What Wines Do the Modern Chinese Really Like?

Do they only buy what they enjoy the taste of, or are there other factors weighing in. What motivates or discourages the Chinese from a wine order.

Anthony Ching: Most Chinese are not well informed about the difference types of wines. Like the Japanese, they have been brain washed to be very brand status conscious as a result of years of successful heavy marketing by Remy Martin and Johnny Walker that there are only one or two labels that are the best and thus are expensive. French wines are considered superior to American, Australian and Chilean wines because it came from France. Yet, they have never heard of Chateau Lafite Rothchild and can’t tell the difference drinking bad wines with French label and good wines from other countries. Thus French wines are ridiculously over priced compared to better wines from other countries simply because they have French labels and Chinese can’t read French. So if you want to make easy money in China selling wines, buy not so good year vintage wine cheap in France or private label cheap bulk table wine from France and priced it below the currently high priced French wine price range to the less costly American and Australian wines. It’s like selling no name Swiss watch to the masses. Remember the business cliche that there are a billion plus people in China and you only need to sell one. Status aside, Chinese like sweet desert wines because they don’t have a developed sophisticated taste for wines with complex and full body taste.

Juan Campos: I agree with you 100%.

liming zhang: Chinese are drinking more and more wines, and some bought wine cellars in Europe, Australia, and US. they like the famous brand wines and also like their local productions.
at the Tier 1 cities, the people have taste as the internationals and the middle class pursue to high quality wine.

Pearl Law 罗惠明: Beside chocolate, cheese and cold cut, maybe some traditional Chinese foods as moon cake, dumplings… Etc could be considered for pairing during wine tasting.

It is a very interesting question. Since the red and white wines are quite new to the Chinese culture. The pairing with Chinese foods still needs years to develop. There is one common concept among the Chinese market is only the expensive wines are good and less concerning about the tasting notes. I guess there are still years to go for the wine appreciation education until it becomes mature. The dessert wines as the ice wine that are easy for everyone’s and Riesling that hardly goes wrong with Chinese foods are quite popular. Also, wines from the Bordeaux region are the most recognizable.

Salome Hernandez: I distribute US wines, for a number of American Wine Import Asso. members. It is true US wines fight against the name recognition of the French wines, yet they are as good, if not better. See the real life event and movie about a 1976 competition, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_of_Paris_(wine), where the US wines were surprise winners. Also, look at what country wins international competitions.

Peter Griffin: The harvest of the 2013 vintage in Languedoc-Roussillon is very good both in quality and quantity.
The grapes are ready in the vats, and they remain to be turned into wines, very complex alchemy.
The wine in the vats will start its transformation process, and meanwhile, the harvest of 2012 vintage will be put into bottles in order to make room for the new one.

This year, about 13 million hectoliters of wines are harvested in Languedoc-Roussillon, slightly more than the 12.7 million of last year, while the harvests of Bordeaux and Burgundy have decreased significantly.