Author: Sarah Roberts, Regional Manager – Asia Pacific, Wine Australia
For Australian wine importers, distributors and producers alike, the opportunities in Asia remain significant, but long-term success depends on navigating this evolving market.
March 29, 2024 marked an important milestone for Australian wine: after a three-year trade freeze between the two countries, China lifted import tariffs on Australian wine. But renewed access to Australian wine’s No. 1 export destination by value has not restored export volumes overnight.
At its peak in 2019, Australia exported AU$1.2 billion of wine to mainland China. After an initial restocking period, those numbers have plateaued, with exports in 2025 at AU$754.9 million. Indeed, the past two years have shown just how much the Chinese and Asian landscapes have evolved. Across the region, wine markets are entering a more disciplined and competitive phase, shaped by shifting consumer behaviour, tighter portfolio strategies, and a stronger focus on sustainable value growth.
In China, a post-reopening reset
Credit : © Australian Wine
China’s wine market is undergoing a reset; consumers are moving away from formal occasions, such as gift-giving and corporate banqueting, towards more casual, intentional drinking moments. That has contributed to the wine market in China shrinking to one-third of its size five years ago. This does not mean that Chinese consumers have abandoned wine; rather, the way wine is purchased and consumed has evolved. One could argue that the prevalence of more official and customary occasions for wine artificially inflated the demand, and the next phase reflects a truer baseline of consumption.
Importers are also becoming more cautious with inventory. Rather than holding large volumes of stock, sma...
