The wine market is booming in China, and basketball pro-turned entrepreneur Yao Ming has latched onto the craze, launching his own eponymous California wine label made exclusively for the Chinese market.
The first 5,000-case run from Yao Family Wines will be distributed by French beverage giant Pernod Ricard SA and aimed at high-end consumers, the Wall Street Journal reports.
According to the WSJ:
The wine, made from cabernet sauvignon grapes harvested in 2009 from California's Napa Valley, is priced at 1,775 yuan (US$289) a bottle. (The price includes a 27% import duty and a 17% sales tax.) A second wine, called Yao Family Reserve, will be released later this year, and its small 500-case production will be even pricier.
While Yao's company doesn't currently own any California vineyards, it plans to purchase land as part of its long-term business plan.
Yao, who now lives in Shanghai after an 9-year career with the Houston Rockets, credits fellow basketball player Dikembe Mutombo, a 7-foot-2-inch Congolese player, with introducing him to wine.
Yao's also the owner of a wine bar and restaurant in Houston.
Click here to see the ultimate list of celebrity-owned restaurants >
Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story »
See Also:
- HAPPY THANKSGIVING: Here's How The Rest Of The World Celebrates The Harvest
- SMACKDOWN: How Car Stereotypes Stack Up In China And The US
- CRASH TEST: Here's Why Chinese Cars Are Not Ready For Primetime
