China Wine News Interview with California Wine Institute
By Frida Xu 2012-3-13 15:58:51
China Wine News: In 2011, the California Wine Institute set up a new representative office in China. At the same time, California wine was flooding into the China market and tasting events aiming to pair California wine with Chinese food were being organized in many Chinese cities. What’s your opinion of the Chinese market?
Eric F. Pope：The Chinese market is undoubtedly the largest growth market for wine anywhere in the world and we are very optimistic about the future growth prospects for California wines in China. Wine is a very popular and aspirational product and the burgeoning middle class in China has adopted wine as a beverage of choice. As a result, the wine markets in second and third-tier cities in China now afford strong growth opportunities for imported wine. The Chinese wine market can no longer be characterized only by Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, but also by large second-tier markets such as, Chengdu, Wuhan, ChonqQing and Shenzhen, to name a few examples.
China Wine News: How will California Wine Institute and its members exploit the Chinese market? As for marketing and promotion in China, what specific marketing activities will be organized in the future?
Eric F. Pope：We are currently approaching the Chinese with three main objectives: 1. First and foremost, to grow awareness levels for California wines; 2. To support those California wines currently in the market; 3. To support the market-access objectives of California wineries seeking to enter the Chinese market. To achieve these objectives, we execute a wide variety of promotional activities, including awareness-building advertising and advertorial campaigns, trade missions for California wineries, media and trade trips to California, educational seminars for Chinese media and trade, retail and on-premise promotions and consumer tastings.
China Wine News: The biggest challenge facing imported wines is how to adapt to the Chinese wine consuming culture which is very different from the West. What do you think overseas wine producers should do to integrate their brands into local wine and food culture?
Eric F. Pope：The food and wine culture in China is just beginning to take shape. To become more integrated into this culture, foreign wines must be able to show that wine does indeed pair well with the broad variety of Chinese regional cuisines. California wines are known around the world for their bold flavors and fruit-forwardness, characteristics that pair very well with Chinese food.
China Wine News: There are many problems in the Chinese imported wine market, for example poor quality, counterfeit products, over-pricing, etc, What do you think of these phenomena unique to China?
Eric F. Pope：The “problems” you present about the Chinese market can also be found to some extent in other emerging wine markets, not just in China. However, due to China’s large size and importance in the global wine market, they have perhaps become amplified over time.
China Wine News: Since the Lafite bubble burst, its price has fallen 35% since Chinese New Year. Chinese demand for Lafite and other prestige imported wines softened and speculative investment in fine wine cooled down. What’s your opinion of this development?
Eric F. Pope：Young, relatively-undeveloped markets often exhibit significant erratic, and perhaps unexpectred, shifts in demand. There are also myriad of sub-currents going on in the Chinese wine market and this is certainly one of them. I expect this type of behavior to continue and, as awareness levels increase, California wines will become increasingly popular in China.
China Wine News: At present, China is the world's sixth largest wine producing country and the world's third largest wine importing country. China's local wine producers, such as Changyu and Great Wall, are all undertaking vigorous developments. What do you think of the competitive situation between local and imported wine and how will it play out in the future?
Eric F. Pope：The Chinese wine market continues to be dominated by the big four Chinese brands – Changyu, Great Wall, Dragon Seal and Dynasty. As market development continues and the Chinese consumer base for wines increases, we could see the some small declines in imported wine’s share of the Chinese market. However, it is unlikely that the Chinese market will not continue to be dominated by local brands anytime soon.
Eric F. Pope:
Regional Director, Emerging Markets
California Wine Institute
From cnwinenews.com