China wine distribution: Word is Summergate has partnered with Kanaan in Ningxia

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I’m in Ningxia this week for Site Vinitech and a well-placed source says that Summergate has inked a deal to distribute wines from well-regarded local project Kanaan after a process that has lasted some eight months. If so, Summergate would be the latest in a long line of importers / distributors with national reach signing deals with local producers, including The Wine Republic with Helan Qing Xue of Ningxia, East Meets West with Chateau Nine Peaks of Shandong and Legacy Peak of Ningxia, and China Wine & Spirits with Hansen of Inner Mongolia.

Kanaan has a rep for making decent wines at decent prices, including a dry Riesling, a semisweet Riesling-Chardonnay and several Cabernet-Merlots. You can find some of them here on TRB. Summergate, bought last year by mass Australian retailer Woolworths, handled Chinese wine Catai from Shandong years ago.

I’ll update when I have definitive news.

If the deal goes through, it should not be too disappointing for other handlers seeking quality Chinese brands given the likes of Tiansai in Xinjiang and Domaine Franco-Chinois have yet to confirm their own distribution deals.

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