Orange County's Barboursville Vineyards will soon be selling wine in China. Gov. Bob McDonnell's office announced the trade agreement yesterday. In May, McDonnell led a trade mission to several Asian countries, including China, and he said the agreement with Barboursville is a product of that trip. According to McDonnell's statement, this is the first such trade agreement between a Virginia winery and a Chinese importer.
"Virginia wines are recognized as being world class, and I am positive that this deal will continue to raise the domestic and international profiles of our wine industry, increase tourism to our wineries, and lead to more sales opportunities for Barboursville and our other outstanding wineries," McDonnell said in the statement.
Barboursville will be working with the Tianjin Tewoo Group, the 53rd-largest company in China, to import its wines there. Barboursville, one of Virginia's largest wineries, is already exporting wines to the United Kingdom. It's located in Orange County and owned by an Italian winemaking family that founded it 35 years ago.
Luca Paschina, Barboursville's general manager and winemaker, said China is one of the world's largest import markets. Virginia Secretary of Agriculture Todd Haymore said in the statement that McDonnell's administration is working to help wineries expand their export opportunities. Virginia has nearly 200 farm wineries, and is the fifth-largest wine producer in the United States.