Vintners embrace China’s growing taste for New World wines

China's growing middle class finds new ways to fill the glass.

中国日渐兴起的中产阶级正极力寻找填满酒杯的新宠。

Wines from the New World－countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Chile－are growing a presence in the recovering market in China. Treasury Wine Estates, Australia's largest winemaker, is cashing in on the demand for good-value drinks in China.

来自澳大利亚、新西兰和智利等新世界的红酒正逐渐涌入复苏的中国市场。澳大利亚最大的葡萄酒集团，富邑葡萄酒集团正积极利用中国消费者对高品质葡萄酒的需求获利。

Robert Foye, TWE's managing director for Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, said the company expects to make its brand Wolf Blass the top imported wine by sales volume in China within five years.

富邑集团在亚洲、欧洲、中东、非洲及拉丁美洲的总经理罗伯特·福伊表示，希望在未来五年，该公司旗下的品牌禾富能成为中国销量领先的进口红酒。

Wine appreciation, he said, now marks the modern lifestyle of the growing middle class in China. "Awareness and demand for New World wines have definitely been on the rise in the past decade, which we expect to continue to grow in the coming time. In fact, we believe the love for wine has just begun in China."

他称，如今在中国葡萄酒鉴赏已成为越来越多中产阶级现代生活方式的标志。"过去十年，对新世界红酒的认识和需求显著提升，我们预计在未来仍将持续。事实上，中国消费者对红酒的热爱才刚刚开始。"

TWE has seven brands in China, including Wolf Blass, Penfolds and Beringer. Wolf Blass has recently announced a partnership with basketball league body NBA China, which will allow the company to reach more than 330 million potential wine consumers in the country.

在中国富邑集团推广了七大品牌，包括禾富、奔富和贝灵哲。禾富最近宣布与NBA中国开展合作，从而该公司在中国将赢得3.3亿潜在的葡萄酒消费者。

After significant decline in volume growth since 2012 due to the impact of the government's anti-extravagance campaign, the wine market is finally showing signs of recovery, especially with imports growing. Domestic brands are facing fierce competition in the mid-range, according to a report in October from Mintel Group Ltd., a United Kingdom-based consumption consultancy firm.

自2012年中国反腐倡廉运动以来，销量大幅减少。如今红酒市场出现复苏迹象，尤其进口逐步增长。据英国敏特集团10月份报告显示，中国国内中等价位的品牌正面临着激烈的竞争。

China is the world's largest wine-buying country. Double-digit growth marked imports in the past five years, according to industry data. After a sharp fall from 18.7 percent year-on-year growth rate in 2012 to 1.4 percent in 2014, volume growth in the wine market in China is estimated to bounce back to 4.6 percent in 2015, said Mintel.

中国是世界最大的葡萄酒购买国。据行业数据显示，过去五年进口呈两位数增长。敏特集团表示，中国红酒市场销量同比增速由2012年18.7%降至2014年1.4%，2015年预计将回升至4.6%。

Consumers in China are relatively open to new choices, said Foye. "They have high interest and curiosity in trying different wine products, so they are willing to try New World wines.

福伊表示，中国的消费者乐于尝试新品牌。"他们对尝试不同的葡萄酒品牌抱有极大的兴趣和好奇，因此他们愿意尝试新世界的葡萄酒"。

"Despite sales slowdown in very high-end wines, people have switched to products with a higher price-performance ratio but also of a reputable and consistent quality."

"尽管高端红酒销售放缓，消费者转向性价比高，信誉好且质量稳定的产品。"

Foye said the demand for imported New World wines is still extremely high and the local wine market is just beginning to tap the unharnessed potential.

福伊称，对新世界红酒进口的需求居高不下，本地的红酒市场也将开始挖掘潜力。

Carrie Huang, a management executive in Shanghai, said she buys 12 bottles of wine a month. She prefers wine from the New World. Its labels in English clearly explain the constitution of the wine and the taste. This, she said, helps her to select the wine of her choice.

上海一位高级管理人员卡丽·黄称，她每月买12瓶葡萄酒，且更青睐新世界的葡萄酒。英文商标清楚地介绍了葡萄酒的成分和口味，从而她能挑选出她喜欢的葡萄酒。

She said New World wine taste is direct and simple compared with the complicated attributes of wine from the Old World－mainly wine-producing countries in Europe. "Since I spend my own money on wine, I choose wine that gives value for money."

她说，相对于旧世界（欧洲主要葡萄酒生产国）葡萄酒复杂的口感，新世界葡萄酒的口感更加直接简单。"既然我花钱购买葡萄酒，我当然希望物有所值。"

The main wine distribution channels in China are supermarkets, hypermarkets, convenience stores and online retailers. TWE has signed distribution deals with select online retailers in China such as JD.com Inc, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's Tmall and wangjiu.com.

中国葡萄酒的销售渠道主要通过超市、购物商城、便利店以及网店。富邑集团已同中国几家网络零售商签订销售协议，如京东、阿里巴巴旗下的天猫以及网酒网。

"E-commerce is an important channel for us to expand the distribution of our wines beyond first-tier cities into the hands of consumers that rely on online shopping in the second- and third-tier cities," said Foye. The company is also leveraging social media platforms such as WeChat and Weibo to reach consumers and ensure social media engagement. However, the challenge for TWE is that wine drinkers in China switch from one variety or brand to another rather quickly.

福伊称，"电子商务是我们推广葡萄酒销售的重要渠道。除一线城市外，二、三线城市的消费者主要依赖网购。"该公司还利用微信和微博等社交媒体平台吸引消费者并确保社交媒体的积极参与。然而，对富邑集团来说，如何让中国的葡萄酒消费者从一种品牌迅速地转向另一种品牌也是一项挑战。

It is also keen to capitalize on the "premiumization effect" in which drinkers move up its brand portfolio as their incomes grow and knowledge of wine increases, said Foye.

福伊表示，富邑集团还充分利用"优质化效应"，随着消费者收入的增加和葡萄酒知识的积累，品牌组合也将随之提升。