Canadian icewine taps into China wine market

With top French wines fetching record-breaking prices, Canadian wineries are trying the sell their liquid gold in hopes of cracking an emerging market.

Last month，Clausen showcased his selection of red wine at a consumer trade show in the port city of Ningbo, about a three-hour drive from Shanghai.

With a translator by his side, Clausen mingled his way through the crowd, telling his story about hitting the jackpot at noon and catching the red eye to harvest grapes the next morning. The charm offensive proved successful. Aces' 1,000-bottle shipment was sold out by midday.

It was Clausen's first visit to China, and he suggests it will be the first of many.

Re-orders came in 12-fold for his poker-chip designed bottles, which are selling for between $30 and $102 in China; a 30-per-cent mark-up from the retail price in Canada.

Clausen said he's received calls in the past from Chinese companies, but none was the right fit until Vancouverbased export and import company Pomer knocked on his door.

Pomer's parent company, Mascube, is based in Ningbo, a mid-size city known to be part of the ancient Silk Road and one of the fastest-growing income areas in China. Mascube recently launched Hoy Import Mart, a membersonly wholesale club where business owners and clients pay as much as 50,000 RMB ($7,340 Canadian) for their registration shopping cards.

But tapping into the Chinese market is not that easy. Most drinkers still reach for domestic wines. Greg Berti, from Peller Estates in Ontario's Niagara region, says about 28 million people in China buy imports.

With no distribution channels in place, setting up shop can be difficult for newcomers.

Canada's icewine - a favourite in Asia - could end up being the golden ticket into the Chinese market for this country's vintners.A bottle of Inniskillin's icewine sells for $140 to $200 in China.

According to a report from Agri-Food Canada, Canada exported $8.6 million of icewine to China in 2009, and it remains the top export destination for the Canadian specialty.

The young wine market - with its inexperienced Chinese palates and growing disposable income - has created the perfect formula for Canadian winemakers.