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California wineries eyeing China’s wine market
A delegation of 60 California wineries were exhibited in Wine Institute’s California Pavilion at the first ProWine China 2013 Trade Fair at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre last week.
The wineries represent 110 brands and 32 American viticultural areas and regional associations. Napa Valley, Paso Robles and Santa Barbara wine regions are displayed in Wine Institute’s Pavilion, according to the Napa Valley Register.
China is the fifth-largest market for California wine exports. Exports of US wine to China rose by 18% in 2012, to US$74m, and California accounts for around 90% of US wine exports to most major markets.
Linsey Gallagher, Wine Institute vice president of international marketing, said: “Despite the austerity measures, China remains one of the world’s fastest-growing wine markets, and we are continuing to invest in our California wines awareness program and a full slate of category building efforts.”
Gallagher believes there are 19m people who can afford to drink wine in China, with around 45% of them living in Shanghai. That number may seem relatively low versus the country’s 1.3bn population, “but, four years ago, it was 12m people”, she added.
And many California wineries are looking to make up for lost time in China.
Diane Long, executive director of the California-China office of trade and investment told the Register: “France has been here 20 years, but we’ve only come to the market recently.”