Winemaker Crowned World’s Best, Again

McGuigan continues: “It’s a great boost for the Australian industry – there is no doubt that the industry as a whole is under pressure with the strong dollar and continuing global economic uncertainty. That said AVL grew profitability in FY11 despite this ongoing turmoil in industry and market fundamentals.

Our full year results for FY11 show EBIT up 24% to $29.3M and net profit after significant items $6.6M. We’re moving in the right direction, and it is international recognition such as this that vindicates our overriding philosophy of making the wine the hero.”

The backbone of the success was built on McGuigan Wines performance across the competition, winning an impressive 34 medals from a total of 37 entries – an unrivalled success rate of 91.9%. In
addition to the International Semillon Trophy the winery received 5 Gold, 21 Silver and 8 bronze medals including 11 ‘Best in Class’ awards.

McGuigan adds: “To put this in perspective, we won the same number of Gold ‘Best in Class’ awards as the entire German industry, and the entire Chilean industry; and more than the sum total of
Portuguese table wines – an amazing achievement for a single producer.”

“Our 2011 results outshone the previous performance in 2009 when we were also awarded International Winemaker of the Year and Australian Producer of the Year. What’s most pleasing about
our results in 2011 is that we’ve kept on improving, not rested on our laurels and have continued to drive quality and innovation across our portfolio.”

Globally, McGuigan Wines has grown by 22% in volume and 11% in value in the 12 months to September 2011 and is the fastest growing global wine brand in the UK top 15 with 62% growth in the
past 12 months and annual sales of £65M. McGuigan Wines is the number one selling Australian wine in Ireland, and the second largest overall wine brand in Ireland, whilst on the domestic front sales
totaled $72M in FY11. McGuigan Black Label Red is the number one selling branded bottled red wine in Australia.

Founded in 1969 the International Wine and Spirit Competition is the premier competition of its kind in the world, attracting entries from over 80 countries across the globe.

Note to Editors
In addition to McGuigan Wines, Australian Vintage Ltd is the producer of a range of award-winning
brands including Tempus Two, Nepenthe, Yaldara and Miranda.

For all media enquiries, interviews, images and samples, please contact The Mint Partners Brett Galvin p. 02 9331 8115 m. 0414 918 936 e. brett@themintpartners.com.au