Changyu branches out into the UK

Chinese milestone wine comes in red, gold, black and blue to the British market, reports Cecily Liu in London

Britain's oldest wine merchant has announced that it will permanently stock four wines produced by a Chinese winemaker, a milestone for the winemaker's emergence onto the world stage.

Berry Bros, founded in 1698 and a supplier to the royal family, is the first big British retailer to stock Chinese wines permanently, following Le Groupe Castel of France and Delhaize of Belgium in recent years.

The four Changyu Pioneer Wine Co wines on offer are Chateau Changyu Moser XV at 39 pounds ($59) and three ice wines, the Gold, Blue and Black Label, at 19 pounds, 35 pounds and 65 pounds, respectively.

Mark Pardoe, Berry Bros' wine-buying director, expects the Changyu wines to attract the curiosity of Britain's wine lovers, who have historically been interested in wines from new regions.

"The UK wine market is one of the most diverse in the world because the UK does not have a big wine producing industry," Pardoe said.

"So when a new wine-producing region starts to appear, people are always very interested."

Chateau Changyu Moser XV is produced from European grape varieties of cabernet sauvignon and merlot with European quality control methods, he said.

"Different from most other wines produced in China, Chateau Changyu Moser XV is developed for the export market," Pardoe said. "We've made sure it suits the European palate."

Chateau Changyu Moser XV is developed in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region jointly between Changyu and the Austrian winemaker Lenz Moser, whose family has run wineries for 15 generations.

Moser, who founded the wine brand development agency TxB Fine Wines, originally ventured to China in 2005 with a view to exporting European wines to China. Instead, he realized the potential of Chinese wines.