Re-bottled: ASC Fine Wines withdraws bid for Sino-French

By Jim Boyce

ASC Fine Wines Founder Don St. Pierre Sr. told me last week that the company has pulled out of a bid for Sino-French Demonstration Vineyard, a noncommercial project near Beijing that many deem to make some of China’s best wines. The deal would have seen ASC partner with French winery Cos d’Estournel.

St. Pierre said that ASC, after making a substantial deposit as part of the bidding process, had been the lone serious contender for the property, but a late price increase led it to withdraw. Gernot Langes Swarovski, who invested in ASC a decade ago, owns Hebei province-based winery Bodega Langes.

Industry insiders consider COFCO, which owns Great Wall and has a stake in high-profile Shandong-based Chateau Junding, as being interested in Sino-French.

Unfortunately for consumers, this means Sino-French’s wines, which from range from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Chardonnay to Petit Manseng and a Viognier-Riesling blend, remain stockpiled indefinitely at the winery.

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See also:
Winery visit: Sino-French Demonstration Vineyard

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