Alibaba, Vinexpo to celebrate 2017 Wine and Spirits Festival Day

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China's e-commece giant Alibaba will celebrate the Wine and Spirits Festival Day on Saturday by clinking glasses with Vinexpo, the world's leading international wine and spirits exhibition, the French wine expo organizer said on Thursday.

The event is also called "9.9" because it falls on the ninth day of the ninth month of the year. Number nine and the word "alcohol" are homophones in Mandarin.

"Vinexpo's participation in the ‘9/9’ marks a new stage in the strategic partnership aimed at promoting domestic wine brands and producers in the heart of the Chinese market," Vinexpo said in a statement.

With 100 selected brands, Vinexpo aims "to bring the best of French wine-growing know-how to a market of more than 460 million consumers and offering many opportunities."

Alibaba created its first online Wine and Spirits Festival Day in 2016. /CGTN Screenshot

"We are delighted to share our expertise by guiding Chinese buyers during 9/9 through a selection of wines divided into three categories: wines of current consumption, wines to be served at friendly moments and wines for exceptional experience," said Guillaume Deglise, Vinexpo CEO.

In 2016, Alibaba created its first online Wine and Spirits Festival Day, offering, via e-marketplaces Tmall and Tmall Global, over 100,000 references of wines and spirits from more than 50 different countries and regions to Chinese consumers.

China is already the world’s fifth largest consumer of wine, and the market is expected to be valued at 21.7 billion US dollars by 2020 – an increase of 39.8 percent from 2016.

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