After selling a fair amount of californian vineyards last year, Constellation Brands Inc. has announced that three estates and twenty vineyards were on sale in Australia. They are part of Constellation Wine Australia, formerly known as Hardy, before the company was bought by Constellation in 2003. By doing so, the group intends to focus its portfolio on premium brands. Bottling operations in Australia should also be consolidated in the process. As a whole, 30 % of the assets and 20 % of the workforce of Constellation in Australia are concerned.

Rumour has it that Constellation's main competitor in Australia, Foster, is also looing to sell some of its vineyards. In both cases, experts point out that the strength of the Australian dollar urges leading companies to restore performance on international markets.