These days what isn’t China producing? Well, you can cross wine off that list. While wineries and vineyards in the U.S. and Europe don’t have anything to fear, the same can’t be said for Chile, Argentina and Australia. China has risen to be the world’s 6th largest producer of wine and it’s 5th largest consumer. While this fact has not gone unnoticed, connoisseurs worldwide are awaiting the industry’s rebound following a lackluster 2012.
While China continues to import high quality wines from around the world in large quantities, wine producers in China are quickly trying to address their sub-par performance. National production standards regarding equipment are quickly being adopted throughout the industry and many producers are hoping that regulation is the key. However, disputes over approving grape type translations from English to Mandarin and other dialects has slowed standardization and education of the public.
Despite those internal struggles in the Chinese Wine Industry, consumers have not been prevented from purchasing foreign and domestic wines. Even for consumers who have never tasted currants, cranberries or passion fruit (usually no equivalent word in Chinese exists), their consumption is estimated to grow by 150 million bottles a year over the next 5 years. This type of growth, in production as well as consumption, has some speculating that in 45 years China could be number one in one, if not both of those categories.
For critics that argue against China’s potential reign, they might have missed the fact that a Bordeaux blend from China won ‘Best in Show’ at the Decanter World Wine Awards in 2011. And in 2012 another Bordeaux won high praise and top honors from judges. While there are still some large issues that need addressing, don’t be surprised to see a bottle of Chinese wine sitting on your friend’s dinner table; quite possibly sooner than later.
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