In a peculiar turn of fate, China is now the world’s biggest market for red wine, surpassing France and Italy. Wine drinking is a relatively new habit in China but the nation is already the world’s 5th largest consumer of wine overall, and Alibaba expects 100 million consumers to take part in its 1st ‘Wine Day’ later this year. The global wine industry is seduced by the size of the opportunity as China’s population of around 1.4 billion grows richer and seeks to spend money on imported goods. And could this growing consumption of wine be a new source of outbound Chinese tourism too?
Wine is becoming more affordable in China
Imported wine started as a luxury purchase in China. In 1996 Chinese Premier Li Peng toasted the 5th 9 Year Plan with red wine, and soon the elite were using bottles of prestigious French reds to win favour and smooth relationships. Record-breaking sales prices have been set in Hong Kong where a 66-bottle vintage collection sold online for £251,365 last year.
Hong Kong is a popular destination for wine-loving Chinese, in part because it has no tax on wine, in contrast to the steep alcohol taxes on the mainland. But even on the mainland wine is slowly becoming more affordable as more lower-priced labels enter the market. These come especially from free trade partners Chile and Australia, with volume imports from the latter up 51% in the first 3 months of 2016.
And wine-loving Chinese are no longer just interested in consumption. In May two Chinese Baiju (white spirit) producers bought South Australia’s Belvidere Winery, just the latest of a number of Chinese purchases of wineries and vineyards including at least 60 chateaux in Bordeaux in the last 5 years.
China is also the country with the 2nd biggest vineyard surface area in the world, behind Spain and (quelle horreur) ahead of France.
The growth of oenology in China
Enthusiasm for wine in China extends not just to its status-enhancing qualities but also to a genuine interest in oenology. WeChat’s Wine in University account has over 7,000 members. And it’s in this more sophisticated enjoyment of wine that the beginnings of wine tourism lie.
Chinese domestic wine tourism started to take off a few years ago. Large domestic wineries such as Changyu Pioneer Wine Co introduced tailored wine packages to cater for varying levels of customer knowledge. The addition of other entertainment such as mahjong and football seek to widen the wineries’ appeal to families and offer a rounded day trip destination.
The beginnings of Chinese outbound wine tourism
This interest in wine is slowly spilling into outbound tourism. Michelin published its first French Wine Tour guidebook in Mandarin in 2011 and 1/3 of the students in France’s Bordeaux Wine Institute are Chinese. In fact Bordeaux, sometimes known as the world’s wine capital, has been at the forefront of attracting Chinese tourists in recent years. Its website, brochures and a presentation DVD of the city are available in Mandarin. Chinese-speaking assistants are available to guide tour groups. Luxury hotels in the region are adapting too; the 5 star Grand Hotel de Bordeaux and Spa has developed special VIP tours of Chinese tours which couple tastings of premier vintages with a gourmet lunch.
The Chinese have recently become the 2nd largest group of overseas visitors to Australian vineyards and make up 10% of all such visits. Only the British, it seems, are more interested in the authentic Australian wine experience. Jacobs Creek Visitor Centre trains its staff in Chinese cultural norms and has introduced Mandarin signage while Red Dolls Wine in McLaren Vale bills itself as the first bilingual winery for the Chinese wine enthusiast.
And what’s particular notable is that Chinese visitors need a different kind of wine experience to score high satisfaction levels. The natural setting and clean, fresh air around a winery can be just as attractive to the Chinese as the wine tasting itself. And when it comes to wine tasting – well, Chinese visitors don’t just want to taste wine; they want to observe work in the vineyards and gain insight into the production process. High-end visitors may like a tailored private tour and pretty much every-one will want to buy (expensive) red wine as a gift. Red wine offers the best pairing with Chinese food and red is an auspicious colour in China. Is the future auspicious for Chinese outbound wine tourism too?
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