|  Here is some news that should grab the attention of Indian wine producers. An international Chinese wine brand, Noble Dragon, from the Shandong region in China has been selling very well in key test markets in UK and Netherlands.
It has sold over 80,000 bottles in a four week promotion in Plus retail chain in The Netherlands and is attracting buyer interest in the UK where it is distributed by Bibendum, reports the www.thedrinksbusiness.com.
The wine is being produced as a joint venture between an importer, Laurenz Five Fine Wine of Austria, China 's Changyu Pioneer Wine Company and the major UK distributor, Bibendum. The brand currently consists of a white wine made by blending Chardonnay, Riesling and Muscat and a red wine which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and a Chinese varietal called Dragon's Eye. It is priced at £6.99 and listed in a handful of bars and restaurants in Britain .
Laurenz Five is optimistic that UK could soon see the wine in the mainstream off-trade. Tesco appears to be interested in the wine and the talks are going on. A different label will be developed for the UK multiple retail sector. Changyu Pioneer Wine Company, with a 6 million-case capacity winery and its own glass factory should have no problems in supplying volumes.
It is also very interesting to know that China could also become a major supplier of ice wine. According to Laurenz Moser of Laurenz Five, six years ago a Canadian found the perfect site for producing ice wine and planted 350 hectares of the hybrid varietal Vidal, the most popular grape for ice wine in Canada,
Changyu is making a wine from these vineyards, known as the Golden Ice Wine Valley, and have produced a three-tier brand, with an entry-level Golden Diamond, followed by Blue Diamond and small volumes of the top level, Black Diamond. "Nobody but Inniskillin is doing a professional job on ice wine in the international arena," said Moser who will begin importing the ice wine this summer.
Current production is already 500,000 half-bottles but will shortly double to 1m. This will be a success story for winemaking in China .
Details at http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com |
