Asian wines make a splash

BANGKOK (dpa) — Wine has been a late bloomer in Asia, lagging behind more affordable means of imbibing such as beer and spirits, but with economic booms, rising prosperity and changing lifestyles, Asian wines are beginning to make a splash.

Japan’s winemakers have been at it longer than most. The first winemakers were sent to study viticulture in France shortly after the 1868 Meiji Restoration, but vineyards only took root there after World War II.

Using their own Koshu variety grapes, Japanese wines have been winning international awards and  good reviews from critics of late. “Overall, Japanese wines are the most consistent across the board, red and white, partly because they have been making serious quality wines for several decades, much longer than China and other Asian countries,’’ said Jeannie Cho Lee, author of Asian Palate:
Savoury Asian Cuisine and Wines and creator of the asianpalate.com website.

One drawback for Japanese wines is their expense, which means that while they might impress a few connoisseurs, especially Japanese, they will not make a real ripple on world market for affordable plonk.

To compete with the world’s major wine exporters such as Australia, Chile, France, and South Africa, one needs mass production and a reasonable price tag.

While no Asian country has reached that stage yet, one shouldn’t write off the continent just yet.

“China is really the country to look out for; in 10 years time, it’s going to be amazing to see,’’ Hong Kong-based Lee said. “It is definitely going to happen, but the first waves of exports are not going to be very high end.’’

China, per usual, has its sheer size going for it. China is the world’s number eight wine consumer with sales expected to reach 1.1 billion bottles next year. (With a population of 1.3 billion, that’s still less than a bottle per person.) In terms of production with 600 wineries in 2009, China ranks 10th worldwide.

Three state-run giants – Great Wall, Dynasty and Changyu – dominate about 80 per cent of the local market. Dynasty recently carried out an initial public offering in Hong Kong, hoping to raise funds to finance its move into exports.