SOUTH KOREA IS ONE OF THE ASIAN MARKETS WHERE ITALY ALREADY EXPORTS 22 MILLION EUROS IN WINE, WHERE THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE NECTAR OF BACCHUS IS MORE ADVANCED THAN EXPECTED AND PER CAPITA SPENDING CAPACITY IS VERY SIMILAR TO ITALY

Wine in Asia almost always means China. But there are many Eastern markets that give great satisfaction, too. And South Korea is one of them. “It was the poorest country in the world after the war with a per capita income of 100 dollars a year, but now it is at the same level as Italy – around 22.000 euros per year”, Gugliemo Galli, director of the Agency for the internationalization of Italian businesses (formerly ICE) in Seoul told Winenews.

Wine consumption is still modest in terms of numbers, but continually growing, confirmed by the export of Italian wines, which grew in value from 17.75 million dollars in 2009 to 22.1 million dollars in 2011. Italy holds position nr. 3 (16%) of the market share, following France and Chile. "Wine is still considered an elite product due mainly to prices, since a bottle on the shelf costs about 8 times more than the starting cellar price.
However, the elimination of customs fees, in July 2011 as well as the growing interest in the product are both good omens. And to help matters out, there are 700 Italian restaurants in the capital city alone. "Certainly the crisis is also felt here, too: the average price per liter of wine consumed fell from $5.80 in 2008 to $5.10 in 2011, but there is room for growth, as a study on trends of Korean wine lovers showed. Most of them (39%) spent between $26 and $42 per bottle in 2011 and 24% spent between $43 and $83 dollars. Red wine dominates, with 78% of the vote. 53.7% drink at home, although the "right to cap" trend (uncorking bottles purchased outside the restaurant) is widely used (22%). And, "in a country still very intrigued by brand names, and where a gift is a bottle of French wine, with the exception of a few Italian wines like Brunello or Amarone," says Galli, tasting wine is the most influential (33%) factor that determines a purchase. This is the sign of a market with a mature knowledge of wine, which makes it even more appealing.