China Wine Makers Opened Canadian Market

China's top ice-wine winery has acquired a 70 per cent stake in Canada's largest ice-wine producer for USD 6.6 million.

China's Tonhwa Grape wine Co., Ltd has inked a contract with the king's court estate winery from Canada to purchase a 70 % stake of the Canadian company with USD 6.6 million.

With over 300 acres of grape plantation and advanced ice-wine producing technique from its Canadian counterpart, Tonhwa has vowed to expand its ice wine market.

"We would provide the Chinese people the first bottle of classic ice-wine with VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance) standard produced by an enterprise acquired overseas," General Manager of Tonhwa, Wang Xiaoming, said.

Tonhwa Grape wine Co., Ltd, established in 1937 and based in northeast China's Jilin province, is the first ice-wine producer in China. Tonhwa is China's winery at highest latitude. It took the golden prize in the International wine Challenge last year.

Canada is the largest producer of ice-wine, and the king's court estate winery in Ontario is a supplier of wholesale VQA Canadian wines to other wineries in bulk or bottles worldwide.

China's wine output has been growing by 15 per cent annually in the recent three years. driven by soaring wine demand, the grape planting bases in provinces like Shandong, Hebei, Gansu, Xinjiang and Ningxia, creating more job opportunities for local farmers and increasing their income, a report of the China National wine Quality Supervision and Inspection Centre said.