Wine and China

Things go very quick in China’s internet environment, the growth of electronic shopping is enormous, it’s the world busiest online shopping market. Chinese online shoppers use smartphones and tablets in an online market which, in 2007 did not exist in China, last year more than $200 billion was sold through the web. The percentage of Chinese shoppers online is far higher than in the US, UK, Germany, France etc. They primarily use their mobile smartphones rather than P.C.’s to make online purchases.


In a nation where many other sector are rapidly expanding, e-tailing stands out for its astonishing growth.
From our business, the wine, liquor, beer, online business point of view, we discovered some peculiar things.

The domestic Chinese wine websites are doing extremely well and are likewise organized.
So is it very well possible for a shanghai banker to order a case of Chateau Margaux 2001 online and have it delivered into Beying’s office of a friendly stockbroker.
Chinese buyers prefer foreign bottles in their original packaging so they are sure they have bought and got delivered a original, authentic product, not a product they have concerns about regarding its origin, authenticity etc. It is know that Chinese traders print fake labels of prime foreign imported brands and stick them on bottles filled with local undrinkable brew made of second class grapes from local origin.

These “wines” are available in the thousands of local shops-little to large all over China, beverages of which the origin cannot be established in a way we are accustomed to in our part of the world. I refer here to the origin controlled (A.O.C.) regulations we have in the main producing countries.

Whilst I was writing this article China started an inquiry in ' the E.U. wine exports into China, this in obvious reaction to the E.U. anti-dumping tariffs of 11.8 on solar panels imported from China.

To put the situation in perspective according to customs data the E.U. exported last year just under $1 Billion of wine to China, the lion share of which were Bordeaux. China exported $27 Billion of solar panels into the E.U.
The figures are clear furthermore it is obvious that the Bordeaux “Grands Crus Classes De 1855” are not dumping their divine product into China!
Of course not, low-end Bordeaux for just under $10 a bottle goes for 5 or 10 times as much in Shanghai!! The same cannot be said of solar panels arriving in Rotterdam’s Europort in thousands of 40 foot containers.

President Xi meets these days with democrat Obama; Xi is determined to combat corruption in China, imposing tariffs on a luxurious product like Bordeaux Grand Crus will articulate Xi’s ideas of bringing income disparities back from their present extreme lofty levels. I believe Xi means business.
Also the German car industry is on his mind, and will suffer if China and the E.U. – both respected World Trade Organization (WTO) members- cannot settle their differences.

We from a VintoVino perspective see things as follows:

• If Chinese internet online shoppers wish to avoid any risk whatsoever to be cheated regarding the origin of their ordered wines; order through a system like VintoVino
• Using VintoVino measn that the buyer orders directly with a VintoVino vendor, a vendor who is a vineyard, or the official representative of the vineyard. The vineyards know how to ship their product to their prospective buyers.

We also feel that extra Chinese import taxes will it much harder to continue; maybe even cancel out the dubious label practices currently obstructing bona fide E.U. – yes, including French first class Bordeaux… - wine exporters as these import taxes can only be levied on original, export documented, wines. A Chinese buyer can now make sure to verify that this foreign wine has declared and import duties were duly paid.

And then again protectionism in an ever closer and faster interacting worldeconomy will prove to be the wrong answer, it can only be used as a vast desperate tool to get parties to the negotiating table.
For a moderation to “go it alone” means macro economically going in reverse, going back in time.
The future word does not need nations striving to become self sufficient economically and inward looking social politically.

M.J. San Martin