Actor Sam Neill, pictured in his News Zealand vineyard, believes wine drinking will be a natural progression for the mainland Chinese
	John Avery, the chief judge at WINPAC 2007, the region’s premier New World wine show featuring more than 1,000 wines
	Wayne Donaldson, Director, North Coast Winemaking, Ernest & Julio Gallo, said Hong Kong is the gateway to Asia for the label’s wines

Hong Kong is a sophisticated wine consumer market as well as the gateway for wine distribution to Asian markets and the Chinese mainland, said three judges at the Wines of the Pacific Rim (WINPAC) Festival held recently in Hong Kong.

They are actor and owner of Two Paddocks in New Zealand, Sam Neill; chief judge John Avery of Avery’s of Bristol, one of UK’s most respected wine merchants; and Wayne Donaldson, Director of North Coast Wine Making, Ernest & Julio Gallo.

Mr Neill, better known around the world for movies such as Jurassic Park and The Piano rather than the Pinot Noir and Reisling that he produces from his Two Paddocks vineyard, believes more and more mainland Chinese will be drinking wine in future.

Signs of success

"I was recently in Beijing and was amazed to see a lot of Audi cars on the streets so I think if people buy Audis, the next logical step is that they can afford to buy a good bottle of wine to go with their meals. Nowadays, there are so many wines which pair very well with Chinese food," he said.

Chief judge and wine connoisseur John Avery said the Asia Pacific region is a fast growing market for wine distribution.

"Hong Kong is already a great market for some of the more expensive wines and certainly some of my competitors are selling a lot of wines in Asia Pacific. The mainland is creating a great deal of interest among my fellow wine distributors," said Mr Avery, who is a senior Master of Wine. 

HK the gateway

Wayne Donaldson, who is Director of North Coast Winemaking at Gallo Family Vineyards, the Gallo Family premium wine range, said his company is already using Hong Kong as a gateway for its 12 million cases a year destined for Asia. Gallo is one of the largest family owned vineyards in the world and has a large portfolio of wines.

"Asia is a very significant market for us. The wine business is growing and is emerging as the beverage of choice. Hong Kong is a sophisticated consumer market in its own right as well as a gateway to the Asian markets. We are watching China very closely as we have the wines to match the cuisine and the culture. I think we are positioning ourselves very well to capture opportunities in China," said Mr Donaldson. 

Organised by the International Wine and Food Society (IWFS), WINPAC 2007 featured more than 1,000 wines and the annual event is undoubtedly the region’s premier New World wine show and fair.

Movie star Sam Neill: pleased to bring wines to China


Related links
WINPAC 2007