Knock-offs, being sold as ‘Penfunils’ and ‘Benfords’ were seen on supermarket shelves in China’s Hainan province on Sunday.
China based journalist Patrick Fok spotted the apparent counterfeits and posted them on social media.
“Spotted in Hainan. Must admit I have never come across these Australian labels,” he tweeted.
The knock-off bottles used the same signature red and while label, with a similar font used on real Penfolds bottles.
A spokesman for Treasury Wine Estates, which own Penfolds, told Nine.com.au the company is investigating the incident.
“We take any infringement of our Penfolds brand very seriously and we continue to make significant investments in our brand protection program across markets including China,” the spokesman said.
Last year in an anti-dumping measure China imposed massive tariffs on Australian wine exports.
China’s Ministry of Commerce announced last November the duties would range from 107.1 per cent to 212.1 per cent, effectively doubling to tripling the cost of Australian wine.
“There is a causal relationship between (wine) dumping and material damage,” the ministry said in a statement.
Just weeks later importers were told they would be required to pay a deposit of 6.3 per cent to 6.4 per cent, pending a final ruling.
Wine along with other Australian exports were targeted with trade sanctions last year amid plunging relations between Canberra and Beijing.
China accounted for nearly 40 per cent of Australian wine exports, by far the biggest global market.
China has argued that Australian winemakers have flooded its market with cheap wine, selling it for less than it sells in Australia.
The Federal Government is now preparing to take China to the World Trade Organisation over the wine tariffs.
This content first appear on 9news