The region’s premier wine and spirits trade show Vinexpo Asia returnedto Hong Kong this week after a hiatus of six years due to the pandemic and closed its doors today afterthree business-packed days from May 28 to 30. 

The event which attracted 1,032 producers from 35 countries, was attended by 14,203 visitors from60 countries eager to re-establish one-to-one relationships with their peers in the industry. 

The businessmatching service facilitated deals between buyers and exhibitors through the online platform, with4,237 pre-booked meetings. Over 30% of the exhibitors were from France reflecting the importance of French wines in theAsiamarket.The Australian wine industry also made a huge showing with 85 wineries, celebrating China’slifting of retaliatory tariffs.

Founder and Editor of Vino Joy News, wine journalist, Natalie Wang said, “Following the tariff removal inApril, Australian wine exports saw explosive growth of more than 8,000%, which shows the Chinamarket still has a lot of interest in Australian wine.” Other top exhibitor destinations represented at the show, included Italy, Spain, Chile and China. Meanwhile, China was undoubtedly the buzz word of the event, with producers and buyers eager tofindout about the fast-changing consumption trends in the world’s biggest consumer market.   Visitors to the show were predominantly from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan marketswhich represented 75%, reflecting a shift in attendance at international trade events, whereinvisitorsare now most likely to attend trade shows within their region, a trend that Vinexposiumgroup’s CEO has termed “continentalization”.  

Speaking at a packed session on the Future of China’s Wine Market with ‘Industry Titans’ duringtheshow, Don Siebers, Co-partner of Wajiu China said, “In contrast to the ‘El Dorado’ approach of thepast, marketing to today’s consumer in China demands a more proactive and educated approach as theyembrace technology and AI in their understanding and purchasing of wine.   Wine drinkers are becomingmore sophisticated in their tastes, drinking not what they should be drinking but what they enjoydrinking, as witnessed by the growth in white wine consumption which has grown 40% and whichhardlyexisted 10 years ago.”   Meanwhile, in his opening address, Rodolphe Lameyse highlighted some of the many challenges theindustry is currently facing, from sociopolitical and economic factors to climate change, and observedachange in mindset among wine and spirits producers towards a more proactive marketing strategy, moving from a “pull” to a “push” approach, and added that Vinexpo Asia is an ideal platformtosupport.