Italian wine in China: the keyword is the future. Double interview with Bill Liu and Christina Li, the Chinese Wine Educators who talk about increasingly well-informed consumers and an expanding market

Shenzhen, 26 February 2022. The Wine to Asia team and Veronafiere China are promoting the 54th edition of Vinitaly during an event set in an exceptional location. The programme includes tastings of wine from Greece. San Marino and Italy. We met Bill Liu and Christina Wan Yi Li, two of the leading wine experts in southern China, during their guided tasting and asked them a number of questions about the market for Italian wine in China. Apparently, the future of the market lies in the impressive complexity that Italian wine can boast around world and the education of increasingly well-informed consumers. How is consumption of Italian wine changing in China? Bill: Consumption of Italian wine in China is growing significantly. In the past, most consumers were familiar with the ABBBC concept (Amarone, Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello and Chianti), whereas now they are highly motivated to experiment with different regions and styles. It is interesting to note that the market no longer focuses only on Italian reds, the mainstays of the Chinese market, so that Prosecco and Asti are also achieving significant growth and the freshness of white wines is gaining appeal. Christina: Italian wine in China has seen an upward trend over the past year. Following changes in Australia's trade policies towards China, many importers of Australian fine wines have begun looking for alternatives from other wine producing countries. Italian and Australian wines have a lot in common given the presence of boutique wines, family-run businesses and diversified product types. Which generations appreciate Italian wine the most and which wine is most popular? Bill: Italian wine attracts admirers from all generations. It seems that each generation has its own special favourites: over-40s prefer the great classics such as Amarone, Barolo, Barbaresco and Brunello, and consequently a style characterized by structure and body. Younger generations appreciate the elegance, the identity of the terroir of origin and some of them prefer natural wines. Orange Wines from Friuli and Etna are popular among the younger generation in wine bars and restaurants. Young female wine lovers prefer light wines such as Moscato d'Asti and Prosecco, especially when approaching the world of wine for the first time. Christina: I don't think there are specific generational groups as such. For example, younger people start with Moscato d'Asti but wine lovers over 35 years of age, while still rather young, are very fond of Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino and other complex wines, or historic Italian wine vintages. Do Chinese consumers prefer big brands or are they beginning to extend their knowledge of niche wines? Are they curious about different wines? Bill: older generations still have a preference for the big wine brands, especially if wines is enjoyed on business occasions. Younger generations, on the other hand, are hugely curious about niche wines and wine regions that are not well known on the Chinese market, such as Italian natural wines, the favourite among natural consumers in China. Christina: It depends. High-end consumers are extremely well-informed about certain major wine brands, which is why they have an advantage when approaching niche products. Third or fourth tier consumers, on the other hand, still have a vague idea of the concept of "wine", and it may be easier for some of the bigger brands to win their trust. Nevertheless, I would like to share an interesting phenomenon highlighted by market experiments: we take for granted that consumers still struggle to accept certain niche products such as native varieties, especially when they are not very popular on the market and there is not enough consumer education. Nonetheless, many wines from made from native grape varieties and niche products from Italy sell well. The reason is that consumers pay more attention to the taste and quality of the wine itself, even if it is difficult to understand, rather than give preference to famous winemaking regions. What are the trends for wine on the Chinese market? Bill: 1) Consumer groups are increasingly represented by the younger generation 2) More and more people are willing to order and drink wines in restaurants and wine bars, especially top-end venues in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. 3) Growing attention for niche wines, especially natural, organic and biodynamic products. Christina: preferences range from large quantities of cheaper wines to those with relatively high price tags and better quality. Younger generations are beginning to prefer wines with low alcohol content and products recognized by the public as innovative. What changes has Covid brought about? Bill: Online events and virtual tastings have become increasingly popular. Wine lovers taking part purchase the set in advance and then enjoy the virtual guided tasting. When people choose to attend an event in person and not online, they tend to give priority to events where the protagonists are top quality, great wines, indirectly highlighting the need for quality-oriented events. Sales of fine wines have actually increased. Many people usually drink or buy this type of product when they go abroad but, now that borders are closed, they spend that budget on the domestic market. Christina: in 2020, Covid had only just begun and the market had not yet changed all that much. By 2021, we all began to realize that Covid was not going to pass off quickly and the wine market began to reorganize itself. We are all much more cautious. There were few supplies of high-priced cult wines, especially Burgundy, while low-priced wines continued to lose ground. How do you see the future of Italian wine in China? Bill: The future is very promising. Interest among collectors in top-flight producers will grow. Entry level sparkling wines and white wines in general will enjoy extraordinary space on the market. If we invest continuously in education and marketing campaigns, Italian wines are more than likely to be assured a bright future! Christina: I am still very optimistic over the prospects for Italian wine in China. Thanks to the large number of varietal vines and biodiversity, be they senior enthusiasts, experts or ordinary consumers, Italian wines will ensure great satisfaction for all kinds of consumer. Furthermore, Italy has a long history of wine production, a rich cultural background and enormous efforts made by promoters such as Vinitaly which can contribute to the long-term development of Italian wine culture and consumption in China. Bill Liu Bill lives in Shenzhen where he is Chief Education Director of Grappa & Co. WSET Level 4 graduate, he is an educator at WSET, New Zealand Wines, Rioja Wines. He was awarded the prestigious French Wine Scholar Highest Honour and boasts professional experience with Chateau Margaux and the Christie's Fine Wines auction house. He has been a champion of blind tastings in Shenzhen contests and a judge for numerous competitions (Golden Bottle Award and G100 Wine Competition, RVF China Blind Tasting Tournament). He works as a freelance writer for trade magazines and Content creator for Social Media. He is an international consultant for several high-end restaurants. He joined the Wine to Asia Project Management team in May 2021. Christina Li Christina earned her MBA degree at the Burgundy School of Business, for which she is a Media Ambassador. She has a WSET Diploma Certificate and is among the 50 Swiss Wine Ambassador Awards in China and Swiss Santis-Malt Whiskey Ambassador. A well-known lifestyle blogger and journalist in the wine sector, she is the curator of the “Wine Lee Talk” channel. She writes specialist articles about wine and during her travels interviews the producers in the most important wine areas in the world. Christina has the gift of anticipating wine consumption trends on the world market and educating people who follow her channels about wine consumption, sharing new and different wines and interesting stories.