On February 23, the signing ceremony of French Moet Hennessy Shangri-La Chateau was held in Shangri-La, Yunnan Province, and the Moet Hennessy Shangri-La (Deqin) Distillery Co. Ltd., a joint venture set up by Shangri-La Distillery subordinate to the Group and Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy International Co., Ltd. under French luxury giant Moet Hennessy -Louis Vuitton announced its establishment, and the Group will cooperate with Moet Hennessy to establish a first-class top chateau in the world.

Chairman Wu Xiangdong of the Group, President Christophe Navarre of French Moet Hennessy and Bei Jingkang, Asia Pacific Managing Director of Moet Hennessy, chief scientist of national grape industry system and Professor Duan Changqing of China Agricultural University as well as leaders of Diqing Prefecture including Zhang Dengliang, Ma Wenlong, Zhang Zhijun, Nunbu Yangzong and Liu Jiaxun presented the signing ceremony.

Settle on the Plateau Producing Area

Wine consumption in China has been growing at an annual speed exceeding 10%, presently, China has emerged as the world’s fifth largest wine consumption country, and position of the Chinese wine market sees a sharp promotion in the world wine map.

Moet Hennessy has early discerned the prospects of Chinese wine market, and it has been seeking for Chinese gene for its wine, and this time, their eyes stopped on the grape-producing area in Yunnan Deqin Diqing Plateau.

As early as 2000, Shangri-La Distillery began to plant wine grapes with Cabernet Sauvignon as the main specie in Lantsang within Deqin County in Shangri-La as well as the drought valley of Jinsha River.

“Deqin plateau grape producing area in Yunnan is located in the core part World Natural Heritage Reservation, at an altitude of 1,700m to 2,400m. The organic vineyard covering an area of ten thousands mu owned by Shangri-La Distillery in Deqin, Yunnan is situated at the foot of Meri Snow Mountain, and the vineyard faces Meri Snow Mountain from afar, and it is the vineyard of the highest altitude in the world at present. “ , Chairman Wu Xiangdong of the Group indicated that the snow-melting water from the high mountain provided natural purified water sources for the growth of grapes, and Cabernet Sauvignon, the world famous type of grapes was mainly planted, and the unique plateau climate made the yield per mu keep at about 300kg.

The research group of Duan Changqing, Professor of China Agricultural University and leading expert of Grape and Wine Association under the Ministry of Agriculture, has kept on consecutive track and research on Diqing producing area of plateau grapes. Latest research data of the research group show that the ecological environment of Diqing Plateau, grape and the aroma and favoring substances of grapes is greatly differentiated from that of other producing areas, and are genuine scarce treasure. 

Actually, Shangri-La was closely highlighted by foreign wine giants before this.

In 2010, Jean?Claude, chief winemaker of the Chateau Petrus named as the king chateau of Bordeaux once visited Shangri-La for technical exchanges, and he held that Deqin producing area was to become one of the significant global producing areas of high-end wines in the future.

Brewing Top Wine with Joint Efforts

No matter in China or the whole world, it is the main tendency to launch the brand product of the local market through “gene promotion” with the combination of local features and seek for common genes.

“Vineyards shall be carefully chosen, we have investigated local geological environment and climate, and we even went to observe plots at seaside. Laffey’s choice of seaside is mostly out of consideration to tourism and sightseeing. However, we are willing to create a type of “Grand Liquor” with both the Chinese native features and French features. Pierre, owner of the two world famous top chateaus as Chateau Cheval Blanc and Chateau d'Y quem, the first and a born winemaker who manages two top and well-known chateaus at the same time in the history Bordeaux, has been dedicated to seeking for a wine country in China for Moet Hennessy.

It is known that the Group and Hennessy will jointly establish the first joint venture chateau of Shangri-La wine, and a grape plantation covering an area of about 450mu will be founded.

In the signing ceremony, Christophe Navarre confidently said, “through establishing the chateau in China in the form of joint venture, Moet Hennessey hopes that it can offer Chinese consumers with top wine of superior quality in the next 4 to 5 years.” And Wu Xiangdong expressed his hope that the cooperation could build Lantsang within Deqin and the valley of Jinsha River into the counterpart of the Napa Valley producing area in California of U.S. as the world’s most famous newly-emerging area of wine production.

Voice

Zhang Dengliang:　Diqing Prefecture Party Secretary

Diqing Prefecture Party Committee, along with Deqin County Party Committee and Government, will earnestly carry out its duties and responsibilities strictly with professional attitudes and team spirit in accordance with requirements of the Partnership Agreement, increase support to the project construction and base expansion, and keep proactive in advancing the implementation of the project.

Christophe Navarre: President of Moet Hennessy

French Moet Hennessy is fully confident about the Chinese market, Deqin County has special biological and climate environment for developing wine industry, and by means of cooperating with VATS Group, Moet Hennessey hopes that it can offer Chinese consumers with top wines of superior quality in the coming four to five years.

Wu Xiangdong: Chairman of VATS Group

The partnership will definitely promote the quality of Diqing wine grapes, and advance the restructuring and upgrading of Diqing wine grape industry in the purpose of realizing the internationalization, collectivization, high-end orientation, branding and featuring of the wine-making industry in Diqing. Jointly with Moet Hennessy, VATS Group will contribute to the building of Diqing into a Shangri-La ecological and tourism zone longed by people for its “best ecology and environment as well as harmonious development”.

Background Information

Over these years, we have been making good wine in Shangri-La

In 2000, Shangri-La Distillery started to plant wine grapes with Cabernet Sauvignon as the main product in Lantsang within Deqin County of Diqing Prefecture and Ganre Valley of Jinsha River.

In 2004, Shangri-La Distillery signed the agreement with Deqin County, and started to plant wine grapes in scales. 

In 2005, Shangri-La Distillery began to purchase grapes produced in Deqin and set about
making wine.

In 2007, experts discovered with unexpected surprise that sugar contained in grapes picked up in Deqin reached above 22 degree, and the wine produced is rich in phenolic substances and trace elements. Shangri-La began to produce high-end wine, which wins fully approval and praises of experts and the market.

In 2010, chief winemaker Jean?Claude of famous Petrus Chateau in Bordeaux, France came to China, and Shangri-La Plateau 2800 Wine produced in Deqin won his highly appraisal, and he believed that Deqin producing area would grow to one of the world’s significant high-end wine producing area in the future.

In 2010, Bei Jingkang, Asia Pacific Managing Director of Moet Hennessy began to pay attention to Deqin producing area, he brought devices here for climate observation and measuring of soil composition, and he also invited Australian wine experts and technical consultant of Chateau Cheval Blanc to investigate the grape plantation in Deqin for many times, and ultimately, he determined to cooperate with the Group and jointly create Deqin Boutique Chateau.