Italian wine plans to top up its market share in China

Imports have huge potential to grow, as tastes and knowledge expand among young, urban generation

When Milan hosted the universal exposition in 2015, it spoke to the world in renaissance style - by painting vineyard frescoes on the dome of the first ever wine pavilion - to proclaim that Italy is "the country of wines".

The same words in the Chinese language were also proudly displayed on the dome.

"Italian wine is committed to investing in China," said Stevie Kim, managing director of Vinitaly International, an Italian educational initiative that coordinated the VINO pavilion at Milan's Expo 2015.

With about 57 percent of its 1.37 billion population living in cities and townships last year, and that number growing continually, China imported 22 percent more wine year-on-year in 2016, totaling $2 billion, according to official figures.

Italian wines have been watching this expanding and competitive market closely.

Recently, Michele Scannavini, president of the Italian Trade Agency, announced that the government will invest 20 million euros ($21.1 million) in Italian wine promotion and communication in the United States, as well as plans for investing an equal degree of effort into developing the "Made in Italy" brand in the Chinese market.

To win over Chinese consumers that traditionally favor domestic liquors, Vinitaly International has adopted a series of measures, including organizing roadshows in Chinese cities, introducing a certification course for wines and "aggressively teaching and disseminating Italian wine educators" to promote its wines in China.

Kim said the move was driven not only by the large scale of the Chinese market, but also its potential.

Compared to the US market, where Italian products account for a third of wine imports, that figure stood at a mere 5 percent in China.

Against this background and to appeal specifically to the Chinese, the entire VINO pavilion was captured in three languages, Italian, English and Simplified Chinese. "(Using) English embraced the largest market for the Italian wines and Chinese expressed the next potential market," said Kim.

Li Yangang, a candidate for Master of Wine and an Italian wine expert said: "Italian wines have a vast variety and unique features, but the majority of Chinese palates have not accepted this new taste yet."

But he agreed Italian wineries could have profound potential in China with appropriate marketing strategies and wine selections.

"Italian drinks like prosecco and moscato have been gaining growing popularity among younger Chinese," Li said, adding that the next target of Italian wine was the young generation under 30 and women. "Those with better education and open minds will be more willing to accept the new taste as a lifestyle," said Li.

According to Vinitaly, Italian wines are full of diversity, with more than 500 grapes native to Italy, whereas the majority of French wine is produced from around 15 internationally famed grapes.

Italian viticulture has continued from the Roman era and is remarkably developed. In Roman times, Italian wines were made using wooden barrels and glass bottles, introducing the concept of vintage and aging.

"I am certain that as soon as the Chinese increase their wine knowledge, they are bound to fall in love with Italian culture, the Italian lifestyle and Italian wine," said Kim.

"Italian wine is very similar to Italian people: very complicated. However, the biodiversity is at it's best at every single price point".

Contact the writers at wanghuazhong@chinadaily.com.cn