The cellar door at Gibson Wines. Image courtesy Wine Australia

Eligible wine producers with cellar doors attracting visitors to wine regions may now apply for a Wine Tourism and Cellar Door Grant of up to $100,000.

The sixth round of the Wine Tourism and Cellar Door Grant opened on 1 August and applications close at 5pm (ACST) on Monday 30 September 2024.

Feedback from previous grant participants – including Gibson Wines in the Barossa Valley – stressed how important the funding had been in supporting plans for improving infrastructure and facilities, staffing and service.

Gibson Wines used the grant to support their business while renovating the heritage building in which their cellar door was located.

The grant allowed Gibson to renovate the heritage building of thatch and clay before its disintegration. This helped to future-proof its ongoing structure as well as its use as a private tasting space with working fireplaces.

Gibson Wines went on to win a people’s choice award for the best winery experience in the 2025 Halliday Wine Companion, chosen from over 1,100 Australian wineries reviewed by the publication.

The grant is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and administered by Wine Australia on its behalf. It is part of a suite of measures developed with the Australian grape and wine sector after extensive consultations on reforms to the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) arrangements implemented in 2018–19.

To be eligible for the Wine Tourism and Cellar Door Grant, applicants must:

• be a wine or cider producer
• be a legal entity registered for GST with an active ABN
• have made at least $1,207,000 (GST exclusive) in sales of rebatable wine in the 2023-24 financial year
• have accrued rebatable domestic cellar door sales in excess of any such sales used to meet the $1,207,000 (GST exclusive) threshold in the 2023-24 financial year
• have paid the WET on all eligible sales used as part of the application
• have owned or leased a physical cellar door in Australia in the relevant financial year and/or their related entity/ies have owned or leased a physical cellar door in Australia in the relevant financial year
• have a liquor licence valid in the relevant financial year.

For more information, visit www.wineaustralia.com/wine-tourism-and-cellar-door-grants or

contact Wine Australia at [email protected] or (08) 8228 2000.

Are you a Daily Wine News subscriber? If not, click here to join our mailing list. It’s free!