Fine wine news

A wine merchant has opened in Bordeaux but will only sell to Chinese wine professionals.

The store, which is located in the city centre close to the Bordeaux Wine Bureau, has seven Mandarin-speaking staff and will sell mostly wines from small and medium-sized chateaux, Decanter.com reported.

Speaking to the news provider, LeeLee Yung, the director of La Cave du Dynastie, explained that the store will cater to large groups of Chinese professionals visiting the region.

"More and more Chinese are coming in big groups to source and buy Bordeaux wines and they often are unsure how to organise visits and make contact with winemakers," he said.

"We wanted to offer a central location for them to taste the wines."

It is just the latest example of the Chinese investing in more than only bottles of wine from Bordeaux. There are now approximately 20 new Chinese owners of Bordeaux chateaux in the past 12 months alone, including some high-profile businessmen and sports stars.

Posted by Brian Hughes