Aussie fine wines a big hit in China

Australia's wine exports rose seven per cent in value last year to a total of $2.2 billion, according Wine Australia's annual report.

China's increasing thirst for premium wines has helped boost the value of Australia's wine exports by seven per cent to $2.2 billion.

Industry body Wine Australia said there was exceptional growth in China last year with the value of exports rising 40 per cent to $520 million last year.

The group's annual Export Report, released on Friday, shows the total export value of Australian wine grew by seven per cent to $2.22 billion in 2016, with the average value rising six per cent to $2.96 per litre, the highest average value since 2009.

Behind the strong growth was premium Australian bottled wines, particularly to China.

Exports priced $10 and more per litre were up in all of Australia's top five markets except Hong Kong: mainland China by 47 per cent, the US by 23 per cent, the UK by 25 per cent and Canada by 9 per cent. Hong Kong was down by 12 per cent.

"Last year, Australia's most premium wines took centre stage," Wine Australia chief executive Andreas Clark said.

"Our highest-priced wines ($10 or more per litre) achieved record value in 2016, up an impressive 19 per cent to $574 million."

Mr Clark said the momentum has continued into 2017.