Just before Brisbane-based Cantonese restaurant Central opened its doors for the first time in October, the Chinese-made wine that head chef Benny Lam and sommelier Peter Marchant were eager to have on the menu was held up in customs.

But after some quick phone calls, Chinese wine label Xiao Pu (“Little Garden”), run by Ian Dai, managed to send two dozen bottles produced from the plains of Ningxia, in China’s central north, from Hong Kong to Queensland via air freight at the last minute.