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Posted: 2024-03-29 06:27:56

Corks are popping, glasses are clinking, toasts are being raised — and, very soon, top drops will be boarding boats.

That's the message from some of the country's premium grape-growing regions, where producers are cautiously exultant following news of China's decision to abolish heavy tariffs on Australian wine.

"Good Friday turned into great Friday, the Easter bunny came early, and I thought, 'Well, I better go and open a better bottle,'" said McLaren Vale winemaker Chester Osborn.

Mr Osborn, from D'Arenberg winery, said the trade barriers imposed on Australian wine when the bilateral trade relationship with Beijing soured in 2020 and 2021, had a multi-million-dollar impact on his business.

A group of long-stemmed wine glasses containing red wine being clinked together in a "cheers" salute.
Grapegrowers have expressed optimism, but say it could take years to get exports back to what they were.(Supplied: Kelsey Knight on Unsplash)

But now that the tariffs are being removed, Mr Osborn does not expect it will take long for shipments to resume.

"We had orders, already paid for, sitting in the warehouse — and they're still sitting in the warehouse, but they'll go very shortly," he said.

"We were really gearing up to sell quite a lot of high-end expensive wines into China so we'd been building up some stocks.

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