STORY: Spain's wineries should jointly build wine brand: Spain's first Chinese-owned vineyard
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 16, 2024
DATELINE: Jan. 17, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:16
LOCATION: BARCELONA, Spain
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of vineyards and wine production in the Ribera del Duero region, in north-central Spain
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Spanish): JULIAN XU, Manager of the Alilian winery and oenologist
3. various of the vineyards and Alilian winery, north of the Ribera del Duero
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Spanish): JULIAN XU, Manager of the Alilian winery and oenologist
5. various of wine bottles
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Spanish): JULIAN XU, Manager of the Alilian winery and oenologist
7. various of vineyards and the Allian winery

STORYLINE:

"Spain's wineries and wine-growing regions should put their differences aside and join forces to put the Spanish wine brand first," Julian Xu, the head of the Alilian winery, the only Chinese-run winegrower in Spain, told Xinhua in an interview on Tuesday.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Spanish): JULIAN XU, Manager of the Alilian winery and oenologist
"Instead of fighting among ourselves about whether Ribera del Duero or Rioja or Rueda is best, let's join our strength to build the Spanish wine brand and promote it."

Located in the northern wine-growing region of Ribera del Duero, the Alilian winery was set up by Xu's father.

Xu began to take an interest in the process of making wine at the age of 15 when his father, who at the time was exporting Spanish wine to China, took him on his visits to wineries.

Xu went on to study oenology and further refined his knowledge under the tutelage of Spanish oenologist Juan Ayuso, and he eventually went on to take over the day-to-day running of the Alilian winery.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Spanish): JULIAN XU, Manager of the Alilian winery and oenologist
"There are already a lot of Chinese people investing in vineyards and wineries, and that will continue in the future because Spanish wine is on the rise and is growing, and especially in quality regions like Rioja and Ribera del Duero."

Exports of Spanish wine are increasing by about 10 percent a year, according to the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX).

SOUNDBITE 3 (Spanish): JULIAN XU, Manager of the Alilian winery and oenologist
"In the past few years, the popularity of Spanish wines in general has grown a lot, and that growth along with the greater knowledge of wine among the Chinese has also helped us to better promote our wines."

Xu added that the Alilian winery is on course to soon sell half of its total wine production to China.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Barcelona, Spain.
(XHTV)