Domestic vintages have tough row to hoe

Chinese wine producer Dynasty's booth during Vinexpo Asia Pacific in Hong Kong on May 27. Provided to China Daily

China's makers of merlot and chardonnay have found success at home but have struggled to convince consumers overseas that their vintages can compete with offerings from more established wine nations.

Booths for Chinese vintners displaying bottles of red, white and sparkling wines drew crowds at last week's Vinexpo Asia Pacific in Hong Kong.

But traders at the fair, the largest wine and spirits event of its kind in Asia, say the domestic popularity of the wines does not translate to success in overseas markets.

"The appetite for 'made in China' wines outside China is very limited. If you think about wine, China would not be the place that comes to mind," said Judy Chan, representative of one of a handful of China-based wineries exhibiting at the three-day trade show.

"We really only sell domestically," said Chan, who works for Grace Vineyard, which operates an estate of some 300 hectares of wine production facilities in the northern inland provinces of Shanxi and Ningxia.

Like other exhibitors at the event, Chan believes that a spate of Chinese food safety scandals have discouraged international buyers from purchasing the country's wines. "We have all these problems with our food," she said.

Public concern about food safety is high in China. In 2008, six babies died, and 300,000 others fell ill in a massive scandal involving contaminated milk powder.

"We don't spend too much effort on the overseas market. Their market is mature; we are at an embryonic stage," said Lu Wen, production director for China's Dynasty Fine Wines Group.

"There may be demand from the overseas Chinese population, but we just can't really reach the masses abroad," he said, explaining that 99 percent of the firm's wines are sold domestically.

But Lu added the domestic market is "big enough" for the company to grow, with wines priced below 40 yuan ($6.40) a bottle - compared with the 50 percent duties levied on foreign imports - play a key role in local wine's domination in China. More than 80 percent of all wine consumed in China is made domestically, according to Vinexpo.

Dynasty's financial controller Rex Yeung said culture also plays a part in the popularity of Chinese wine.

"Other than Lafite, many (Chinese customers) just can't pronounce the names (of foreign wines)," he said.

Chinese become world's top tipplers of red wine	Wine growers go online to boost sales