White Wine Growing In Chinese Markets

By Author: Joshua Kim
Total Articles: 32
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Like with many other markets, the Chinese market is growing when it comes to wine and in April this year a report was written about its emergence in the wine industry. The main point to come out of the report was that consumer tastes are changing and this was concluded that consumers are starting to like white wine more than they used to. Despite the growth in popularity of white wine, red wine still accounts for more than 85% of total sales in China.

In 2009, China imported 8.7 million 9 litres cases of white wine, but due to the rise in popularity of the lighter wine, they had to increase this 10 million in 2010, this rise of 13% mirrors the increase in popularity of white wine. Red wine has traditionally led the way and although that is still the case, the gap between the other wines has reduced. It is not just the colour of the wine that is changing as the country is now being exposed to a new range of wines from all over the world. French Bordeaux's have been the traditional favourite but as consumers are being introduced to various types of grape, they are seeing that there are many different wines available on ...
... the market and each one has its own distinct taste and flavour.

One problem Chinese customers face is the number of counterfeit bottles that are available, especially when it comes to red wines. This is another reason why they prefer white wine now due to the lower number and less chance of counterfeit bottles of wine. So which white wines are going down a storm? Well, Sauvignon Blanc is the most popular grape amongst Chinese customers which is no surprise given the significant growth in wine exports between New Zealand (home to the Sauvignon Blanc) and China.

German Rieslings are also proving to be popular in China as an ever growing range of wines are being introduced to the market. These figures show that there is huge potential in the market and with over a billion people to target, one of the wine producers could ensure that they are competitive within this new target market. China is not renowned for their wine but has an increasing number of companies see the possibilities, it could quickly become the main focus for many wine companies all around the world but especially in the UK where there are a number of experienced suppliers.

Wines of South Africa and New Zealand have been very popular over the years and wine suppliers in the UK are looking to increase their business in new markets such as China.