“The Changing Palates of Chinese Connoisseurs”

After many century of baijiu toasting by the poets and revelers, drinking ritual in China has endowed with a new and indispensable role in social networking, according to Lin Jifu, professor of folklore at the Minzu University of China.
In the past, baijiu was the main alcohol served when Chinese are having celebrations, whether in the restaurants or at home. However, baiju is really a drink to go with food and drinking it alone would quickly intoxicate you. So, more and more, the younger consumers are switching to grape wines because it is viewed as sophisticated and healthy.
Nowadays, wine drinking can mean different thing for different people. For the nouveau riche, drinking and collecting wine is becoming the item of display, showing off their rising social status.
Wine bars proliferates in Shanghai where young professionals congregates after work to enjoy a bottle of the celebrated vintage. “There is a growing market for wine drinking in China in all dimensions and the trend of sophisticated consumption is part of it,” said Dominique Heriard-Dubreuil, chairwoman of Vinexpo Overseas.
Even in the countryside, “the symbol of good luck and happiness in the Chinese culture” has propelled red wine to be the preferred drink to be served in wedding banquets, said Wu Jianhua, head of the Shanghai Drinks Association.
To capture shares of the lucrative Chinese market, winemaker in Chateau Laffite Rothschild ships its 2008 vintage in bottles etched with an auspicious number “eight” in red, designed by Chinese artist Xu Lei.
Symbolism aside, red wine is also considered good for general health with many Chinese women wine drinkers talking about the benefit to their skin. A Vinexpo survey showed that 72 percent of Chinese women wine drinkers believed wine drinking is elegant and reflection of a healthy lifestyle.
Chinese wine drinkers do not generally like the acidity and tannins in red wine, preferring the lighter, less tannins, and fresher taste of white wine. In order to master the Chinese palate, some winemakers begin producing red wine with reduced level of tannins and acidity.
With 85 percent of wine and spirits consumed over a meal, according to Wu, how would the ascending connoisseurs choose between the wine and their favorite Chinese cuisine?
The spicy food from Sichuen will over power the delicate flavor of oak and tannins in red wine. “Don’t abuse” the spicy dish with a red, wrote Ch’ng Poh Tiong in his book “108 Great Chinese Dishes Paired”, instead “charm it with a medium-sweet white.” In general a lighter wine with less tannins would be more suitable to hot and spicy food. So try a bottle of “Demi-Sec Champagne, Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc.” They may work well with the sugar and spice in these dishes. However, if your heart is set on a red, Ch’ng suggests “a soft Shiraz, Zinfandel or Pinotage,” which can bring out its fruitiness to counter the heat.
Fastest Growing Consumer Trend
China is already the number one consumer of wine in Asia, imbibing over 899 million bottles in 2008 and is set to reach 1.26 billion bottles by 2013, predicted IWSR (International Wine and Spirit Research). However, in global standard it is still in its infancy with a per capital consumption of only 0.4 liters a year comparing with 50 liters for French, 25 liters for Australian and 15 liters for the Americans, according to AT Kearney the market research company. In 2010, CITADE (China International Alcoholic Drinks Industry Exhibition) had predicted that wine consumption would rise in dramatic speed in the next few years.
The State-owned China Resources expected red wine consumption would grow by 20 percent in the next five years. To Satisfy the growing thirst of Chinese connoisseurs the winemakers in China are looking to invest in more growing regions inside and outside of China.
The Hong Kong listed Dynasty Fine Wine is looking at vineyard acquisitions in France and Australia. The lack of suitable wine growing regions in China as well as different harvesting seasons has prompted the company to seek acquisitions abroad.
Hong Kong as a Wine Trading Hub
After Hong Kong’s return to China, the former colony became the gateway to selling grape wine to China. Although most of the wine consumed in China remains domestic the growth of import has been remarkable, growing more than 390 percent between 2005 and 2009.
Robert Cooper of the Enoteca Group of restaurants believes that Hong Kong is the big driving force for the wine culture in China.
Already, big auction houses such as Christie’s and Sotheby have established Hong Kong as the bastion for their fine wine auctions in Asia. With more than $15 million worth of French wine going under the hammer in 2010 Hong Kong has overtaken New York and London as the number one center for fine wine. The decision by the Hong Kong government to abolish the wine tax in 2008 has been a major driving force attracting buyers and sellers.
However, the atmosphere of the new market is decidedly different from the Europe and U.S. David Elswood of Christie’s said the attitude of the Chinese buyers are “I bought them, I drank them, I want some more”.