Moet Hennessy has announced plans to create home-grown sparkling wines for the Chinese market.
The company has agreed a joint venture with state-owned agricultural firm Ningxia Nongken, which will see it produce wine from a site in the northern region of Ningxia Hui.
Observers say the deal will expand the country’s wines retail market by educating the public and winemakers in sparkling wine.
A Moet spokesman said the first wines would be ready in three years.
“This will be the first sparkling wine in China made according to traditional methods,” he added.
The two companies expect the joint venture to attract a number of other winemakers to China.
Nongken already has vineyards covering 670ha, and it aims to expand these to more than 2,000ha.
Rex Yeung, of Hong Kong-based Dynasty Wines, told the South China Morning Post that the venture would “enhance the winemaking skill level” in the country.
“There will be more companies to educate the public…and develop the sparkling wine market in China,” he added.
Moet’s holding company, the luxury brands group LVMH, already enjoys a healthy demand for cognac and champagne on the Chinese mainland.
China is the group’s biggest market for cognac, while champagne sales are growing every year.
According to the latest figures from International Wine and Spirit Research (IWSR), consumption of wine in China and Hong Kong increased by more than 100% between 2005 and 2009, from 46.9 million to 95.9 million cases.
