China is the most ‘promising’ market for Portuguese Wine

Portugal is now the seventh largest wine exporter to China and many Portuguese winemakers believe that China is their “most promising market”.

Forty-seven Portuguese wine retailers attended last month’s ProWein China 2013, which was held in Shanghai, promoting the ‘great varieties and high quality’ of Portuguese wines, according to Xinhua News.

With exports of Portuguese wine to China almost trebling over the last three years, many of those exhibitors claim their wine is the “new obsession” in China. Only last year, Chinese customs reported a €12 million (£10 million) income from wine imported from Portugal.

According to Valle Nuno, marketing director of Wines of Portugal, Portuguese wine sales in China reached €8.7 million (£7.2 million) in the first half of 2013 while the amount of wine exported rose 62%. China is now the fifth biggest buyer of Portuguese wine outside of Europe. Ahead of it are Angola, the United States, Brazil, and Canada.

“Many countries are promoting their wines in China by reducing prices. Portugal’s exports growth has been slowed down as well. But we also found that the demands of premium wine in China are increasing. Chinese consumers are now learning to enjoy higher levels of wine, which is a great opportunity for Portuguese wines”, Nuno said.

Some of the most popular varieties of wine made in Portugal include Port and Moscatel, which are both very different from the vintages of French wine that have been increasingly shipped to China in recent years.