Asian women love their reds

WOMEN across Asia have very different reasons for drinking wine, according to a new survey, but there is one thing they all have in common. They love a drop of red more than anything else.

Organisers of the Wine Expo in Hongkong decided to delve into the wine-drinking habits of women from the region. Their survey showed 84% of Chinese women preferred red wine to white, and that 62% of women from Hongkong did much the same.

According to a Vinexpo press release this is the "complete reverse’’ of the situation when wine consumption first took off in both northern Europe and the United States several decades ago.

Vinexpo’s survey polled 2,810 women from China, Hongkong, Japan and south Korea "in order to identify what they have in common and what differences there are depending on where they live."

In Japan – considered the most mature wine market in Asia – 42% of women surveyed said they drank wine more than twice a week, while on average, the figure from the other countries came in at around 25%. And 86% of all the women believe that drinking wine helps maintain a balanced diet.

Taste, meanwhile, was the main reason 92% of Japanese women chose wine and 74% of Korean, while 66% of Japanese women and 46% of those from Hongkong choose a drop because they believe it goes well with food.

"While price and the taste is a factor, it appears that Asian women choose their wine based on their own tastes and preferences and not what is currently fashionable," said Robert Beynat, chief executive of Vinexpo. – AFP-Relaxnews