Amazon China to sell Californian wine

Amazon China has announced this week that their first-ever batch of directly imported Californian wines will be available for sale on the Amazon China website in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Amazon China is to sell a batch of Californian wines priced from £13 to £36

The direct imports feature seven wineries from California, including Andretti Winery, founded by the legendary F1 driver Mario Andretti.

All the selected wines are made from low-yielding, high-quality vineyards, and will be available exclusively to Amazon in China.

Several publications in the Chinese media have been welcoming of the collaboration between Amazon China and the Californian producers, with Sohu.com reporting that this marks a rare chance for consumers to purchase these “top-notch, prized wines” in China.

Sohu also points out that these wines are well respected in the United States, and are found almost only in five-star hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants.

Priced between £13 to £36, these wines are being marketed to consumers just before the Mid-Autumn Festival in China which will take place on 19 September.

The direct imports feature seven wineries from California, including Andretti

Amazon China hopes that the upcoming festivity will encourage more customers to buy these wines as gifts for their friends and relatives.

It has in fact implemented a Mid-Autumn festival promotion in an effort to further market the wines: customers will get a 20% discount on these California wines with every purchase of mooncakes via Amazon China.

However, Amazon China will face stiff competition as other retailers such as online wine retailer Wangjiu take to deep discounting of their wines in anticipation of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Supermarkets have also taken to aggressive promotion, reducing prices as much as 50%, or offering customers a free case of wine with every case that they purchase.