By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
A Chinese entertainment megastar has chosen Geelong’s Mt Duneed Estate for a huge wine export deal.
A launch today at Mt Duneed will announce a deal to export an initial order of 800,000 bottles of local wine which is expected to sell out within months and with millions more to follow.
The deal would make Mt Duneed the “spiritual home” of the largest private label export of Australian wines to China.
But the massive volume required would need wineries all over Victoria contributing to the production.
The man behind the deal is Chinese entertainer and comedian Guo Degang, who has his own wine label, De Yun Wine.
Mt Duneed’s Matt Brown said the wine and tourism opportunities were exciting.
“I was fortunate enough to be asked to assist in putting this concept together and things have worked out,” Mr Brown said.
“Mr Guo had connections to the region and we’re lucky he liked it and was keen to find someone to be involved.
“Having a bit of profile though events like a Day on the Green and artists like Sting and Paul Simon here helped.
“It builds on the activities we’re developing upon at the venue, so we were in a good position when the opportunity arose.”
Mr Brown said the deal cemented a strong relationship in one of Australia’s burgeoning wine markets with a flow-on into tourism.
“It’s an exciting opportunity because we’re en route to the Surf Coast and the 12 Apostles.”
The invitation to today’s launch said Mr Guo had more than 64 million followers on Chinese social media and 144 million viewers of his weekly television programs.
A major media launch in China at the end of March will reach hundreds of millions of Mr Guo’s fans, putting Geelong on the tourist maps for Chinese visitors.
Corangamite MP Sarah Henderson said it was “an incredible deal” for the region.
The Turnbull government’s free-trade arrangement with China helped deliver the wine deal, she said.
“We produce some of the best wines in the country and it’s incredibly exciting that so much of our produce will now be available in China.
“This is precisely what the free trade agreements are designed to do, to drive jobs, economic growth and incredible export opportunity.”
