When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

You've reached your limit of one free article.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime .

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Exclusive International news coverage

Ad-free experience NEW

Weekly digital Magazine NEW

9 daily & weekly Newsletters

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Free trial

30-days free access, then $2.90
per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
food / travel

Care For Some Chinese Bordeaux?

China's state-owned food giant plants a stake in the world's most celebrated wine region.

Bordeaux wine cellar (xlibber)

Valerie Landrieu

Wine guides praise its body and smoothness. The Chateau de Viaud, a lalande-de-pomerol, now belongs to the Chinese government. After almost three years of negotiations, Cofco, the Chinese state-owned food giant has struck a deal with Philippe Raoux, a winegrower in the Bordeaux region, to acquire the 21-hectare vineyard for about 10 million euros.

It's the first time the Chinese state has bought into the wine industry in Bordeaux, though a few private companies from China have already tried their luck. In 2008, the real estate group Longhai International bought the 60-hectare Chateau Latour-Laguens, which includes 30 hectares of vineyards.

China has rapidly moved to be the world's leading Bordeaux importer, prompting Cofco to get into the business. But don't expect to find a bottle of Chateau de Viaud in China just yet. Half of its production is exported, but almost exclusively to the United States.

The Chinese group could benefit from increasing its savoir-faire in the winemaking business. It already owns the Great Wall, a widely consumed wine in China but of very low quality, according to experts. For Philippe Raoux, instead, the deal is an opportunity to enter a new market, and also includes an agreement to sell wines in China from one of its three other vineyards.

Cofco is ready to expand its wine business. It recently bought a vineyard in Chile and could acquire more French property. Guillaume Rougier-Brierre, a partner in the Gilles Loyrette Nouel law firm, which advised the Chinese in the Chateau de Viaud deal, said Cofco has indeed already fixed its eye on the next Bordeaux label it wants to add to its cellar.

Read the original article in French

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Society

How I Made Homeschooling Work For My Mexican Family

Educating children at home is rarely accepted in Mexico, but Global Press Journal reporter Aline Suárez del Real's family has committed to daily experiential learning.

How I Made Homeschooling Work For My Mexican Family

Cosme Damián Peña Suárez del Real and his grandmother, Beatriz Islas, make necklaces and bracelets at their home in Tecámac, Mexico.

ALINE SUÁREZ DEL REAL/GPJ MEXICO
Aline Suárez del Real

TECÁMAC, MEXICO — Fifteen years ago, before I became a mother, I first heard about someone who did not send her child to school and instead educated him herself at home. It seemed extreme. How could anyone deny their child the development that school provides and the companionship of other students? I wrote it off as absurd and thought nothing more of it.

Today, my 7-year-old son does not attend school. Since August of last year, he has received his education at home, a practice known as home-schooling.

Keep reading...Show less

The latest