Critter label wines are an important part of Australian wine history but rarely rate a mention by the critics and commentators. From the 19th century until today pictures of the country’s fauna on bottles constitute a major share of the country’s wine exports.
The Yellow Tail brand currrently leads the way with exports now over 14 million dozen a year. Advertisements like the one below which was shown during the top-rating Gridiron Superbowl reinforced Yellow Tail as the biggest selling wine in the United States. Such a big seller that on its own this one Australian brand outsells all French wines combined!
The well known trade publication Drinks International, publishers of The World’s Most Admired Wine Brands, now ranks Yellow Tail as number 17 on its list of 50.
That ranking, incidentally, is ahead of both Chateau Petrus (number 22) and Chateau Mouton Rothschild (number 40).
Now this is not a ranking of wines based on the quality of their drinking but an assessment of the most successful global commercial wine ranges.
Still. Quite an achevement for a humble critter. Still an important part of Australian wine history.
