Australia’s wine fortunes have soared in China the past few years for a good many reasons. A free trade deal. Fresh fruity wines that appeal to newcomers alongside a wealth of diverse styles for aficionados. Chinese wine investment as a means of pursuing business visas or citizenship.

Plus, Penfolds, the world-beating Treasury Wine Estates brand found far and wide in this country. (There’s even a product that blends Aussie Shiraz with China’s potent spirit baijiu!)

You know what else is found far and wide? Labels that remind people of Penfolds. They might evoke that cursive old time-y font. Or its deep ruby red colour. The use of Bin, or even Ben, numbers. Or the name: Benfolds, Penfriends, Benfu, Panfield. Maybe even a blend of these.

Here are 25 I have seen in WeChat groups or trade fairs or retail shelves over the years.

By the way, I’m not a legal expert and thus make no claims as to whether an individual label falls inside or outside the law. I simply think these labels have the potential to confuse consumers who might be looking for the globally famous TWE brand Penfolds.

And it’s not like Penfolds hasn’t had enough intellectual property related headaches in China over the years, from dealing with counterfeiters to copycats to trademark crises. They do call imitation the sincerest form of flattery. It can also be a major pain in the ass.

From hilarious to historical, check out more China wine labels here.

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