The inaugural Australia-China Winemaker Immersion Program, which sees Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) collaborate with Australian Grape and Wine and the China Alcoholic Drinks Association launched in Shanghai this week.
The program will see four Chinese participants head to South Australia this week to spend four weeks understanding local viticultural practices, winemaking operations and sustainability projects, as well as a range of industry activities and visiting vineyards and wineries.
Speaking at the Shanghai launch event, Penfolds Managing Director Tom King said: “At Treasury Wine Estates, we’re proud of our history with China’s wine industry, which started when the first bottle of Penfolds was exported from South Australia to Shanghai in 1893.
“This program cements our commitment to the long-term future and success of the Australian and Chinese wine industries – we have much to learn from each other and we’re delighted to be playing a role in fostering knowledge exchange and cross-cultural collaboration.”
As well as the industry associations the winemaker exchange program has seen academic institutions and government departments working together to foster deeper engagement between the Chinese and Australian wine industries.
The successful participants were assessed against a range of criteria including technical and theoretical expertise, career experience and areas of professional interest.
The inaugural 2025 cohort – comprising Ding Weikang of leading agricultural institution Northwest A&F University in Shaanxi, Gao Yujie of September Helan in Ningxia, Miao Chengpeng of Château Rongzi in Shaanxi, and Xue Churan of China Great Wall Wine Company in Hebei – is a diverse and highly engaged group with winemaking and R&D skills, eager to learn more about Australia’s wine sector.
The second component of the 2025 program will take place in China later in 2025, when four Australian wine industry professionals will engage with industry and academic institutions during the Chinese vintage period.