Is Beijing the new Bordeaux? Moët takes vineyards to China
Beijing
Friday 24 February 2012
Related articles
French wine has dominated the market for centuries, but now even the premiers crus are having to heed the new economic realities and look to the vinicultural upstart China for expansion.
It's only a few months since a Cabernet sauvignon from Grace Vineyard in China's third poorest region, Ningxia, beat some of the top French names in a tasting in Beijing. And He Lan Qing Xue's 2009 Cabernet blend, also from Ningxia, won at the Decanter World Wine Awards last year. This must have been as big a shock as when the Californians started winning gongs for Napa Valley's finest.
Now, Moët Hennessy is to develop a terroir in Yunnan province, in the Himalayan foothills, to produce a super-premium red for China's burgeoning wine-consuming elite. With its Chinese partner, Vats, the company will mainly grow grapes such as Cabernet sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet franc, used to blend Bordeaux reds.
Speaking at a launch party in Zhongdian – a town now repackaged as Shangri-La to woo tourists to the Himalayan region – Christophe Navarre, head of Moët Hennessy, said: "What's important to produce a top-quality wine is the soil and the climate.
"The team spent a lot of time in China to find the right location to produce this top-quality red wine," said Mr Navarre. The wine will be grown on a 74-acre plot and should be ready in three or four years.
It has been a slow process, but China is slowly gaining attention as a viticultural player. The country is already the world's fifth biggest market, and it has quite a heritage in wine – archaeological digs have uncovered evidence the Chinese were making wine in 212 BC.
Life & Style blogs
How can the mortgage market recovery be helped?
Guest post by Richard Sexton, business development director of e.surv chartered surveyors
Wandsworth tops aspiring young professionals hotspot list
Other popular areas include Didsbury, Clifton in Bristol, central Cambridge and West Bridgford
-
Living with Google Glass: what are they actually like to wear?
-
Microsoft's Xbox One: Have the price (£399) and release date (30 November) been leaked by online retailer Zavvi?
-
Splint made by 3D printer used to save baby’s life
-
The 10 Best road-trip gadgets
-
Xbox One vs PlayStation 4: Why Microsoft's console name game just doesn't add up
- 1 Man and woman arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder victim of Woolwich machete attack, named as Drummer Lee Rigby
- 2 'Sickening, deluded and unforgivable': Horrific attack brings terror to London’s streets
- 3 Grace Dent: I’m not sure how these people can avoid being called ‘bigots’. And the more ‘civilised’, the worse they are
- 4 Woolwich murder: They killed, then they performed - these men should be starved of our attention
- 5 Woolwich attack: The EDL will seek to exploit this evil crime for their own evil ends
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Making reading fun for kids
Nook is donating eReaders to volunteers at high-need schools and participating in exclusive events throughout the campaign.
Introducing the 'Get Reading' campaign
Get the latest on The Evening Standard's campaign to get London's children reading.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness
Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last
How to say ‘I’m a sellout’




Comments