Argentina targets Chinese oenophiles

On a sunny Thursday, just around the Malbec World Day on April 17, Jevgenils Suscinskis, regional director of EMEA/APAC region at Bodega Achaval-Ferrer, sprang a surprise on oenophiles in Shanghai. He brought bottles of Argentina's world famous Achaval Ferrer wines for tasting, to celebrate their launch in China.

Suscinskis said he has ample confidence the affordable wine, considered among the finest of Argentina, will be welcomed by China's seasoned consumers, given its value-for-money proposition. Some of Achaval Ferrer wines sell for more than 1,000 yuan ($153.8) per bottle.

What he is not certain about, however, is which among the aged wines, the ones with higher tannin and the younger ones would sell the most in China.

"Tasting wine is an extremely personal experience, so you really need to rely on your own judgement. And drinking it is the only way to tell if you like it," said Suscinskis.

Supplies of the famed wine to China are limited, so only higher-end Chinese consumers may get to savor it. It will be sold to fine dining restaurants, fine wine importers, and to private clients.

Achaval Ferrer and some vineyards have been trying to change the notion that Argentina is a source of inexpensive wines with jammy taste. They have been growing the Malbec, a premium purple grape variety used to make red wine, taking advantage of some of the country's geographical features like high altitude, the right type of soil and availability of high-quality water from the Andes mountain range.

For vineyards, stony, sandy and relatively infertile soil, like the one in Argentina's Mendoza region, is considered better because such conditions encourage vines to grow stronger. Vines have to work hard and absorb nutrition. In fertile soil, they get "spoilt" and grow "lazy" and weak, vineyard experts said.

Bodega Achaval Ferrer is not the only Argentine vineyard that is seeking to reach out to Chinese consumers. Other wine makers too are targeting China, which has become one of Argentina's top 10 wine export destinations.

In 2015, Argentina exported $19.98 million worth of wine to China, up from $9.09 million in 2010.

"The potential for Argentina's wines in China is great considering that China has 20 million frequent wine consumers. Their number is expanding fast. If each consumer spends 100 yuan on Argentina's wines each year, the market size will be 100 times its current number," said Mao Yufen, a Xi'an-based wine trader with Qin An Wine Trade Co Ltd.

As Chinese consumers become more wine-savvy, they will likely buy more quality products. In this context, Argentina's wines will likely stand a good chance to gain market share because they are considered affordable quality products, said Mao.

In recent years, New World wine regions have been increasingly popular among Chinese consumers as they get to know more about the culture and heritage of the countries concerned, such as Chile, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Some wine consumers have even visited these regions.

"In January 2015, I was in Argentina for the first time for a business trip, and was deeply amazed by the wines produced in Mendoza. When I returned to China, I became a frequent drinker of Argentina's wines," said Yang Peng, a Shanghai-based food importer.