Watts Winery of Lockeford has signed a letter of intent through the U.S.-China Export Association to ship 12,000 bottles of Lodi premium wine to China.

It's believed to be the largest shipment of wine to China by a Central Valley boutique winery. It's enough wine to fill two ocean-going shipping containers and should be shipped by September.

"This is a great thing for Lodi and I think it's going to be a great thing for China, too," says Frank Gayaldo Jr. of Lodi, the international wine broker to put the deal together.

Mr. Gayaldo says the agreement opening China to Central Valley winemakers can be traced to three Lodi-area wineries, including Watts, having their wines served at the May 2006 inauguration of Oscar Arias as president of Costa Rica. "This is just kind of a knock on the door," he says.

Source:佚名