100 Bordeaux wines most suitable for Chinese announced

Le Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB) held 2010 everyday Bordeaux press conference on April 15 in Beijing. 100 Bordeaux wines most suitable for Chinese were announced on the event. 

The 100 Bordeaux wines most suitable for Chinese was selected by blind tasting of four Chinese wine judge, including Li Demei from China Agricultural University, renowned wine expert Zhao Fan, famous sommelier and wine expert Tian Yan Dong, professional tasters Qu RiJing. They tasted 393 wines from 34 Bordeaux AOC wine region, including 85 dry red, 9 dry white and 6 sweet white, the retail price ranging from RMB100 to 350. Dry white and sweet white wines accounted for 20% of the total list, a proportion just in accordance with Chinese drinking habit.

China has become the biggest export market for Bordeaux wines outside the European Union as overall exports have collapsed due to the economic crisis and a strong euro put some wines beyond US and British buyers.

In 2009, China bought 13.7 million litres for 74 million euros (￡67 million), overtaking the United States, which took 11.6 million litres for 139 million euros. Japan came third, with the same volume as the United States.

Hong Kong is counted as a separate market, where 4.2 million litres were sold for 109 million euros.