Wine TV series to pop the cork on China market

A Chinese television series on New World wines featuring three episodes in New Zealand will reach a potential audience of 600 million viewers.

The 10-episode series, a Chinese, Australian and New Zealand venture, was filming in Marlborough this week.

Stephen Richardson, business development manager for production company Gibson Group which is working on the New Zealand episodes, said the goal was to introduce the wines to China.

Not only would it promote Marlborough wines, but had the potential to promote Marlborough as a tourist destination for Chinese.

"We believe this will have a huge impact on the Marlborough industry," he said.

The series was being jointly made by state-owned Tianjin Television, from the port city of Tianjin near Beijing, a Melbourne production company, and Gibson Group.

The three Chinese episodes are sponsored by large Chinese winemaker Dynasty Wines, while the four Australian episodes are backed by the State of Victoria.

In New Zealand, Marlborough wineries Jackson Estate, Wairau River and Marisco are sponsoring the production. "This is an extraordinary act of faith on their part," Richardson said.

The TV series could trigger an explosion of New Zealand wine sales in China, just as a 1990s BBC series had done for local wine in Britain.

Chinese wine drinking was still mainly of reds, consumed by men at banquets, and one aim was to show how Australasians drank wine as part of their lifestyles.

"We want to showwine that can be enjoyed more casually with food and appeal to a younger audience, and also to women."