On November 19 at this year’s Wine Tourism Conference we will have a panel on “China – Wine and Wine Tourism”.
The swirling rumors around China’s wine industry have been circulating for years, with the perceived threat to the world wine market if China is able to produce masses of high quality wine at a low price, in the same way they have affected the consumer goods market. We’ll learn about China’s domestic wine production during this panel.
We’ll also learn about opportunities for exporting wine to China. China is obviously a huge market but did you know China is now the number one consuming nation of red wine, surpassing France and Italy? China’s consumption has been growing incredibly quickly as good wine becomes popular. And with per capita consumption less than two liters per person, the Chinese market will likely continue to quickly expand.
Hitting to the heart of wine tourism, we’ll also discuss how Chinese overseas tourism is booming with wine tourism a particularly strong element of that. In recent years, the Chinese have loosened visa restrictions on their own citizens. Combined with the positive view Chinese have of the US and the surging popularity of wine, US wineries have a huge potential influx of visitors coming their way. We’ll learn about what Chinese wine tourists are seeking and how to accommodate them.
California is leading the charge for the US in terms of exporting wine to China and accommodating Chinese wine tourists. The panel will consist of these four experts in connecting China to California’s wine industry:
- Christopher Beros, President and Chairman of California-China Wine Trading, Inc.
- Brian Wright, in charge of DMO & Executive Relations at Visit California
- Linsey Gallagher, Vice President, International Marketing for the Wine Institute
- Steve Burns, owner of O’Donnell Lane L.L.C., a marketing, public relations and strategic planning firm.