Chinese wine merchants visit Mornington Peninsula wineries

A DELEGATION of Chinese wine merchants and hotel staff took a tour of Mornington Peninsula wineries earlier this month to get a taste for some of Australia's best pinot noir and chardonnay wines.

The delegation, hosted by the Mornington Peninsula Vignerons Association, was treated to a wine master class, including matching wines with Asian cuisine, and visited several wineries to observe vintage operations.

The Mornington Peninsula wine region is one of 15 Australian wine regions identified by Wine Australia as a 'regional hero'.

The delegation visited Dromana Estate in Tuerong, where participants were put to work with winemaker Duncan Buchanan in the hurly burly winemaking.

Dromana Estate marketing manager Lynda Coombs, who visited China with Mr Buchanan last year, said the company had more than doubled its exports to China in the past few months. 

"The popular wines in China are the big fruity reds as well as sweeter whites, however the Chinese market is slowly changing."