(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-03-05 09:23

"The problem is it is easy to find bad Chinese wines, and difficult to find the good ones, which are produced in small quantities," Boyce says. "Therefore foreigners' impressions of Chinese wines are usually not very good."

Boyce feels that in general, there is not a lot of knowledge about wines among Chinese people.

"But that is because there is not so much interest in wine, as the traditional drink here is white spirit," he says. "It is the same in the West about white spirit."

He expects the quality of local wines to improve, with huge rises in consumption, and more cooperation between Chinese and foreign wine makers.

Beer, white spirits and yellow rice wine are the top three alcoholic drinks consumed in China, according to Wang Zuming, general secretary of the Wine Branch Association of China Beverages Association.

The IWSR report says that Chinese people consumed 50.9 percent of all spirits drunk in Asia, and 23.9 percent in the world, in 2006. IWSR expects a 4.3 percent decrease in the consumption of local spirits between 2006-2011 in China, but a significant rise in imported spirits such as brandies and cognac.

Created in 1981, by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Vinexpo was held every odd-numbered year in Bordeaux, France. In 1998, Vinexpo was held for the first time outside France.

The organizers expect 7,000-8,000 major wine and spirits companies to offer displays of their products to professional visitors from 18 Asian-Pacific countries. But according to Robert Beynat, chief executive of Vinexpo Overseas, presently Dynasty, a Sino-French wine maker, will be the only Chinese wine company to attend the exhibition.

According to Vinexpo's press release, growing interest in the Asian markets naturally attracts wine and spirits companies from all over the world. All studies show that potential growth in the wine market in the next five years is strongest in Asia with more than 9 percent annual growth forecast, compared to a world average of 1 percent. That prompted the decision to hold Vinexpo in Hong Kong.

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