Hands up who was watching The Apprentice last night on BBC? The teams had to promote awareness of English sparkling wine.
Speaking at a tasting of the 2010 Argentine vintages from Bodega François Lurton, Mendoza, the wine magnate said: “Bar China, I don’t see any new large wine producing countries at all.
“The English are always looking for ‘the next’. The ‘nexts’ are all on the market."
Speaking about climate, Lurton mentioned the peninsula of the province of Shandong and Shandong city Qingdao.
“China has great potential for vineyards and places like Qingdao (Tsingtao) have similar climates to Bordeaux.”
When asked if he would consider buying land in China, Lurton replied: “The problem with working in China is joint ventures.
“There is great potential there but it is impossible to control.”
Speaking about wine in China, Lurton added: “The Chinese are planting a lot and the quality isn’t there yet but it will be.”
According to reports on the BBC, China could become the world’s largest wine producer in the next 50 years.
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