Actor Sam Neil launches wine line

30/01/2007 - 11:37:51
One of New Zealand’s most famous exports, Sam Neill, has exported a bit of New Zealand to Hong Kong.

The actor today launched a wine line under his Two Paddocks brand in Hong Kong.

Neill signed bottles of wine for customers and posed for pictures at an organic food store that will carry four Two Paddocks wines exclusively – a Sauvignon Blanc, a Riesling and a Merlot, all from 2003, and a 2004 Pinot Noir.

Hong Kong is viewed as a launching pad for businesses targeting the Chinese market, but asked about his expansion plans for the mainland, where wine is popular among the newly rich, Neill said Two Paddocks was a small business.

“We’re a boutique winery. I think if we started expanding into China we’d be swallowed up in a minute,” he said.

Two Paddocks runs three vineyards in the Central Otago region of New Zealand’s south island. Neill said they produced 3,000 cases of wine a year.

Still, Neill said he was pleased about the prospect of a new market in China.

“I’m very happy to hear that people are beginning to drink wine up here because there’s a whole world of wines to discover. We’re particularly proud of our wines from Central Otago,” he said.