Shipments of Italian wine to China in the first 6 months of 2019 to 63.5 million euros (+ 4.86%)

A few timid signals that must be grasped, to restart and recover lost ground in the past year, are coming from wine exports to China. The Chinese market is complex and still challenging for Italy; however, in the first six months of 2019 it seems to have gained some ground. As the Italian statistics ISTAT data, processed by the foreign commerce, ICE in Beijing revealed, in the first half of 2019, wine shipments reached 63.5 million euros, up 4.86% over the same period in 2018. Bottled wines are stable and still represent the largest majority share, at 49.76 million euros (+ 0.18%). The biggest surprise, though, in China that has suddenly rediscovered itself in line with global trends, is sparkling wines, which got over 10 million euros (+42.45%). Is the negative spiral finally over on the market that for many years, and for many reasons has become the one on which Italian wine is almost forced to bet heavily to grow? It’s rather hard to say, especially because data from China are often contradictory. However, the rebound of sparkling wines is a fact to be taken into consideration, in a country where bubbles, historically, have never had much space.