Last Friday, China announced that it would introduce tariffs of between 107% and 212% to counter alleged “dumping” of Australian wine in the Chinese market. The "temporary tariffs" that China has levelled at the Australian wine industry will be devastating for many producers that have built their livelihoods on the Chinese export market.
As an industry, we wholeheartedly reject the assertion that wine is being dumped in China, but that doesn’t change the reality much for producers in the short term until it’s resolved. So what will this mean for Australian consumers?
If the situation continues for several months or years, it will possibly see the industry shrink since a substantial amount of Australian production is exported to China. In the short term, this could lead to reduced prices for consumers as wine bound for export is instead sold locally. But the longer-term effects cannot be underestimated: a smaller Australian wine industry will lead to less choice for consumers. There will be less experimentation with new and interesting varieties, new areas for wine growing won’t be developed as they should, small makers offering fresh, terroir-driven styles will go broke, and the large conglomerates will enjoy even more pricing power than they do today.
One thing that will remain the same: everyone in your community benefits when you shop local. So whether local for you means the Yarra Valley, Margaret River, or simply Australia as a whole, support your local producers where you can.
At Wild Fire, all our wines are made from grapes grown in Victoria, whether from our own estate vineyard, or from Victorian growers in regions such as the Grampians, Yarra Valley, Pyrenees, and Heathcote. As such, all Wild Fire wines support the recovery effort for the industry and the state.
We’re a small, innovative producer and a pioneer of the Warburton area and we would love you to give our wines a chance: we believe you’ll be very pleasantly surprised by our dedication to quality and super-reasonable prices. We guarantee you’ll be looked after as one of the family!
A very happy Christmas and a cracking 2021 to you all. And if you're after some wine for the holidays, check out our range.