(CNBC) - China's tariff hit of up to 25 percent for U.S. agriculture could be a big gain potentially for Australia, particularly for wine and certain nut and fruit producers.

"We've invested quite a lot of time and money in building the market in China for 15 years, and then this may force us to reduce the amount of wine we're going to sell there just because our wines will become less economically viable," said David Amadia, president of Ridge Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California.

For the last five years, Ridge Vineyards has enjoyed "consistent growth" in the Chinese market even as it competes with premium French and Italian wines as well as Australian wines. But he said the new 15 percent Chinese tariff likely means "it will sort of be a lost investment."

China's finance ministry announced in a statement published Sunday it would impose retaliatory tariffs on up to 128 kinds of U.S. goods, following through on a threat initially made March 23 by Beijing that it would target $3 billion worth of American imports.