Avenue Vine

The annual expo is held on alternate years in Bordeaux, France, and at an overseas venue. The event this year returns to Hong Kong for the second time after first being held here in 1998.

Hong Kong was chosen as host again because of the huge growth in the Chinese wine market. Vinexpo president Dominique Hériard-Dubreuil said the southern Chinese territory is a perfect gateway to the rest of Asia.

"All the studies forecast that Asia will have the strongest development for the wine and spirits market in the next five years," she said. "Hong Kong is the geographic center for this fast growing market; Hong Kong is a great gateway to Asia."

"We came in 1998, it was a success. We are back after eight years. We are confident that this double eight should lead to a renewed success," she said in a speech at the opening ceremony.

The number "eight" is considered lucky for the Chinese because of its similar pronounciation with "wealth".

Hughes Martin, deputy mayor of Bordeaux, said: "Vinexpo is an outstanding showcase for wine and spirit products from all over the world and an opportunity to export abroad our unique savoir faire, or as we say in French our know-how".

The world's most populous country saw its consumption of wine leap 20 percent in the four years to 2004 and within three years it is expected to grow another 48 percent.

China is already Asia's biggest consumer of wine by volume, while Japan holds the first place in terms of value.

In 2004 China drank 3.7 million hectolitres of wine. This figure is expected to grow to 5.7 million hectolitres in 2010, according to Vinexpo.

Wine sales in China reached 1.13 billion dollars in 2004 and experts believe that will increase by 56.3 percent between 2004 and 2009 to reach 1.766 billion dollars.

Asia "is the heart of the expansion" worldwide in wine and spirit sales, Dubreuil said.

Between 2000 and 2010, still and sparkling wine consumption in Asia (China, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, India) is forecast to increase 45.8 percent whereas traditional fruit and rice wine consumption will fall 13.7 percent.

In 2010 experts predict the region will consume 9.212 million hectolitres of wine, representing four percent of world consumption.

"The traditional backbones of the market are weakening and countries in other parts of the world, such as the Asian countries, are rising to take their place," said Robert Beynat, chief executive of Vinexpo.

Tastes are changing in Asia and "traditional local spirits and wines, like fruit wines and rice wines are losing ground as grape wines become more popular," he said.

Asia's growing importance to the wine trade is illustrated in the high number of exhibitors this year -- 600 from 28 countries all over the globe.

Some 6,000-7,000 buyers and distributors from the Asia-Pacific region are expected to attend and 60,000 bottles of wine will be open for tasting.

France is the best represented of producers, with 249 companies booked to attend, followed by Italy and Spain.

But it will not only be foreigners trying to cash in -- home-grown talent will be there too.

"We will exhibit again at Vinexpo because we think that it is an excellent way to establish contacts with the principal distributors and to increase the sales of our wines around the world," said Louise Jin, public relations director for Beijing Dragon Seal, one of five Chinese companies present in Hong Kong.

Source: “Hong Kong pops the cork on world's biggest wine expo,” TODAYonline, May 23, 2006