-popular Connoisseur, one of the world's largest Pinot Noir producers. At 27, climbing 10 places, also from Chile, we welcome Montez. Founder Aurelio Montez set out to showcase Chile's potential as a producer for high-quality fine wines, and the project has been a roaring success. 26 sees another new entry for an Italian brand. It's the fabled Piemonte producer, Gaia. Gaia is renowned for making world-class wines at world-class prices. We've made it to the halfway point. At 25, another new entry from France. It's Margaux winery, Chateau Palma. Chateau Palma is known for wines with complexity, aromatic richness, velvety texture, and excellent aging potential. At number 24, from Italy, it's Tuscan producer Fresco Baldi. This producer's portfolio includes icons such as Ornelia and Luce della Vite. 23 sees a French brand climbing 17 places. It's one of the world's finest wine producers, Chateau Petrus. At 22, from Portugal, it's Symington. The family-owned port producer is becoming increasingly well known for its table wines, which have grown volume sales by 23% in the past four years. 21 brings our first regional award for the most admired wine brand in North America. From the USA, it's Ridge. Congratulations to Ridge, a real pioneer of minimal intervention winemaking, for being voted the most admired wine brand in North America. We've made it into the top 20, and this French brand has climbed five places. It's the world's most famous sweet wine, Chateau Dikem. A 12-bottle case of the 1975 vintage fetched $11,780 in a New York auction last year, reminding everyone that Dikem is without equal in the sweet wine world. At 19, climbing seven places. From France, it's Hermitage producer M. Chapoutier. The Rhone producer celebrated its 30th birthday by planting an additional 10 hectares in 2020, and global sales have now reached 9.5 million bottles. At 18, this French brand has climbed a huge 20 places this year. It's Chateau Cheval Blanc. This premier Grand Cru Saint-Emilion property has been producing phenomenal wines for almost 200 years. 17 sees the award for highest climber in this year's list, going up 22 places. It's the Italian gem, Planetta. Sicilian wine legend Diego Planetta died last autumn at the age of 80, and this highest climber award is a fitting tribute to his achievements. At 16, one of Australia's finest, it's Yalumba. This Barossa-based family-owned winery is known for its excellent quality across a broad range of price points. Number 15, from New Zealand, it's Maldra wine producer Villa Maria. Sir George Fisternich's fabled winery is best known for its Sauvignon Blanc, but it has recently dazzled critics with its high-end Cabernet from Gimlet Gravels. At 14, also from New Zealand, we have Central Otago Pinot Noir pioneer Felton Road. This producer has pursued a zero-growth strategy for the past 15 years, and its limited production is sold purely on allocation. It's lucky for some at 13, from Chile, Iras Yeriz. The family-owned Chilean producer turned 150 in 2020, and it released several exciting wines to mark the occasion. At 12, we have a re-entry for this French brand, the Bordeaux Premier Grand Cru Classé, Chateau Lafitte. This first-growth producer is fine wine royalty, so it's no surprise to see it storming back onto the list at such a lofty position. Number 11, and climbing five places, from France, it's Northern Rhone producer Iguigal. The family-owned winery is one of France's most esteemed producers, having enjoyed an enviable period of growth in recent years. Now we enter the top 10. Number 10 sees us reach our next regional award for most admired wine brand in Middle East and Africa. It's Lebanon's finest, Chateau Moussa. The iconic winery has just turned 90, and its reputation continues to soar. At mine, from Italy, it's a producer that can trace its history back to 1385, Antinori. The company has added 144 hectares of new vineyards in its Chianti Classico heartland over the past five years, and it is poised for a strong future. At eight, from Spain, it's the famous Cune. A terroir-led approach has served this producer well over the years, and it is a mainstay on our list. At number seven, we reach our highest new entry award for 2021. From France, we have the legendary Burgundian producer Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. This fabled producer's wines are only found at the world's most elite merchants. Number six, from Australia, it's Penfolds. Penfolds has a unique ability to impress fine wine consumers and supermarket shoppers alike, and it is always a leading light on this list. So it's time to find out the top five most admired wine brands in the world. Number five sees a non-mover from last year, a Chilean powerhouse. It's Concha Etoro. One of South America's largest producers, Concha Etoro continues to go from strength to strength, with sales in more than 140 different countries. At number four, it's the award for the most admired wine brand in Australasia. It's the outstanding Hill of Grace producer Henchki. Henchki is up 14 places this year, a testament to the high regard in which it is held across the world. So just three wine brands to go. At number three, climbing six places from Spain, it's Vega Sicilia. Despite its august history and seemingly unassailable reputation, Vega Sicilia strives for continual improvement with an open-mindedness and energy that keeps it way ahead of the curve. At number two, we have our award for most admired wine brand in South America. It's Catena. This winery has now been named the most admired wine brand in South America twice in a row, and it has really put Argentina on the map for high quality wines. And so, without further ado, we can reveal that the number one world's most admired wine brand 2021, also taking the title of most admired wine brand in Europe, is Familia Torres. Spain's most admired family producer has just celebrated its 150th birthday, and it can now raise a toast to our voting academy after regaining its position as the world's most admired wine brand. Congratulations to Familia Torres. Well, that concludes the formalities. Thank you to our academy for voting and to our sponsors Catena, Connoisseur, Esperal, and Familia Torres for their support. You can join the conversation now over on our social media channels shown on the screen and read the results online at drinksint.com and in our celebratory supplement published next month. Thank you for watching and see you next year.