Treasury Wine Estates has acquired majority ownership of Ningxia Stone & Moon Winery to build its presence in China.
The transaction, valued at CNY130m (US$17.9m) sees the Penfolds brand owner take a 75% stake in the business, which is based in the central Ningxia province. Stone & Moon has an established relationship already with TWE, providing grapes for the Chinese extension of Penfolds.
The wine producer, which also has its own namesake brand, holds 43 hectares of planted “luxury” vineyards containing cabernet sauvignon and marselan grapes, a winery “with capacity for future expansion” and a cellar door, according to Treasury.
“This partnership represents an exciting new chapter for Stone & Moon Winery, enabling us to showcase the exceptional quality of Ningxia wines to a global audience,” said founder XuanHao Kang. “We look forward to collaborating with the TWE team to celebrate the unique character of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and contribute to the future of Chinese winemaking.”
Penfolds MD Tom King added: “After releasing our first China-sourced luxury wine in 2023, we’re delighted to be investing in such an exciting wine region in China which is gaining global recognition for its quality wines. Partnering with the Stone & Moon Winery will expedite the development of our Chinese winemaking capability, drawing on the expertise of the local Stone & Moon team.”
Speaking exclusively to Global Drinks Intel following the release of full-year fiscal 2024 results in August, group CEO Tim Ford welcomed the removal of higher tariffs on Australian wine imports into China, which had been announced in March. “There’s a lot of negative noise around spirits in China, but the reality is, a lot of those companies are lapping pretty significant growth from the previous couple of years,” Ford said. “We’re lapping zero. From our point of view, it’s about re-establishing and rebuilding in a category that has declined, but it’s still big.
“We still think we can develop the category now Penfolds is back in the market.”
