China’s leading boutique family winery, Grace Vineyard, has officially parted ways with its long time distributor Torres and partnered with ASC Fine Wines to distribute its wines in mainland China, citing differences in “development directions” as the main reason for ending relations with Torres.
“Torres had been a great partner and we really appreciate everything they have done to help build Grace Vineyard. However, our development directions no longer aligned with each other. It seems to be the time for us to go our separate ways,” Judy Chan, president and CEO of Grace Vineyard, told dbHK in an email reply.
Torres first started distributing Grace Vineyard wines in 2004.
“ASC Fine Wines is China’s leading wine importer and distributor. We hope the cooperation will expand our market presence in mainland China.”
“Furthermore, ASC’s expansive market coverage and experience in fine wines aligns perfectly with our family’s long-term market development strategy,” she continued, explaining the motives behind the new partnership.
Starting from 1 January 2017, ASC Fine Wines will exclusively distribute six series of wines through its HORECA channel in mainland China including the Vineyard Series, Premium Series, Tasya’s Reserve, Deep Blue, Chairman’s Reserve, and Angelina’s Sparkling wines.
The Deep Blue series was particularly sought-after in 2016, and was mainly responsible for the winery’s sales growth last year, Chan noted.
Besides the winery’s classic Tasya’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, ASC will also distribute its new varietal wines – Marselan and Aglianico.
Founded around the same time (ASC in 1996 and Grace Vineyard 1997), both “have witnessed, experienced and contributed to the development of China’s wine market,” said Bruno Baudry, CEO of ASC Fine Wines, about the partnership.
“We are thrilled that from now on we will work together as special partners to bring the best possible Chinese wines to our customers and consumers across the nation,” he added.
ASC employs about 800 people in China and has four temperature-controlled warehouses in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu in mainland China. Grace Vineyard wines are available in mainland China via ASC, however, for Hong Kong and Macau, they are sold through Ponti Wine Cellars.