McLaren Vale-based Gemtree Vineyards has spent three years working with different Chinese importers and learning about the burgeoning China wine market, the last two of which were spent researching the individual who has now extended a lifeline to the family company. Facing just another twelve months in which to turn the business around, Andrew Buttery has sold an undisclosed stake in Gemtree Vineyards to Song Yuangang, a partner in a Chengdu-based property company, Sacredtree International Trade Co, a part of the Sichuan Taifeng Group, for AUD5 million. Buttery now hopes to increase the company’s production from 30,000 to 60,000 cases this financial year, using Song’s network to handle the distribution of the company’s wines in China. According to Buttery, his partner’s first order is the equivalent of six month’s sales. Buttery believes that despite the high levels of interest being shown in Australian wine assets from Chinese interests, cultural and languages differences are likely to prevent a massive and immediate influx of Chinese participants in Australian wine. If it’s a partnership that companies are seeking, it’s essential to find the right partner, he states. I couldn’t agree more. From the asset point of view, the are many Chinese people essentially seeking a ‘shop window’ kind of winery here to give credibility and face to their existing operations in China. From the trading perspective, too many Australian wineries still jump at the first order they receive from China, immediately grant a relatively unknown importer national exclusive rights and then have no idea where their wine is going, if indeed it’s going anywhere at all. I hope that Andrew Buttery’s hard work pays off.
