Wine Tourism, New World Wines, China

In 1996, the Chinese government, through its then prime minister, Li Peng, officially replaced, during official banquets, the traditional rice wine for toasting with red and/or white wine. From that moment onward, China’s grape wine industry began to expand dramatically, first fueling local demand and from 2005 also produced for export. However, in 2012 under the direction of Xi Jinping, president of the People’s Republic of China, an austerity and anti-corruption drive impacted negatively all sales of wines and luxury beverages in the country. In 2013, wine output decreased by 4.7% and wine consumption by 13.7%. This entry first discusses trends in China in wine consumption, sales, marketing, distribution, and production. It then discusses legislation affecting packaging and labeling of wine, the shift in production ...