We all know that,” said Tony Battaglene, chief executive at the Winemakers Federation of Australia. Australia, the second largest wine exporter to China, is catching up on market leader France. Policy changes between the two countries in 2015 have reduced tariffs from 20% to 3% and wine exports to China have more than doubled since. At the same time, investment from China has flowed into Australia, with distributor YesMyWine buying a 15% stake in Australian Vintage for AUD16.5m ($12.9m) in 2016. The Chinese government also wants to boost its own domestic wine industry, which it sees as an important part of national development. Cain Beckett of Hunter Valley realty estimates 50 of the 250 Hunter Valley producers are Hong Kong or Chinese-owned.
Australia, the second largest wine exporter to China, is catching up on market leader France. Policy changes between the two countries in 2015 have reduced tariffs from 20% to 3% and wine exports to China have more than doubled since. At the same time, investment from China has flowed into Australia, with distributor YesMyWine buying a 15% stake in Australian Vintage for AUD16.5m ($12.9m) in 2016. The Chinese government also wants to boost its own domestic wine industry, which it sees as an important part of national development. Cain Beckett of Hunter Valley realty estimates 50 of the 250 Hunter Valley producers are Hong Kong or Chinese-owned.