BUSINESS / PRESS RELEASE
Penfolds releases its 2026 Penfolds Collection in China
Photo: Courtesy of Penfolds
On August 11, 2026, the Australian luxury wine brand Penfolds officially launched its 2026 Penfolds Collection in China, two days before its parent company—Treasury Wine Estates (TWE), released its annual results. According to the announcement, demand for the Penfolds brand remains strong in key markets, with Penfolds depletions up globally versus the pcp, led by China +34.7%, Asia ex-China 18.1% and Australia +5.7%.
The 2026 Penfolds Collection
Photo: Courtesy of Penfolds
Penfolds chose East China's Hangzhou—a city boasting ancient Chinese aesthetics and modern elegance— to host a series of dinners, masterclasses, blind-tasting sessions for wine critics and connoisseurs, partners, consumer representatives and media friends to celebrate the release of the 2026 Collection.
At the release dinner, the brand's current chief winemaker Peter Gago introduced the collection, highlighting its heritage, flexibility, and growing international portfolio, encouraging guests to start the dialogue with the wines directly.
Photo: Courtesy of Penfolds
Talking about the 2026 collection, Penfolds Managing Director Tom King expressed his excitement: "This year we're quite pleased with the wines that are being released, spanning two hemispheres, four countries of origin and eight unique vintages. The 2022 Grange, I think, will be in high demand. Within the collection we're also glad to see Yattarna has received a good score as well. We know that white wine, and particularly luxury white wine is increasing in demand and we see that continuing over many years to come. Following the release, we kick off a long season of activation.
This year, we haven't taken any pricing increases. We've maintained our pricing across the collection as that's always a topic that comes up in terms of how we position the wines at a consumer level."
One of the surprises of this year's collection is the inclusion of the CWT (Chinese Winemaking Trial) 521, made from locally grown Chinese grapes, a multi-regional blend of Cabernet Sauvignon from Shangri-La in Yunnan and Marselan from Ningxia, aged in American and French oak. A wine that Tom King described as the Chinese expression of Penfolds, "A year and a half ago we completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Stone & Moon Winery in Ningxia, China. We now have our own facilities where we can make our own Penfolds wines in Ningxia. Chinese soil, Chinese sun, everything else in between is Penfolds. It's very much part of Penfolds' DNA and heritage, which is about trialing, experimenting, and pushing the boundaries."
The year 2026 marks the 75th anniversary of Grange, Penfolds' flagship red wine, best representing the House Style, conceived by Max Schubert in secrecy. This year sees the release of the 2022 Grange. Max Schubert's courage, curiosity and perseverance shaped the hard-won success story of the renowned Australian red wine, a spirit that is also evident throughout the Penfolds story itself.
Photo: Courtesy of Penfolds
Photo: Courtesy of Penfolds
In terms of the global wine allocation of the Collection, Tom King explained: " Clearly the wines that we make each vintage are heavily dependent on weather. In the vintage season during which the grapes are grown, we always make to a quality and style benchmark. We will only make a certain amount, so we don't have a fixed amount of wine each year that we release as part of the collection.
It depends on what has been made in that relevant vintage and then we ensure that we're allocating that product around the world and that we're always managing that balance between where our demand is and where we're supplying the wine, and we don't like to have excess wine available in the market."
TWE Ascent Transformation Program
In 2026, TWE launched the TWE Ascent transformation program, actively streamlining its portfolio to center on three "Power Brands" represented by Penfolds, DAOU and Matua, and seven "Regional Heroes." The business will now be run through four regional divisions: the Americas; Australia, New Zealand and Europe; Greater China; and Emerging Markets (which includes the rest of Asia, Middle East and Africa).
Tom King keenly introduced the Ascent plan to Global Times: "Ascent is a multi-year transformation of TWE, and it's all about making TWE a much more focused, simpler and ultimately more competitive business. We have identified that we see future growth opportunities in three pillars: luxury red wine, luxury white wine and what we're calling modern refreshment.
The three Power Brands will receive a disproportionate level of investment from next year going forward. For Penfolds, we will continue to have a global brand team as we do today, ensuring that some of the disciplines that we are able to put in place today around pricing, allocation, consistency of execution are maintained. We're learning from what has really served us well in the current model of a global Penfolds division, and we're applying some of those learnings to the new regional model."
Penfolds' Approach to Young and New Consumers in China
China has always been a very important market for Penfolds. Penfolds' approach in China, combining creative marketing strategies and localization shrewdness, reaches broader and younger consumer groups keen on novelty, experiences, lifestyles and individualities.
While remaining true to Penfolds' signature DNA, the local team has incorporated targeted considerations into brand storytelling, product design and immersive events designed for different consumer groups. Tom King remarked: "As a global brand, we have consistency and disciplines in what we do, but we also encourage local teams to adapt and apply or drive activity and activation that connects on a very local level."
In China alone, Penfolds collaborates with celebrity brand ambassadors, each speaking to a different age group and promoting a different tier of the Penfolds portfolio—entry-level, mid-range and high-end offerings respectively.
To help tap into the younger demographic in China, Penfolds has forged a partnership with Chinese Gen-Z pop star and singer Hua Chenyu, sparking heated discussions among the singer's huge fan base and the brand's competitors. One by Penfolds, its entry-level wine range, has collaborated with Hua and received a warm welcome among younger consumer groups.
Penfolds has also worked with traditional Chinese paper-cutting artist Chen Fenwan, who designed the packaging of its "Cultural Series". The design offers a fresh interpretation of China's wine culture through energetic visual language and auspicious storytelling.
Last year, Penfolds launched a Bin 389 gift box, specifically designed in the shape of a train carriage to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival, aiming to make buyers feel proud of their hometowns.
For iconic wines like Grange, Penfolds builds an inter-generational dialogue between Grange and young and new consumers by collaborating with NIGO, a well-acclaimed international artist and Penfolds' first Creative Partner, who designed a Grange gift box for the global market, opening up opportunities for new consumer markets.
In March this year, Penfolds unveiled the first design collaboration with its new Creative Partner, Troye Sivan, an Australian singer-songwriter and actor, with a reimagined limited-edition design for Bin 389.
Between consistency and flexibility, preservation and innovation, power and humility—those opposite sides are not in conflict at Penfolds. Tom King emphasized: "We see a significant opportunity here, but we need to work harder and continue to invest in the right way. So we're connecting and engaging people in a way that makes sense for consumers here in China."
It depends on what has been made in that relevant vintage and then we ensure that we're allocating that product around the world and that we're always managing that balance between where our demand is and where we're supplying the wine, and we don't like to have excess wine available in the market."
TWE Ascent Transformation Program
In 2026, TWE launched the TWE Ascent transformation program, actively streamlining its portfolio to center on three "Power Brands" represented by Penfolds, DAOU and Matua, and seven "Regional Heroes." The business will now be run through four regional divisions: the Americas; Australia, New Zealand and Europe; Greater China; and Emerging Markets (which includes the rest of Asia, Middle East and Africa).
Tom King keenly introduced the Ascent plan to Global Times: "Ascent is a multi-year transformation of TWE, and it's all about making TWE a much more focused, simpler and ultimately more competitive business. We have identified that we see future growth opportunities in three pillars: luxury red wine, luxury white wine and what we're calling modern refreshment.
The three Power Brands will receive a disproportionate level of investment from next year going forward. For Penfolds, we will continue to have a global brand team as we do today, ensuring that some of the disciplines that we are able to put in place today around pricing, allocation, consistency of execution are maintained. We're learning from what has really served us well in the current model of a global Penfolds division, and we're applying some of those learnings to the new regional model."
Penfolds' Approach to Young and New Consumers in China
China has always been a very important market for Penfolds. Penfolds' approach in China, combining creative marketing strategies and localization shrewdness, reaches broader and younger consumer groups keen on novelty, experiences, lifestyles and individualities.
While remaining true to Penfolds' signature DNA, the local team has incorporated targeted considerations into brand storytelling, product design and immersive events designed for different consumer groups. Tom King remarked: "As a global brand, we have consistency and disciplines in what we do, but we also encourage local teams to adapt and apply or drive activity and activation that connects on a very local level."
In China alone, Penfolds collaborates with celebrity brand ambassadors, each speaking to a different age group and promoting a different tier of the Penfolds portfolio—entry-level, mid-range and high-end offerings respectively.
To help tap into the younger demographic in China, Penfolds has forged a partnership with Chinese Gen-Z pop star and singer Hua Chenyu, sparking heated discussions among the singer's huge fan base and the brand's competitors. One by Penfolds, its entry-level wine range, has collaborated with Hua and received a warm welcome among younger consumer groups.
Penfolds has also worked with traditional Chinese paper-cutting artist Chen Fenwan, who designed the packaging of its "Cultural Series". The design offers a fresh interpretation of China's wine culture through energetic visual language and auspicious storytelling.
Last year, Penfolds launched a Bin 389 gift box, specifically designed in the shape of a train carriage to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival, aiming to make buyers feel proud of their hometowns.
For iconic wines like Grange, Penfolds builds an inter-generational dialogue between Grange and young and new consumers by collaborating with NIGO, a well-acclaimed international artist and Penfolds' first Creative Partner, who designed a Grange gift box for the global market, opening up opportunities for new consumer markets.
In March this year, Penfolds unveiled the first design collaboration with its new Creative Partner, Troye Sivan, an Australian singer-songwriter and actor, with a reimagined limited-edition design for Bin 389.
Between consistency and flexibility, preservation and innovation, power and humility—those opposite sides are not in conflict at Penfolds. Tom King emphasized: "We see a significant opportunity here, but we need to work harder and continue to invest in the right way. So we're connecting and engaging people in a way that makes sense for consumers here in China."
