Four ways China’s love affair with wine is changing

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Wine is big in China, so big that the country, now the world’s fifth largest consumer of the liquor, is expected to move up the ranks to No. 2 by 2020. But as Chinese drinkers delve deeper into this world of wonders whose “golden age” only began in 2001, their attitudes towards vino are changing, influenced by an economic, cultural and social environment in constant transformation.

On Monday, China marked its own version of Valentine’s Day, known as Qixi, with a shopping extravaganza that included special offers on wines at brick-and-mortar businesses and online stores. The romantic occasion came a few days before September, which in 2016 became a reason for wine lovers to clink their glasses.

Last year, e-commerce giant Alibaba introduced the “9.9 Wine Festival” on its shopping platform Tmall cashing in on the resemblance in pronunciation between number “nine” and “alcohol” in Mandarin. The nine-day shopping spree raked in 280 million US dollars in sales, according to Kung Fu Data.

But industry insiders are noting that wine drinkers in China are no longer looking for excuses to pour themselves a glass of wine as their consumption becomes more casual. It’s one aspect of the changing wine landscape in China, where a younger generation is opening bottles more often and daring to try new notes, tones and hints, armed with deep pockets, elaborate travel experiences and a greater appreciation for the grape.

Wine drinkers in China are becoming more daring to try new styles of wine with Millennials showing more interest in vino. /AFP photo‍

Daring drinkers

Chinese drinkers have been more open to put their taste buds to good use and embark on a journey to discover what tantalizes their palates.

They are "slowly finding their tastes with the frequency at which they are trying wine, which in turn are changing their palates,” Angqian Niu, chief wine consultant at Beijing-based wine import company Cheers Wines, told CGTN Digital.

Wine drinkers “used to like something a little sweet, a little fresh. But trying new flavors are making them go ‘hmm’. In general they are becoming more open-minded,” Niu added.

A new clientele of young wine lovers who are slowly but steadily turning a tradition of occasional and prestige-oriented wine consumption on its head is spearheading the new shift.

According to data from London-based market researcher Wine Intelligence, drinkers between 18 and 29 now make up the biggest age group in China – accounting for 37 percent of the upper-middle class urbanites with a flair for imported wine. These internationally minded, well-traveled and young customers are also emptying more bottles, on which they are spending more.

“There are huge numbers of Chinese Millennials coming back from the US, UK, EU, Australia, where wine is a very normal part of everyday culinary and social habits,” Matthew McFetridge, market manager for the Shanghai offices of Roque Fine Wines, told CGTN Digital.

They’re drinking for the mere experience of it, McFetridge noted.

“Consumers are becoming interested in drinking wine themselves because it’s fashionable, it’s a sign of social mobility, and plainly, it tastes good”.

Breaking with tradition drives consumption

Chinese are increasingly interested in buying wine for themselves rather others. /AFP Photo

There are an estimated 38 million wine drinkers in the country. But while they’re willing to upscale their purchases and tastes, they still lag behind their Western counterparts in terms of how many bottles they down.

At 1.34 liters per person per year, Chinese are no match to French oenophiles for example, where each person guzzles 47 liters per year on average, Niu noted. However, this is gradually evolving in part because wine consumption is becoming casual and personal, upending a gifting culture that has dominated the domestic scene for decades.

“We are getting clients who are looking to drink their wine. The previous trend to give gift wines was what got the wine craze going here,” McFetridge noted.

“In Shanghai for example, people drink wine with dinners with two or more people. Or they drink wine in bars with their friends or order it for home for their personal lives.”

Annual consumption per capita will inch up to 1.53 liters in China by 2020, Vinexpo predicts.

White wine? Why not!?

Red still reigns supreme, but white is picking up. /AFP Photo

The adjustment in demographics of wine consumers and the refinement of their tastes are reflected in what they’re picking off the shelves.

Red vino has long been king in the country, benefiting from the significance of its color in Chinese culture as a sign of prosperity. In 2014, China overtook France as the biggest consumer of red wine. But more drinkers in China are open to sampling white and bubbly wines.

In 2015, 51 percent of imported wine drinkers consumed white wine. Two years later, the figure stands at 56 percent according to Wine Intelligence.

They are also shying away from brand names in favor of the content of the bottles.

“At first, they would ask for brands that they haven’t tried but heard of. They would ask whether we have this specific name or that,” Niu noted, adding that his customers are now more interested in what flavor is more compatible with their palates.

They shun “tannic, bitter and high acidic” he said, noting that fruity characteristics grab their attention.

Uptick in imports

Wines from Chile, Australia and New Zealand are enjoying big demand in China thanks to free trade agreements. /AFP Photo

The appeal of domestic wines remains unchallenged in China, mainly because of their flavor profiles that suit the Chinese appetite and the general fixation of consumers on red wines, especially Bordeaux, which accounts for the most of homegrown vino. A June 2017 report by market researcher Nielsen shows that among the Top 100 best-selling wines in China last year, 65 percent of brands were produced locally, while only 35 percent came from abroad.

China is already the fourth-largest importer of wine in the world and growing. In the period extending between 2011 and 2017, the number of Chinese drinkers purchasing imported went from 19 million to 48 million.

“French wine still reigns supreme, but we are seeing a big uptick in wines from Italy and Australia,” McFetridge noted. In fact, China is the top destination for wines from the Land Down Under, with exports growing 44 percent in 2016-2017 thanks to a free trade deal inked between the two countries in 2015.

Niu agrees tastes are diversifying. The bestsellers at Cheers Wines are those from France followed by Italy and Spain. The oldest country to make wine Georgia, which was little known on the global map, is now pushing its way through the competition in China, he added.

Consumption of wine China no longer requires big occasions. /AFP Photo

In the nation of beer and baijiu, a transparent liquor that packs a punch thanks to its high alcohol content, drinkers are salivating for vino. Their thirst for the grape is bringing bottles of the booze to their dining tables and a change to the behavior of the market, which is expected to be valued at a staggering 21.7 billion US dollars by 2020 – an increase of 39.8 percent from 2016.

Personal consumption is gradually weaning consumers off the idea that wine is best served in big lavish occasions –and McFetridge believes companies looking to fill their coffers with cash should take note.

“We are seeing this, and it’s slow, but I think the J-curve of exponential growth (in everyday consumption) is just about to start — which from some wine producers’ perspective sounds like a giant slurping noise and China drinking the world’s great estates dry. Other producers, however, don’t hear a slurping noise, they see dollar signs!”