العربية chinese lovers of french wine are snapping up bordeaux vineyards
by：Runcheng Chuangzhan
2019-08-14
The tour guide opens a heavy wooden door and leads visitors into the wine cellar of Bordeaux winery.
Along the vast network of underground rooms and corridors, thousands of bottles have been in the cool dark for decades.
Today, many tourists to France are Chinese.
Wang and Cao Anjuan, the retired couple, visited Europe for the first time.
They travel to London and Paris, but Bordeaux is also a must-visit.
\"We like to drink,\" they said . \"
Bordeaux is wine for us Chinese.
People who like wine all want to come to Bordeaux to experience the long history of wine and see how it was made.
\"In the past 10 years, Chinese consumption of wine has increased dramatically.
This has had a profound impact on world wine producing areas such as Bordeaux.
But some Chinese are not only interested in the tourism industry in the region.
Robin Li, a real estate manager of a Chinese industrialist, bought two Bordeaux wineries five years ago.
We met at the huge Belaire Castle and in the rolling Vine we lay about 45 minutes outside Bordeaux
Covering the countryside.
Li said her boss has imported wine from Bordeaux and she likes it very much.
Then he wants to know what to do.
Bayell winery produces about 230,000 bottles of wine per year.
According to Lee, they kept all the original French workers and continued to make wine in the same way.
The only change, she said, is the marketing and export strategy now for China.
\"China is now a huge focus and we have increased our exports to about 70% of our production,\" Li said . \".
Li estimated that the former French boss had exported about 20% of the wine to China.
Chinese businesswoman Fan Lina has been in France for 14 years after receiving her degree in business and wine management.
Fan is one of the first agents to help Chinese businessmen buy castles.
When China\'s demand for Bordeaux wine soared, it all started at around 2007, she said.
\"At that moment, more and more Chinese importers began to think: \'Why not buy a Bordeaux winery? \'\" says Fan.
\"So the investors began to ask me: what is the price of the Bordeaux winery and vineyards?
They were surprised when they found out: \"Oh, it\'s not that expensive ! \"\' they told me.
About 85% of Chinese investors bought wineries worth $3 million to $6 million, Fan said.
According to fan, there are two kinds of winery buyers in China: The first is to drink and the importer wants to learn how to make it.
The second is a millionaire who wants to improve his image.
\"It\'s not just an economic issue,\" Fan said.
\"Sometimes just for the image.
France means a luxurious life for the Chinese. the lifestyle.
\"The Chinese are the biggest investors in Bordeaux, with 140 wineries.
Long-term investors Belgium ranked second with 40 people.
However, with 10,000 wine estates spread throughout the region, 140 are still paid.
Some Bordeaux residents are upset about the sudden influx of Chinese investment.
Anne rajtu closed a wine shop in a 16th-century castle with a new Chinese boss.
Generations of the Largeteau family have worked in the Bordeaux wine industry.
\"The problem is, you know, they have money,\" Largeteau said . \".
Unfortunately, weFrench)don\'t have any.
But they invest, they fix the castle and so on, so it\'s a good thing.
Unfortunately, it is no longer French.
We want to keep our ancestral treasures.
Reporter Lawrence le Maier said she wrote her book \"wine, red and China\" after feeling disgusted with the tone of the Chinese buyers in the local media.
\"It\'s always so negative, tucking stereotypes and talking about \'Yellow dangerous, \'\" Le Maire said \'. \".
\"Bordeaux\'s reputation has long been created by foreigners-the British, the Dutch-and it is no different from the Chinese.
France Chateau, communications director at the Bordeaux wine board, believes that the region has always welcomed foreign investors and thanks in large part to their success.
But he said the rise of the Chinese caught people off guard.
In 2000, Bordeaux exported less than 400,000 bottles of wine to the Chinese market.
Today, China is Bordeaux\'s largest export market, exporting 80 million bottles a year. \"They (the Chinese)
They are investing heavily to develop tourism . \"
\"They are creating a wealth of resources for the Bordeaux region.
So this is helping Bordeaux, not destroying Bordeaux.
Jean Pierre Ryder, 60, is not sure.
He lives in a small house with rows of leafy vines. at this time of year, the vines are full of dark grapes.
Ryder worked in the vineyard all his life.
The quality of Bordeaux is the best, he said, but now other wines are competing with Bordeaux.
The wine in South Africa is very good.
\"What I am most worried about is that the Chinese will use what they have learned here to grow millions of acres of vineyards in China,\" lettt said . \".
He also said Chinese wine would flood the French market.
As good as a bottle of Bordeaux.
Along the vast network of underground rooms and corridors, thousands of bottles have been in the cool dark for decades.
Today, many tourists to France are Chinese.
Wang and Cao Anjuan, the retired couple, visited Europe for the first time.
They travel to London and Paris, but Bordeaux is also a must-visit.
\"We like to drink,\" they said . \"
Bordeaux is wine for us Chinese.
People who like wine all want to come to Bordeaux to experience the long history of wine and see how it was made.
\"In the past 10 years, Chinese consumption of wine has increased dramatically.
This has had a profound impact on world wine producing areas such as Bordeaux.
But some Chinese are not only interested in the tourism industry in the region.
Robin Li, a real estate manager of a Chinese industrialist, bought two Bordeaux wineries five years ago.
We met at the huge Belaire Castle and in the rolling Vine we lay about 45 minutes outside Bordeaux
Covering the countryside.
Li said her boss has imported wine from Bordeaux and she likes it very much.
Then he wants to know what to do.
Bayell winery produces about 230,000 bottles of wine per year.
According to Lee, they kept all the original French workers and continued to make wine in the same way.
The only change, she said, is the marketing and export strategy now for China.
\"China is now a huge focus and we have increased our exports to about 70% of our production,\" Li said . \".
Li estimated that the former French boss had exported about 20% of the wine to China.
Chinese businesswoman Fan Lina has been in France for 14 years after receiving her degree in business and wine management.
Fan is one of the first agents to help Chinese businessmen buy castles.
When China\'s demand for Bordeaux wine soared, it all started at around 2007, she said.
\"At that moment, more and more Chinese importers began to think: \'Why not buy a Bordeaux winery? \'\" says Fan.
\"So the investors began to ask me: what is the price of the Bordeaux winery and vineyards?
They were surprised when they found out: \"Oh, it\'s not that expensive ! \"\' they told me.
About 85% of Chinese investors bought wineries worth $3 million to $6 million, Fan said.
According to fan, there are two kinds of winery buyers in China: The first is to drink and the importer wants to learn how to make it.
The second is a millionaire who wants to improve his image.
\"It\'s not just an economic issue,\" Fan said.
\"Sometimes just for the image.
France means a luxurious life for the Chinese. the lifestyle.
\"The Chinese are the biggest investors in Bordeaux, with 140 wineries.
Long-term investors Belgium ranked second with 40 people.
However, with 10,000 wine estates spread throughout the region, 140 are still paid.
Some Bordeaux residents are upset about the sudden influx of Chinese investment.
Anne rajtu closed a wine shop in a 16th-century castle with a new Chinese boss.
Generations of the Largeteau family have worked in the Bordeaux wine industry.
\"The problem is, you know, they have money,\" Largeteau said . \".
Unfortunately, weFrench)don\'t have any.
But they invest, they fix the castle and so on, so it\'s a good thing.
Unfortunately, it is no longer French.
We want to keep our ancestral treasures.
Reporter Lawrence le Maier said she wrote her book \"wine, red and China\" after feeling disgusted with the tone of the Chinese buyers in the local media.
\"It\'s always so negative, tucking stereotypes and talking about \'Yellow dangerous, \'\" Le Maire said \'. \".
\"Bordeaux\'s reputation has long been created by foreigners-the British, the Dutch-and it is no different from the Chinese.
France Chateau, communications director at the Bordeaux wine board, believes that the region has always welcomed foreign investors and thanks in large part to their success.
But he said the rise of the Chinese caught people off guard.
In 2000, Bordeaux exported less than 400,000 bottles of wine to the Chinese market.
Today, China is Bordeaux\'s largest export market, exporting 80 million bottles a year. \"They (the Chinese)
They are investing heavily to develop tourism . \"
\"They are creating a wealth of resources for the Bordeaux region.
So this is helping Bordeaux, not destroying Bordeaux.
Jean Pierre Ryder, 60, is not sure.
He lives in a small house with rows of leafy vines. at this time of year, the vines are full of dark grapes.
Ryder worked in the vineyard all his life.
The quality of Bordeaux is the best, he said, but now other wines are competing with Bordeaux.
The wine in South Africa is very good.
\"What I am most worried about is that the Chinese will use what they have learned here to grow millions of acres of vineyards in China,\" lettt said . \".
He also said Chinese wine would flood the French market.
As good as a bottle of Bordeaux.
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