CANBERRA, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Australia's leading wine exporter to China will infuse a Chinese spirit called "baijiu" in its most recent innovation, which was set to be available worldwide later this year.
South Australian based Penfolds, part of the Treasury Wine Estates group, announced on Tuesday afternoon that it will release its "exotic" creation in September 2018.
The fortified wine, made from Barossa Valley Shiraz, was set to be infused with "baijiu", a grain based liquor, which was one of the most widely drunk spirits in the world.
"We are really excited to see how consumers throughout the world and in China respond," Treasury Wine Estates spokesperson, Angus Lilley, said in a statement.
"If you look at the Penfolds history and winemaking history there's been this thread of innovation through everything we've done."
Penfolds also announced it was poised to expand overseas as the company is set to produce wine in California's famous Napa Valley.
In what has proved to be a significant change to the company's strategy, Penfolds winemakers will oversee production of grapes in the U.S. for the very first time, with the wine expected to be released in 2022.
"Our Penfolds house style certainly allows and embraces the freedom to explore premium viticultural regions across the world. We are striving to add outstanding Californian-sourced wines to our offering by fiscal 2022," Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago said.
Penfolds also said it plans to produce a champagne in France which will be released in 2019 to mark the company's 175 years anniversary, and a 28-year-old single batch brandy.
"We'll be incredibly conscious of making sure they're made to the Penfolds house style and to the quality standards that we expect from Penfolds," Lilley said.
Treasury Wine Estates recorded a 37 percent increase in profit last year, driven by a sales growth of 60 percent to countries such as China.
