(Reuters) - Buyout giant Carlyle Group LP (CG.O) will buy Australia’s Accolade Wines from a local private equity firm for A$1 billion ($770 million), triple what the Australians paid seven years ago and underscoring the investment appeal of China’s wine market.

The sale of Accolade, Australia’s No. 2 wine producer and owner of the Hardys and Banrock Station labels, by CHAMP Private Equity comes as Australian wine exports struggle to keep up with growing demand from China’s middle-class.

The Australian export bonanza has been spurred on by a free-trade agreement between the countries since 2015 which has seen China cut import tariffs on Australian wine from as high as 20 percent to about 3 percent.