The French really, really need the Chinese to drink more wine again
Date£º
2014-10-15 11:10 Source£º
http://qz.com Author:
Translator:
French wine is having another bad year. Sales of Bordeaux abroad have fallen 18% to €1.8 billion ($2.3 billion) in the year to July, according to the comit¨¦ interprofessionnel des vins de Bordeaux. Wine from Bordeaux, in the west of France, accounts for half the value of exports, so it¡¯s both a huge part and an indicator for the rest of the country¡¯s storied wine regions. Sales also fell in 2013, a long way off the heights of 2012¡ªwhen revenues from Bordeaux totalled €4.3 billion.
The reason for the decline is both a poor 2013 harvest and reduced demand from buyers in China, where sales (by both value and volume) fell by a quarter. Hong Kong¡¯s demand for wine from Bordeaux declined by 9% by volume.
Until recently, wine was a status symbol among Chinese¡ªto drink, and to give as gifts. Many Chinese buyers have also been snapping up vineyards in Bordeaux, Burgundy, and other appellations in France. But as a luxury good, wine has been hit hard by two factors: the economic slowdown, and the anti-corruption campaign spearheaded by president Xi Jinping. Officials are banned from buying or consuming big-ticket items, such as Burberry handbags or that Chateau Margaux from 1787. As a result, the South China Morning Post reported that China¡¯s overall wine consumption shrank in 2013 for the first time in 10 years.
Another reason the French hope Chinese will resume quaffing wine in large quantities: they¡¯re not drinking much themselves. In 1980, more than half of French adults were consuming wine almost on a daily basis; today, less than a fifth do so. French wine consumption fell 7% in 2013 to 2.8 billion litres, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine¡ªwhich means the US is now the biggest market for wine in the world.