With borders closed, Australian winemakers raise a glass to the home crowd

Petersons Wines cellar door assistant Jessica Kim conducts a wine tasting for patrons, as wineries in the Hunter Valley region re-open following widespread coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown in the state of New South Wales, in Mount View, Australia, November 14, 2021. Picture taken November 14, 2021. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

POKOLBIN, AUSTRALIA (Reuters) - As Australia's most populous state emerges from a lengthy COVID-19 lockdown, winemakers in its top grape-growing district, the Hunter Valley, have started toasting an influx of guests from travel-starved Sydney.

Although the country largely avoided the high pandemic death rates of many other countries, the state of New South Wales, home to a third of Australia's population, entered one of the world's longest lockdowns in June as the Delta strain tore through the community.