China has a taste for Oregon wine

HANGZHOU, China, -- You most likely own a few things that sport the "Made in China" label, but it turns out China actually likes buying from the U.S.

One Oregon industry is growing because of it.

China is known for its jade, silk and tea, and now it hopes to break into the wine market.  But what's even more interesting is what it's importing from western Oregon.

"China is just such a major market," said Don Fassett, Silvan Ridge Sales Manager.

From green tea to dumplings, the Chinese have a distinct taste.

"We're all happy to see that the Asian market is starting to come around," Fassett said.

But what they like seems to be changing.  The growing Chinese middle class has developed a thirst for Oregon wine.

"The Chinese wine consumer, they've only been working on wine for about ten years over there, and there are probably between 15 to 20 Oregon wineries that have their products in the country," Fassett said.

And that includes Eugene's Silvan Ridge.

"We've been doing some of that sparkling muscat and also some of the bigger reds," said Jonathan Oberlander, Silvan Ridge wine maker.

Oberlander has been making wine at Silvan Ridge Winery for seven years.

He's seen tremendous growth in Oregon's wine market.

"The number of wineries is growing exponentially every year," Oberlander said.  "It's really exploding.  We're kind of coming into our own.  A lot of people refer to Oregon right now as Napa in the 1970s."

Silvan Ridge started exporting to China two years ago.

Before that, the only country they exported to was Canada. 

Last year, they exported between 440 to 560 cases of wine to China.

"Many companies are trying to get their goods into the country, and it's a real task because they're in the beginning stages of development label approval.  Trying to get their products through customs is a real challenge," Fassett said.

It's a a challenge for people like Paul Swenson, who works on behalf of Business Oregon to cut the red tape in Red China and helps small-to-medium companies get their products past a vast Chinese bureaucracy.

Despite the homegrown obstacles, he says China has the fastest-growing consumer retail market in the world.

"You have a tremendously large consumer market.  You have a tremendously large market of individuals who are looking for U.S. products," Swenson said.

And it turns out China is Oregon's leading export destination.

Every year it's buying our lumber, our machinery, and our Intel.

So it seems natural that Oregon wines would find a place on their huge consumer menu.

"They drink a lot of tea. Tea has a lot of tannin, so do those big reds. It's a natural kind of progression," Oberlander said.

But the taste isn't the only reason the increasingly wealthy Chinese are buying Oregon wines.

"They're not necessarily planning on opening it, they want to show it, so it's really kind of a status symbol, that this person has got some wine from America," Fassett said.

Whether they're drinking it or showing it off, Fassett says, "It's great for the economy and especially the Oregon wine business."

Tea is one of China's main commodities and maybe one day wine will be too.