Here's cheers to shared and valued vinery

Much has been made of Perfect China Co Ltd's recent investment in South Africa's wine industry, but little has been said of the friendship that took about six years to evolve first into a joint business venture last year and now the Chinese purchase of the 25-hectare Val de Vie vineyard in the Western Cape.

Hein Koegelenberg, chief executive officer of Leopard's Leap Wines, and Woo Swee Lian, Perfect China's president, stress that their business dealings are steeped in respect and trust between their families. They are also both deeply committed to the principles of social responsibility.

Theirs is a story that underlines the importance of relationships when doing business. China, more than any other country, requires a high level of trust and shared values, Koegelenberg says.

They first met when he was developing export opportunities in China, he says.

"When I started Leopard's Leap the aim was to focus on world distribution, so when the bottom dropped out of the US economy it made sense to look east."

Now Leopard's Leap and La Motte, of which Koegelenberg is also CEO, are estimated to account for about 10 percent of South African wine exports to Asia. Part of his strategy to increase market share included an agreement with the Chinese University Alumni Association in Beijing. It boasts a membership of about 30,000 corporate executives, of whom the Koegelenberg family hosted 40 last year.

Meanwhile Perfect China Co Ltd of Zhongshan, which had been incorporated in 1994, was focusing on its core business: health food, personal care, household and beauty and skin care products.

It was some years later, when Woo, a Malaysian Chinese, and his family visited the Koegelenbergs on their vineyard in the Western Cape, that he realized how closely their business principles were aligned. Hein and his wife Hanneli showed them several social responsibility projects developed through their own farm.

The one that interested Woo most was Dennegeur village. Built for farmworkers, the project includes a daycare center run by a nursery school teacher. An after-school center helps older children with their homework and additional schooling. A training center, including a library, offers development opportunities in farming as well as general life skills such as literacy and personal financial management. A clinic with a resident nursing sister serves the community, and modern sport amenities cater for all ages.

Importantly, the workers can acquire legal ownership of their comfortable homes.

Coincidentally, Perfect had helped build 100 schools in poor areas in China. The company's website declares a commitment to three management core values - humanity, conscience and compassion.

In 2011 the friends formed a joint venture - Perfect Wines of South Africa. Yangzhou Perfect, a daily necessity products company and a division of the Perfect China Group, holds 51 percent. Leopard's Leap holds the balance. The L'Huguenot brand was born and the company says it exported 2.8 million bottles of wine to China in 2011 and 2012, about a quarter of annual wine exports from South Africa to China.

Gift giving is important to Chinese people, so Koegelenberg and Woo have taken special note of this sector. The global wine market research company, Wine Intelligence, says more than half the country's wine consumption is associated with the Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations. Wine is also often given in government and business circles and is invariably imported.

Of Perfect China's Val de Vie purchase, Koegelenberg, who is also chairman of Perfect Wines of South Africa, says: "The Chinese wine market is very important to our industry. This first Chinese investment in the South African wine lands is a clear indication of their interest in our wines. It can lead the way to a bright future for the export of South African wine to the East."