Chinese snaps up Burgundy vines

A Chinese businessman has bought vines in Vosne-Romanée.

Unlike previous purchases by Asian wine lovers in Bordeaux, Burgundy resident Shi Yi has not bought a property outright but has instead purchased several patches of vines, the produce of which will be vinified at a friend’s estate.

Yi studied for a masters degree in wine and spirits at Dijon University, where he met winemaker and local grower Pascal Chevigny from whom he has purchased two hectares – one hectare at Champs Perdrix in Vosne-Romanée, a small plot at a premier cru called les Petits Monts near Richebourg and smaller plots again in Vosne-Romanée, Nuits Saint-Georges and AOC Bourgogne.

The wines produced from the plots will be vinified at Chevigny’s cellar. The two have been working together for six months now and have so far shipped three containers of Burgundy to Shanghai.

Yi told V&S News: “We intend to work together from the vines to the bottle. Besides these vines, we buy grapes which we vinify in our cellars in Vosne-Romanée and age the wines in our cellars in Nuits-Saint-Georges”

Unlike in Bordeaux where whole properties can be put up for sale, the parcelled nature of Burgundy’s vineyards makes it very difficult for a foreign buyer to gain a foothold in the region – unless they know someone local.