Alibaba, Vinexpo to celebrate 2017 Wine and Spirits Festival

PARIS - China e-commerce giant Alibaba will celebrate wine and spirits festival day on Saturday in partnership with Vinexpo, the world's leading international wine and spirits exhibition, the French wine expo organizer said on Thursday.

"Vinexpo's participation in the "09/09" marks a new stage in the strategic partnership aimed at promoting domestic wine brands and producers in the heart of the Chinese market," it said in a statement.

With 100 selected brands, Vinexpo targets "to bring the best of French wine-growing know-how to a market of more than 460 million consumers and offering many opportunities," it added.

"We are delighted to share our expertise by guiding Chinese buyers during 9/9 through a selection of wines divided into three categories: wines of current consumption, wines to be served at friendly moments and wines for exceptional experience," said Guillaume Deglise, Vinexpo CEO.

In 2016, Alibaba created its first on-line wine and spirits festival day. It was offering, via e-marketplaces Tmall and Tmall Global, 100,000 references of wines and spirits from more than 50 different countries to Chinese consumers.