In the latest sign of how much the world is tilting toward China, Christie’s auction house is opening the world’s first estate agency to market wine estates to China’s billionaires.
Vineyards by Christie’s International Real Estate – the “first global advisory for buyers of vineyard estates” – is opening in Hong Kong, to offer what it calls “a discreet consultative service for clients looking to acquire vineyards in the world’s most sought-after wine regions”.
Unlike the typical real estate agency, Christie’s team of property brokers will be fortified with a phalanx of fine wine experts. The auction house explained that the move was “conceived to meet demand from clients at Christie’s wine auctions in Hong Kong requesting expert advice in purchasing overseas vineyard properties”.
The sales of wine estates follow the Chinese interest in prestige vintages of fermented grape juice. Last year, Christie’s sold more than RMB 200 million worth of wine at nine sales in Hong Kong, and China is now the fourth largest export market for burgundy behind Japan, Britain and the US.
Safer, (Sociétés d’Aménagement Foncier et d’Etablissement Rural), the body that monitors vineyard sales in France, said that of the 35 chateaux with vineyards sold in Bordeaux in 2011, 21 went to Chinese buyers. Of the 37 vineyard-chateaux sold last year, 23 went to the Chinese.
China’s spending spree has not been without controversy. The acquisition of a vineyard in Burgundy last year by a Chinese casino millionaire caused an outcry among locals who warned that their heritage was under threat.
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