More wine from Australia was purchased around the world last year, leading to a bumper crop for the nation's vineyards.

According to official data from Wine Australia, 94 million cases of the beverage were sold globally during 2018, an increase of five per cent in volume.

However, businesses were willing to pay more for the premium product than they were doing previously, with the value of exports also up by ten per cent.

Red wine in particular was shown to have enjoyed an increase in popularity and now makes up 76 per cent of the country's total wine exports.

Chief executive officer of Wine Australia Andreas Clarke explained that more people from major markets are becoming aware that Australia can offer a quality product.

He added that China has been the source of much growth in wine value in recent years, while Japan, Canada, New Zealand and Singapore have also all been significant buyers.

Only the US was found to have reduced how much Australian wine it purchases during 2018. On the contrary, the largest wine market by volume proved to be the United Kingdom.

Earlier this month, Australia and Britain signed a new bilateral Wine Agreement and Mutual Recognition Agreement to assist with the continued flow of trade post-Brexit.

This will ensure that any arrangements already in place between Australia and the EU will continue to apply for the UK after March 29th 2019, meaning Australian exporters can still get their goods into Britain without additional barriers or regulations.

Meanwhile, analysts believe wine exports from Australia to China could grow still further this year after China reduced import tariffs to zero as part of a new free trade agreement.

Other imported wines are still subject to a 14 per cent import tax in the Asian nation, which could prompt businesses there to switch from French to Australian drinks in a bid to save money.