Dalian invests 3 billion yuan to brew the world’s top-grade wine

By Dong Jirong and Yang Jingya 

Three billion yuan will be invested in the establishment of the first wine industrial park in Dalian. The signing ceremony of the International Wine Industrial Park project was held at the city’s Shangri-la Hotel on December 6.

The three parties involved, the Administrative Committee of Dalian Free Trade Zone, Dalian Haichang Group and France’s Lamont Winery Group, attended the signing ceremony.

The park will focus on grape growing, grape processing and brewing. It will also integrate the grape processing industry into tourism activities that are already built on large-scale metropolitan agriculture and urban leisure. The planting area of grapes will hit 5,000 mu (333.3 hectares).

The project was funded by France’s Lamont Winery Group and designed by French ARC Design Services Ltd. Wine chateaus, a Bordeaux Wine Museum, a manor, a castle hotel, a French wine school and a China-French Wine Cultural Exchange Center are some of the structures that will be built in the industrial park,

The project has proved viable by French experts. Grapes seedlings will be introduced from France and planted under the guidance of French agricultural specialists. Well-known French brewers will be invited to supervise wine making and production to create the world’s top-grade wine brand in Dalian.

According to Lu Lin, the free trade zone administrative committee director, wine industry was one of the most rapidly growing industries in China. In recent years, China’s wine production and consumption market had maintained a growth rate of above 15 percent, and the market growth rate of first-tier cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing has surpassed 35 percent. According to French wine experts and entrepreneurs, Dalian’s climate, ecology and environment was especially congenial for growing wine grapes and for developing high-grade wine and chateau wine. The Dalian free trade zone regarded developing wine industry as a leading industry in adjusting and optimizing industrial structure. It established the Qingyun Lake Ecotourism Area to serve as a featured park in promoting wine, ecotourism, leisure vacation and their high-end real estate industry.

Vice mayor Sun Guangtian attended the signing ceremony.

More background info:

France’s Lamont Winery Group

France’s Lamont Winery Group owns five chateaus in France: Chateau Cheny Lafitte, Chateau Branda, Chateau De Grand Branet, Chateau Laurette and Chateau Bab. Each chateau has a history of over 100 to 400 years and the company occupies an area of greater than 340 hectares.

Dalian Haichang Group

In early 1990s, Haichang Group took its first steps forward in the coastal city Dalian. It opened a gate to success with its first venture in the petroleum business. In the past two decades, Haichang Group has developed into an international enterprise which integrates four pillar industries: petroleum trade, ship transportation, real estate investment and commercial tourism. Currently, eight tourist projects under the umbrella of the group are in operation, including Dalian Discoveryland, LHT Pole Aquarium, Qingdao Polar Ocean World, Tianjin Polar Ocean World, Chengdu Polar Ocean World, Chongqing Caribbean Water Park, Dalian 4-D Cinema, and Dalian Red Flag Valley Golf Club. In addition, the Yantai Hot Spring World and Whale and Shark World, Wuhan Polar Ocean World, and Dalian Jinxu Golf Hotel are soon to be opened.