The high rollers of the wine industry, prepared to spend more than $500,000 at cellar doors, could be returning to the Hunter Valley when the Chinese trade tariff lifts.
Trade Minister Don Farrell said he was confident the trade dispute, which effectively cut Aussie winemakers from the $1.2-billion market overnight, would be resolved early in the new year.
Unlike other prominent wine growing regions, which were crippled when they lost access to their biggest market, the Hunter never relied on Chinese exports.
But Chinese tourists would often step off the plane in Sydney and head to the Hunter, as the closest wine region, to drop hundreds of thousands at cellar doors.
Tyrell's Wines owner Bruce Tyrrell said there was a huge culture of gift giving within the Chinese corporate world.
It's such a lucrative business opportunity that Mr Tyrrell ensures there is at least one staff member who can speak Mandarin at the cellar door every day of the week.
"We've had Chinese customers who might sell a thousand houses a month, and with each house sale they give a bottle of wine," Mr Tyrrell said.
"More than 50 per cent of those types of sales are done at our cellar door. We've stayed in contact with a few of our regular customers and they're ready to go. China really loves Australian red wine."
Wine remains the last major trade barrier with China. The tariff dispute is before the World Trade Organisation, however both sides have agreed to pause proceedings to find a solution outside of the courtroom.
Senator Farrell, who owns a winery in South Australia, is optimistic that after three years the dispute will be resolved in 2024.
"I would be very confident that early in the new year we will get a favourable result from the Chinese authorities to lift the ban on Australian wine," Senator Farrell said.
"That'll be very important for Australian winemakers; we're coming into the processing season."
However, Mr Tyrrell said he wouldn't hold his breath.
"I said this one day one, and I'll say it again; this will be over when China says it's over," he said.
Cessnock City mayor Jay Suvaal had his fingers crossed the tariffs would soon lift.
"The wine industry is a significant contributor to the economy of the Cessnock local government areas, with the Hunter Valley wine tourism industry worth an estimated $521 million," he said.
"In response to tariffs imposed on exports into the Chinese market, our local winemakers were forced to adapt, including establishing new markets for export."
The grape harvest season is in full swing and Margan wines owner Andrew Margan said the Hunter Valley was primed for an "unbelievably good season".
"I'm in the vineyard tasting the grapes as we speak, and they're unbelievable, the flavours are extraordinary," he said.
"The weather patterns we've had during the ripening period - a warm, dry summer - generally lead to great wines."
