01.12.2020

International Wine and Spirits Fair concluded on November 21, with 200 producers and importers and 3,000-plus trade visitors, including buyers, associations and media from across China, joining the two-day show. Preparations now start in earnest for the next Wine to Asia, June 8 to 10 in Shenzhen.

Wine to Asia is the only international and professional wine and spirits trade show in the Greater Bay Area. The data from visitor registration reveals that the show attracted not only local trade visitors but also many from Shanghai, Beijing, Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangxi, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Hunan, Shandong and Hubei.

Barometer of China’s wine market Wine to Asia's mission is to monitor market realities and trends in order to create the best platform for global exhibitors and professional visitors to meet and do business.

“A trade show has to represent the current market and new trends,” said Simone Incontro, brand manager of Wine to Asia, which featured two industry forums. 12 sold-out masterclasses and highlights like the Living Wine Area, which drew on growing interest in natural wine. There were also pavilions and delegations from DOCa Rioja, Wines of Chile, the Italian Trade Agency and Huailai County.

Living Wine: Only for Natural Wine One year in the making, the Living Wine area featured natural wines, led by ZIRAN, the top natural wine association in China, and many well-known natural wine importers. There were nearly 100 wines from more than 30 wineries, including from France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and China. Nearby, DOCa Rioja, among the world’s premier wine regions, had a pavilion representing over 40 producers.

“Rioja represents 40% of the total wine export value of Spain,” said Jose Chicot, director of DOCa Rioja China Communications Agency. "In our 8 years of promotion in China, we have always emphasized the good image of Rioja, so we chose Wine to Asia, a good trade show with an international perspective.” Chicot said southern China needed a trade fair like Wine to Asia.

The 11 winery-strong Wines of Chile delegation included a focus on sparkling wine. “Wines of Chile created a booth named Espumante Chile, aiming to introduce and promote Chilean sparkling wine to the Chinese market through Wine to Asia,” said Nicolai Samsing, Wine of Chile’s Asia director. Samsing said he got satisfactory feedback from participating wineries.

Meanwhile, with support from the Italian Trade Agency, 76 Italian wineries and associations created a pavilion alongside 8 Italian exhibitors attending independently. “In recent years, Italy's wine exports to China have continued to grow, but there is still huge potential in the Chinese market to explore.” said Cecilia Costantino, trade commissioner for the Italian Trade Commission’s Guangzhou office. She pledged support for the Wine to Asia show in June. And with more interest in Chinese fine wine, and local labels increasingly seen in distributor portfolios, the show had a China area with leading wineries from regions like Huailai, Penglai and Shanxi. Richard Li, CEO of Canaan and Domaine Franco-Chinois wineries in Huailai, said he was very pleased with the enthusiasm of the visitors and level of wine awareness at the show. Li expressed confidence in the market and said he looked forward to continuing to work with Wine to Asia. 

Forums, Masterclasses, Grand Tastings

Wine to Asia’s masterclasses and grand tastings sold out during the two-day show, with sessions led by Wines of Chile, DOCa Rioja, Consorzio Franciacorta, Wines of Germany, Orange Wine Festival from Slovenia, Associazione Italiana Sommelier Guangzhou Club andWorld Marselan Day. Twelve highly qualified lecturers presented the masterclasses.

This year, Wine to Asia also reached a partnership with WINWSA 2020, the Women in Wine & Spirits Award, which includes a scholarship for a female wine educator. WINWA organized two forums, one on corporate social responsibility and one on consumer trends and market insights.

The forum included winery, e-commerce, education and data monitoring leaders. Including Kathie Wang (VP, PR and Communications, Pernod Richard China), Lizhong Chen (owner, Tiansai Winery), Maria Zhang (vineyard manager, DFC and Canaan wineries), Michelle Liu (founder, WINWSA), Fongyee Walker (co-founder, Dragon Phoenix Wine Consulting, MW), Shanyue Han (deputy director, Shanghai FMCG Monitoring), David Liu (principal, Wine Academy, JD University) and Chaoyang Shao (founder, 9 Kacha). The forum attracted a total of 200 attendees. “We are delighted that Wine to Asia was held as scheduled and grateful for the excellent communication platform it provides for the industry,” said Michelle Liu, WINWSA founder. “The epidemic in 2020 is a challenge to the alcohol industry. In the future, the rise of Chinese wine will be a hot topic, and the market will be more segmented and diversified.” 

Wine to Asia 2021

Wine to Asia will monitor these and other pressing issues in the fast-changing global and China wine markets, which present both many challenges and opportunities for the trade. Wine to Asia 2021 will be held June 8 to 10 at Shenzhen World Convention & Exhibition Center simultaneously with Marca China International Private Label Fair, by Bologna Exhibition (Shanghai), a subsidiary of Bologna Exhibition Group of Italy. December marks the start of full preparations for both Wine to Asia and Marca China for the 2021 shows. For more information, please visit www.wine2asia.net or follow Wine to Asia official