Circana retail scan data shows sales of bottles of shiraz under $10 fell 8.3 per cent over the past year but sales above $35 grew 6.9 per cent. According to the data, shiraz accounts for two in every five dollars spent on bottled red wine in Australia, which covers the year to 4 October 2026. Its biggest sales week falls just before Christmas.
The figures were released by Clare Valley winery, Taylors Wines, which had two wines named in the Top 10 at the VINUS 2026 International Wine and Spirit Competition in Argentina. More than 500 wines and spirits from 17 countries were judged.
The 2023 St Andrews Shiraz scored 99 points and was named International Champion and Best Australian Wine. The 2024 Taylors Estate Shiraz, which retails for $24, scored 98 points and a Double Gold Medal. Taylors was the only Australian winery in the Top 10.
Taylors Wines chair, Mitchell Taylor, said, “It means Australians can enjoy an internationally acclaimed wine at gatherings with family and friends without needing to spend at the top end.”
All 11 of Taylors’ medal-winning wines at VINUS received Gold or Double Gold, and the winery was named Best Series of Five Wines in Competition for the seventh consecutive year. A Taylors Shiraz has been named Best Australian Wine at VINUS in four of the past five years. Taylors enters international competitions under its export name, Wakefield.
Taylor said, “Shiraz was one of the first varieties our family planted in the Clare Valley in 1969, so this is a particularly meaningful result for us.
“For many wine lovers overseas, shiraz is their first taste of Australian wine, so recognition like this is something the whole Australian wine industry can be proud of.”
According to Wine Australia, shiraz is Australia’s most exported wine variety by volume, according to Wine Australia data for the year to June 2026.
The Estate Shiraz carries Taylors’ temperature-sensitive back label, which changes colour when the wine reaches 16 to 18°C. Taylor moved into the chair role last year after 25 years as managing director, with former Delegat executive John Freeman appointed CEO.
