Treasury Wine Estates chief executive Michael Clarke has defended the company's presence in the United States after a top analyst accused the company of "destroying value" with its foray into the world's largest economy.

In a fiery conference call after a shock profit downgrade, Merril Lynch analyst David Errington blasted the company for its poor performance in the US. "Why are you persisting with this, why do you keep throwing money at it, why do you keep throwing the best resources that you've had ... the smartest minds are in this market and all it's doing is destroying value," he said.

Shares in Treasury Wine, the owner of Penfolds, plummeted on Wednesday in the wake of a profit downgrade. Credit:Tamara Dean

Treasury shares tumbled from the market opening in response to the profit downgrade, which was delivered after the market closed on Tuesday. The stock closed down 26 per cent at $12.35. The fall wiped more than $3.1 billion off the company's market capitalisation in a session.

Treasury is the owner of major wine labels including Penfolds and Wolf Blass in Australia. Its brands in the US include Beringer, Main & Vine, and Coastal.