Moet Hennessy to Produce Red Wine in China

Moet Hennessy, the wine and spirits arm of France's LVMH luxury group, said Wednesday it will make red wine in China where a taste for the better things in life has boomed along with the economy.

Moet Hennessy said it had joined forces with VATS, a Chinese wine firm, to develop a vineyard of 30 hectares (74 acres) in Yunnan province, southeastern China.

"It is the first time that LVMH has gone into red wine in China," a company spokesman said, adding that it would be of very high quality and ready to drink within four or five years.

In May 2011, the company announced it was planting its first vineyard in China to produce a premium sparkling wine with the development company in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region in northwestern China.

China's rapid growth has made it key market luxury goods makers in recent years.