Wine consumption in China has increased by an average of 11% over each of the past five years. Propelled by the trend to westernise and publicity associated with the health benefits associated with wine consumption, the Chinese wine market is now worth around US$1.2 billion. Take into account the fact that the average Chinese drinks just 0.5 litres of wine each year, and it’s easy to see why people are getting excited by this market. The area under vine in China expanded by 40% between 1997 and 2002, and is likely to grow by at least 12% by 2007. Around 50,000 ha of Chinese vineyard is presently devoted to wine production.
