Australia-China Winemaker Immersion Program

The Hon. T.T. NGO (14:48): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Can the minister tell the chamber about the Australia-China Winemaker Immersion Program that has just been completed for 2025 as part of the state government's support of the South Australian wine industry's re-engagement with the Chinese market?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:49): I thank the honourable member for his question. Last week, I was very pleased to meet with participants of the Australia-China Winemaker Immersion Program at the National Wine Centre. The program is a fantastic initiative led by Treasury Wine Estates, with the support of the Chinese Alcoholic Drinks Association and Australian Grape and Wine. A first of its kind, the program offers winemakers from both Australia and China the opportunity for hands-on experience in international winemaking.

While it is valuable from the perspective of the exchange of knowledge and skills between our winemakers, just as importantly the program strengthens ties between our wine industries and deepens the important relationship between our two nations. In speaking with Ding, Gigi, Miao and Luna, the four Chinese winemakers who were part of the immersion program this year, and their support team, Sara, Stanley and Lucius, it was incredible to hear of their experiences in our state over the past few weeks and their genuine excitement to be in South Australia, a world-renowned home to premium wine.

Each of the four participants brought a different focus on wine, such as Ding, who is interested in wine flavour—as I imagine many of us are, in fact. Ding holds the distinction of winning the Moutai Cup, the National College Student Wine Tasting Skills Competition. Gigi is interested in the balance between conventional palatability and crafting experimental expressions, and Luna is interested in the advanced technology of winemaking. No doubt they brought some different perspectives to the vineyards and cellar doors that they visited as part of this program.

With Australian wine once again flowing into China, the South Australian government has stood by our wine industry in navigating new opportunities following the reopening, in large part through the Malinauskas government's $1.85 million wine exporters China re-engagement package, which was launched in March 2024. The program has strengthened exporter capability, promoted two-way market activation and cultural immersion, provided export advisory support, enhanced marketing efforts and facilitated technical cooperation between our industries.

That work is now starting to bear fruit, with wine exporters selling 11.8 million litres of wine valued at more than $93 million to China in just November 2024 alone. This careful, measured approach from both state and federal Labor governments to re-establishing trade with China stands in contrast to those opposite and their federal counterparts when in government. However, now that the work has been done in re-establishing the trade relationship for important South Australian industries with China, we can clearly see just how important those relationships are in creating economic opportunities right throughout our state.

Last week's event was a great chance to debrief, discuss learnings from the program and hear from incredible winemakers, such as Alex Trescowthick, on what goes into making some of the world's most premium South Australian wine and how much the people of China value it. Again, I thank Treasury Wine Estates, in particular Erin Whitear, and Inca Lee from SAWIA for their support of this fantastic program that will continue to provide benefits to both nations long after its completion.