A CHINESE-OWNED vineyard at Richmond is planning to develop a cellar door featuring street food and Chinese gardens.
Nocton was established by Chinese owners in 1999 and is one of the state’s largest vineyards.
Most of their wine is exported to China where the emerging middle class has a growing appetite for fine wine.
Nocton Vineyard general manager Anthony Woollams said increased Chinese tourism since the visit of President Xi Jinping was a key factor in the decision to build a cellar door.
“Mainly because of this massive interaction between China and Tasmania and purely on a tourist numbers basis,” he said.
“We will design something which brings Chinese cultural elements into Tasmania which will strengthen our brand here but also act as a tourist destination for Chinese tourists who will then take that message back to China and strengthen our brand over there.
“We have big plans to include things like street food, Chinese gardens, and those sort of elements over the next few years.”
The 34ha vineyard initially only exported wine to China but in the past 12 months it has started to focus on the domestic market.
“It’s important that as a Tasmanian-based vineyard we have to appeal not just to China but also to locals and people from Europe and the States,” Mr Woollams said.
He said Tasmania was enjoying its time in the spotlight.
“After 30 years of hard work finally Tasmania’s the place to be and China is leading that charge,” he said.
Nocton has an office in Beijing and distributes around China.
Mr Woollams spoke this week at an Austrade and Australia China Business Council forum about the opportunities for business engagement with China.
