IF THE record of the wine industry is anything to go by, investors should proceed with some scepticism after Treasury Wine Estates - Foster's former wine division - finally listed as a separate entity. Why would anyone invest in wine? Latin-speaking wine investors might say in vino lucrum, but it's more a case of in vino veritas: the truth lies in the nature of wine. Both Foster's and Constellation, the group that bought Australia's biggest wine business, Hardy Wine Company, in 2003 suffered massive losses in their wine business. But Australia's premier family-owned wine companies such as Brown Brothers, McWilliams, De Bortoli, Yalumba, Tyrrells, Tahbilk and Taylors have maintained profitability and sales; some have even improved them. The owners of these companies, along with some analysts, say this tells us wine is too unusual a business for publicly owned companies. They cannot compete in that space. Family-owned wine companies have different structures.