ITALIAN WINE CONTINUES TO TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE OF ASIA’S MEGA-MARKETS. CHINA THE RECORD BREAKER: 6 OUT OF 10 BOTTLES ON THE ENTIRE MARKET ARE CONSUMED IN THIS COUNTRY. IN JAPAN, WINE IS A COMIC BOOK HERO: A MANGA CELEBRATES IT AND SALES BOOM

Six out of ten bottles of wine consumed every year in Asia end up on the tables in Chinese homes. This fact is even more interesting considering that only 10 million people in China drink wine. The per capita average is 0.4 liters per year (in large urban areas the maximum average is 0.7 liters per year) compared to the world average of 4.5 liters per year. Japan also plays an important role in the consumption of wine in Asia. The Japanese market accounts for 30% of wine consumed on the continent while the Land of the Rising Sun is buying as much as 60% of all the bottles that come into Asia.

Both China and Japan were the main protagonists of the most recent event of Vinitaly in collaboration with Buonitalia. The goal was to focus on these two potentially enormous markets that are becoming more and more strategic for Italian vendors, despite today’s world economic crisis. China recorded a 9% increase in sales even in 2008, the worst year for this market. Thanks to its huge population, it is able to offer a platform of interest for Italy’s products. It is estimated that of over one billion three hundred million inhabitants, i.e., 22 times Italy, the potential wine market is between 5 and 10% of the population, or from 60 to 130 million consumers. By 2012, it is estimated that sales of red wines will increase to 36.4% and white wines to 38%. The expected performance of rosé wines, which represent less than 1% of the market, will increase by more than 20%.

The evolution in China is also about consumer styles. The westernization of the country and improving economic conditions are changing people’s habits. Wine appears more often on restaurant menus and in private homes, especially in large cities. Drinking wine has become a trend among the younger generations; however, in recent years the market has widened to include different profiles of consumers. The average Chinese consumer of wine is between 30-45 years, has a high income and a high level of education, lives in the city and drinking wine is mainly a status symbol. After years of heavy investing, China has become the 6th biggest producer of grapes in the world, demonstrating how well the country has incorporated wine into its culture.

For the past ten years, China has been one of the major stages hosting the Vinitaly World Tour, that this year will bring Vinitaly China, the most important food & wine event in Asia: Hong Kong on November 4, 2009, Shanghai on November 5-6, 2009.

On the Asian scene, Japan represents a more stable and mature market. In 1972 only 11 million liters of wine were consumed and only 20% was imported. After almost 40 years the demand for imported wines has more than tripled and is now 66%. In 2008, wine sales reached 2 billion euros, while imported wines reached almost 400 million euros. A recent survey conducted by ISWR (International Wine and Spirit Record) estimates that wine consumption in Japan will increase by 7% to reach a volume of 335 million bottles by 2011.

The performance of Italian wines in 2008 allows Italy to maintain second place -behind France and ahead of The United States – with 15% of the market in still wines and reaching a share of 20% among sparkling wines, equal to Spain and second only to France.

It is a fact that, especially in large cities, we are witnessing a gradual shift of consumers of alcoholic beverages from traditional saké and beer, of which the Japanese are big drinkers, to wine and spirits of European tradition. A testimonial for this taste evolution is the comic book “Kami no Shizuku”, where the leading character travels the world searching for “The 12 apostles”, a collection of wines described in his father’s will. The impact of this manga in the real world is such that just a quote from the comic book is enough to sell thousands of bottles of wine. Wine importers have started organizing deliveries of some wines based on episodes in the comic book and in some cases have more than tripled sales.

In a survey, 85% of 20 year old Japanese said they drink alcoholic beverages. Of these, 50% do not drink wine, 30% drink wine a couple times a year, 14% drink wine occasionally and only 6% drink wine almost every day. The average per capita consumption is only 2.2 liters while 47% of all the wine purchased in Japan is consumed in Tokyo and Yokohama, where the per capita consumption is 5.4 liters.

On November 25th Vinitaly Japan # 4 will be held in Tokyo. It will be the top event for the promotion of Italian wines in Japan. The program includes an all day workshop along with a program of seminaries and wine tastings, which the Japanese population particularly appreciates.