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Discovery Channel Asia Pacific has picked up lifestyle show The Flying Winemaker from LA-based production company WD Entertainment Group.
The show seeks to tap into the booming interest in fine wine in Asia Pacific, which represents the world’s fastest growing wine market today.
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According to WD Entertainment, the lifestyle series follows master winemaker Eddie McDougall, as he sets out to discover the best wine being produced across Asia and searches for undiscovered varieties in a mission to make them accessible to the world. He also explores food markets and restaurants to match the wines with exotic dishes.
In China alone, sales of wine reached roughly $41 billion in 2012, up 20 percent from a year earlier, according to research firm Euromonitor International. Chinese drinkers consumed 159.3 million 9-liter cases of wine in 2011 — a 142 percent increase from 2007 — according to a recent report prepared by International Wine & Spirit Research. The IWSR predicts Chinese wine consumption will grow by another 40 percent over the next three years.
WD was founded by Wes Dening, best known as the host of the Disney Channel’s Code: 9.
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“This deal with Discovery Channel Asia-Pacific expands WDE’s footprint across Asia as we continue to produce premium content with unique storytelling,” said Dening.
Charmaine Kwan, vice president of programming at Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, said: “We are always looking for fresh new talent and concepts for TLC in Asia-Pacific. This series fits the bill, bringing a brand new face to the channel, and a concept which marries food and wine, two topics much loved by our viewers.”
The deal was closed by ABC Commercial and will see the series premiere on Discovery’s TLC Channel across Central/South Asian Territory feed, Australia, New Zealand & Pacific Rim, and India.
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