A higher volume of grapes crushed for processing along with higher prices has made the latest year a vintage one for the wine industry as exports also remain buoyant.
The size of the harvest rose 6 per cent to an estimated 1.81 million tonnes, according to the annual Vintage Report 2016 as the average price paid for wine grapes rose 14 per cent to $526 a tonne across Australia, the highest average price since 2009.
The increase in the weighted average purchase price was bolstered by an increase in the amount of fruit sold in the top graded categories of above $1500 per tonne, and Wine Australia chief executive Andreas Clark said it was encouraging to hear reports of the higher quality translating to a rise in average purchase prices.
"In the last 12 months, we've seen Australian wine exports grow to $2.11 billion and the strongest growth has been in wines of $10 or more per litre," he said.
The volume of premium fruit sold for more than $1500 a tonne rose to accounted for 7 per cent of the total crush this year, with premium shiraz in the top graded categories of more than $1500 per tonne rising to 13 per cent of the variety's total crush as the national average price per tonne for shiraz increased 14 per cent.
Similarly, premium cabernet sauvignon in the top categories expanded to 9 per cent of the variety's crush as its national average price increased by 17 per cent.
Overall, the average price paid for red wine grapes increased 13 per cent to $651 a tonne with white winegrapes expanding 12 per cent to $398.
Winemakers' Federation of Australia acting chief executive Tony Battaglene said the report indicated weighted average prices increased over the last two vintages.
"It's not uncommon to see peaks and troughs across vintages due to different factors such as fluctuations in demand," Mr Battaglene said. "However, this year, there is an increase in pricing for the second consecutive year and an increase in the overall crush, which is encouraging."
By region the average purchase prices for wine grapes in the warm inland wine regions increased 8 per cent to $313 a tonne and cool/temperate regions grew 4 per cent to $1,196 per tonne.
