The South African wine industry received a major boost on Thursday as China made its first investment in the Cape Winelands, according to a report on bdlive.co.za.

Perfect China, the 51% shareholding partner in Perfect Wines of South Africa, has purchased the wine cellar at Val de Vie Estate, situated between Paarl and Franschhoek. The purchase includes a 25ha wine farm with 21ha of vineyards and the historic manor house dating back to 1783.

The cellar facilities will be used by Perfect Wines of South Africa, a joint venture formed in 2011 between Hein Koegelenberg of Leopard’s Leap and Perfect China in Yangzhou.

Mr Koegelenberg, who is also chairman of Perfect Wines of South Africa, said on Thursday he could not yet reveal how much the wine cellar and the wine farm had been purchased for, but said the amount was “substantial”.

South Africa, which is part of the Brics grouping with Brazil, Russia, India and China, has been attracting new attention from Chinese, Indian and Russian investors.