Australian wine is finding its feet in China(1)
The opening of the Yabby Lake cellar door in Zengcheng.
MORE than a few Australian winemakers are heading to China, but Mornington winery Yabby Lake is tackling the market in a way that might just set a template for selling wine to our northern neighbours. Its point of difference is a Chinese cellar door.
In fact, Yabby Lake has opened three cellar doors, all in Guangdong province. Guangdong is the most populated province in China, with 95 million residents; its economy is bigger than Taiwan's, with private-sector investment running at nearly 50 per cent. It's wealthy and its populace has a relatively high disposable income. It must, therefore, need wine, desperately.
Yes and no, according to Yabby Lake's export manager Hugh Matthews. "We realised that a marketing plan in China would be more effective if we had a retail face," he says.
So rather than treading the usual path and supplying wine to a distributor in either China or Hong Kong, Yabby Lake has entered into a retail partnership with an agent, the WOHE Wine Company. The cellar doors they have opened in three of the province's biggest cities are a little bit like the wine-tasting and retail stores you see in airport concourses. "They are places where people can relax," says Matthews. "They are classy, neat and friendly, and the tastings are also associated with some printed material and a film we show about our winery."
Matthews thinks the approach is working, as sales have increased 80 per cent in the past 12 months. "We're very pleased with the result so far, but you have to be patient. China is a tough business market, and the Chinese approach takes time."
But if things are different on a business level, they are more different still when it comes to the reasons behind Chinese wine-buying decisions. Wine in China means red wine. There's really no conception of white wine. "Soft tannins are essential," says Matthews. "And you also have to understand that sometimes the person buying the wine is not going to drink the wine.''
By this enigmatic comment Matthews is alluding to ''face wine'', the subject of recent research by Dr Fang Liu, associate professor at the University of Western Australia's business school. Dr Fang, co-author of a paper published in January titled Chinese Attitudes Towards Australian Wine, says many new Chinese wine consumers are not really interested in the taste of the wine.
"Wine is now a trendy, image product. It is associated with elegance, wealth, style, sophistication," says the academic. "It is more a statement about the country of origin and how that reflects on you personally."
Dr Fang thinks this is the reason French wine is still the most popular in China and why Australian wine - while improving its position - is still considered second-tier.
"Chinese wine consumers think French culture is good, therefore the wine is good. Australia means good lobster and seafood.''
There are areas for Australian wine producers to exploit, however. Dr Fang is convinced that wine consumption will only grow in China - and significantly so. One report suggests that by 2025, China will boast 200 million middle-class households - the sorts of places where wine might be enjoyed. The fact that Australia can "play around with aspects of wine appreciation" is another area Dr Fang thinks can work well for our industry. But her real bugbear is labelling.
"Bilingual labelling is good; it enhances Chinese understanding. And what's wrong with using a really good Chinese name on the label? Australian names mean nothing to Chinese wine drinkers. And so many of the label colours are wrong. None of the Australian wine labels are really liked by the Chinese.''
Asked how a wine called "Black Dog Creek" might sell in China, Dr Fang replies: "You would not sell one bottle." And yet China beckons.
