Prices of vintage imported wines are becoming lower as the most awaited Chinese New Year celebration approaches next month, Shanghai Daily reported.
Although the Chinese make their own wine and some Chinese brands even won awards, imported wines are consumed by more and more Chinese, especially young women who want to drink and dislike beer because of its high caloric content. They believe that Western products are considered chic and trendy, to boot.
In 2013, red wine sales reached record sales by a whopping 2 billion bottles before the Chinese market focused on wine imports.
A decade prior to 2013, China had a continuous 25-percent growth rate on wine sales per annum, a statistic according to the Asia's largest wine exhibition group, Vinexpo Asia-Pacific.
The growth on wine sales depended much on guanxi, the custom of influenced peddling by handing out expensive gifts, Li Demei, a renowed Chinese winemaker, said.
"I personally believe the market hasn't reached bottom yet and will go down further," said Li, who is also a professor at the Beijing University for Agriculture, in a speech in a ProWine China wine fair.
The reason for the decline, Li mentioned, was partly because of China's anti-corruption movement that prohibits expensive gifts and large banquets.
"It's time to restore rational order to wine consumption, which would be good for the longer-term development of the Chinese wine market," Li stated.
Cheaper wine products will help with the market competition, leading to less expensive consumption, he said.
"Selling wine at a loss has become widespread in Chinese e-commerce," mentioned Charles Wu, president of the website winekee.com. "There is a price war in the fight for market share."
Like many sectors in the modern market, wines are also prone to product faking.
"In some cities, you will find some fake 'imported' wines not made from grapes at all, but from alcohol blends disguised with aromatics and artificial sweeteners," Lu Mengxi, a well-known Chinese wine writer, stated.