Rothschilds bet on affluent China’s champagne tastes

THE ROTHSCHILD family is betting affluent Chinese will be as keen on its vintage champagne as they are on the best red Bordeaux wines it produces in France.

No longer were China’s nouveaux riches mixing first-growth wines with soft drinks, said Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, the chairman of Champagne Barons de Rothschild, which has allocated almost 10 percent of its rare 2006 vintage to the mainland and Hong Kong markets. The palates of China’s fine drinkers were now as sophisticated as those anywhere else, he said.

“The Chinese have become extremely knowledgeable about wines, and they love to drink.“

French winemakers have been looking to Asia for growth in recent years as markets elsewhere level off. China is a boon for top first-growth wines like Chateau Lafite and Mouton Rothschild, both made by the Rothschilds.

Champagne exports to China fell 0.6 percent in 2014 to 1.62 million bottles, according to the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne website, while shipments to Hong Kong rose 0.4 percent to 1.66 million bottles.

Still, Sereys de Rothschild said the Chinese economic slowdown and its crackdown on corruption that had hurt luxury sales would not be a factor for the 2006 vintage.

“Because it’s the first vintage we have never been linked to corruption,” he said. – Bloomberg