Bodegas Portia

Bodegas Portia signs major agreement with world’s leading food & drink distributor to market its wines in China.

Dña. Lourdes Martínez Zabala, Consejera Grupo Faustino; D. Li Shiyi, Dir. Gral. Div. Vinos de Importación; Dña. Wu Xiaouhi Vpdta. Cofco Corporation; Dña. Carmen Martínez Zabala, Pdta. Grupo Faustino y D. Francisco Honrubia, Dir. Gral. Grupo Faustino

Bodegas Portia, the winery designed by Sir Norman Foster which belongs to Grupo Faustino, Rioja´s leading premium winemaker and exporter, has signed an exclusive distribution agreement for the Chinese market with Cofco Wines & Spirits.

The agreement was signed by Cofco, Vice-president, Wu Xiaohui and Carmen Martínez Zabala, President, Grupo Faustino.

Ms. Wu said that it was “yet another step forward in the relationship between Cofco and Grupo Faustino. This teamwork will give great results.”

Li Shiyi, General Manager, Cofco Imported Wines & Spirits Division said that “we see great potential for the Ribera del Duero wine in China because it has great affinity with our consumers’ tastes.”

According to Francisco Honrubia, General Director of Grupo Faustino, thanks to this alliance and other actions, Bodegas Portia, will become Ribera del Duero´s leading exporter in the mid-term. The agreement will be in effect for five years and the focus will be on medium-high range wines.

On behalf of the Group’s Board of Directors, Ms. Carmen Martínez Zabala and Ms. Lourdes Martínez Zabala, said that “Portia is at the forefront of Grupo Faustino and we are very excited about the project, which starts today together with this partner for the future great world wine market.” We feel especially confident in view of the great experience of distributing the wines of Bodegas Faustino with them.”

Cofco is the leading food and beverage distributor in the world and, among other things, it is the largest distributor of Coca Cola in the world. It has over 120,000 employees and a turnover of more than 10,000 million euros.

In tune with a growing sophistication of the Chinese market, Cofco is adapting its range of wines to the quality requirements demanded by its customers. In accordance with this new commercial scenario, Cofco is including leading names and renowned brands to its portfolio of world wines.

Recently, the potential value of the wine market in China has been oscillating between 3 and 4 billion dollars, with a growing turnover which could be multiplied by 4 or 5 in the next few years.

This is yet another new step in the solid, positive evolution of Grupo Faustino, in this case with Bodegas Portia in the Asian continent.