Time, connections, and money needed to harvest China market potential

''I think there is a huge opportunity for Australian wineries in China but it comes at a high risk,'' says Lucy Anderson, Wine Australia's director for Asia.

 

She describes the Chinese market as being ''on the cusp'' and says it is important for Australian wines to build the right image and position - a sentiment echoed by others in the industry.

 

The dynamics are very different to western nations and it is changing rapidly as a growing cultural sophistication, and adoption of western tastes, spreads from the traditional high ground of Beijing and Shanghai to regional hubs such as Wuhan and Chongqing.

 

Time, connections, and money, are needed to harvest this potential market of a billion imbibers.

 

Despite a history of viticulture stretching back thousands of years, China's relation to wine is very different to that of your average Aussie, yank or Brit.

 

 

But the market is changing rapidly and Australia needs to get its branding and marketing in order to chase the growing westernised tastes of China's new middle class who threaten to become the sort of wine consumer more recognisable to a western consumer.

 

''The emerging middle-class - predominantly consumers in their 20s and 30s - present a significant opportunity for Australian wine sales,'' says Anderson.

 

''This is where we need to work together as a wine community to target these opportunities and successfully position Australia as a producer of aspirational, high-quality, excellent value wines.''