Pernod Ricard has agreed to sell the majority of its international wine portfolio to the owner of Australia’s Accolade Wines, allowing it to focus on premium spirits and champagne.

The French drinks maker plans to offload well-known supermarket brands such as Jacob’s Creek, Campo Viejo and St Hugo to Australian Wine Holdco Ltd, a consortium of investors, as well as several vineyards.

No financial details on the deal were disclosed.

The owner of Absolut vodka and Jameson whiskey said on Wednesday it was selling its Australian, New Zealand and Spanish wines “to further strengthen its premiumisation strategy and to direct its resources to its portfolio of premium international spirits and champagne brands that drive the growth of its business”.

It will retain its US wine brands and a number of labels in France, Argentina and China. Australian Wine Holdco is a consortium backed by Bain Capital, Intermediate Capital Group, Capital Four, Sona Asset Management and Samuel Terry Asset Management.

Pernod Ricard’s wine business represents a shrinking proportion of revenues for the group, accounting for only 4% of sales last year after falling 2%. This is in contrast to spirits, which grew in the double digits driven by consumers’ thirst for Scotch whisky and Irish whiskeys, brandies and vodka.

Wine’s popularity has been waning compared with beer and liquor in western markets in recent years, while the slowdown in consumption in China has also hit demand.

The disposal comes after Pernod Ricard reported a fall in wine sales in its third quarter, mainly due to declines in the US and the UK.

Analysts said the sale should have a positive impact on Pernod Ricard’s growth and profit margins, after the wine portfolio’s sales dropped 6.5% over the past decade.

The disposal follows a trend of asset sales across the spirits industry as competitors such as Diageo slough off non-core beer, niche liquor brands and slower-growing wine businesses. “Decluttering is taking place across the broader spirits landscape; this move should help accelerate this process for Pernod,” they wrote. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first half of 2025.