France will produce wine in China

China is slowly, but solidly entering new markets. Wine-making, one of the few industries that are being developed primarily within such traditional regions as France, Italy or Spain, in the near future promises to be opened for China.

One of the elite alcoholic drink market leaders - Moët Hennessy - announced its intention to open during the next five years the production of high quality red wines in China.

This project is unusual not only due to the fact of China inclusion in the world's winemakers’ guild. Unusual is also the location for the vineyards, which will supply Moët Hennessy plants with raw materials. It is located on the Himalayas slopes at an altitude of 2400 meters in the legendary valley of Shangri-La described in James Hilton's novel "Lost Horizon". According to boursier.com, the jointly owned venture Moet Hennessy Shangri-La (Deqin) Winery located in the Yunnan province in southwest China will have the total area of 30 hectares.

Moët Hennessy plans to grow on the Himalayas slopes the grape of such varieties as Cabernet, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, which are traditionally used in red Bordeaux production. According to the Moët Hennessy director Christophe Navarre, now it is difficult to find appropriate location for the vineyards do to a set of reasons.

It is worth noting that despite the fact that China does not yet enjoy widespread popularity in the region as a wine producer, the country is one of the world's largest consumers of this beverage. China holds the fifth position in the world In terms of wine consumption.

Entrance of the world's leading manufacturers to the Chinese market proofs importance of this region for the major players. Already now we can talk about success of the Chinese wine-making. For example, during the last year wine tasting in Beijing, which was attended by Chinese and French winemakers, the winner was wine grown in the Ningxia region.

It should be noted that for Moët Hennessy opening of the new plant will not be the first experience in China. In this market the company is presented by its Wenjun brand. It is white wine produced in the Sichuan province. Ningxia region, by the way, is also among the interests of Moët Hennessy. The company plans to produce sparkling wines here.