Australian wine on show in China at Chengdu Fair
Exhibitors greeted big crowds and secured promising commercial leads for their wine brands as part of Wine Australia’s pavilion at the China Food, Wine and Spirits Fair in Chengdu from 24 to 26 March.
The Fair now attracts approximately 100,000 trade visitors across the full three day food and wine program and is an important part of Wine Australia’s growth strategy for China, now Australia’s third most valuable export market.
This is the third year Wine Australia has participated in the fair and visitors to the pavilion were invited to join in three different themed tasting classes presented by certified A+ Australian wine educators, with participants saying the tastings offered insights into the diversity and culture of Australian wine and its regions.
Michael Zhang, Brand Consultant for wholesaler Hui Zhao Jiu, was impressed with the Australian wine on show.
‘I found a lot of high quality wine in the Wine Australia pavilion, including wines I could import from Australia directly and wines I’m considering for purchase from local importers.
‘I’ll be visiting again next year without a doubt.’
Zheng Hongmei, Senior Editor of Le Wine TV, said, ‘Wine Australia’s pavilion was so well organised and impressive. It attracted a huge number of visitors. I was especially impressed by the tasting classes where we could learn more about Australian wines with renowned wine educators.’
Huang Yanyan, Sales Manager at Zhuhai Auscapital Wines, an exhibitor at the Fair, agreed that the tasting classes were a highlight.
‘The tasting classes during the trade show impressed me a lot. During the show, we got more people learning about the wines from Australian regions, and we have some potential leads as a result.’
Exhibitor Ross Sheppard, General Manager of Capel Vale Wines, said, ‘We have written more business this year than before and this is our fifth Chengdu show. We have achieved an excellent result this year.’
Wine Australia Head of Market China, Willa Yang said, ‘The Chengdu Food and Drinks Fair is the biggest wine trade fair in China. It’s important that we have a national Australian wine presence at these large-scale events to maximise sales of Australian wine in China and continue to lift the perception of Australian fine wine with influential trade and media.
‘We’ve seen a great deal of interest from the Chinese visitors to the pavilion as well as to our daily tasting classes. We’ve received positive feedback from some exhibitors who said they have secured strong commercial leads from the show already.’
Wine Australia also held a networking dinner during the Fair featuring many of the wines exhibited. Approximately 60 guests comprising exhibitors, local media and trade attended as well as Jeff Turner, Senior Trade Commissioner at Austrade Chengdu.