LOGROÑO, May 23. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Rioja redoubles its promotional activity in the Asian market: a total of 87 DOCa wineries have participated in the commercial tour held last week in China, in which exhibitions have been organized in the cities of Beijing, Canton and Shanghai, with the main objective of boosting Rioja sales in this geography.
The tour marks the return of the commercial staff of the Rioja wineries to the Asian country after the pandemic and is preparing to capitalize on the expected reactivation of the Chinese market, one of the reference international markets for the Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin.
This important action has not gone unnoticed by the 2,000 professional attendees, nor by the 80 Chinese importers participating in the tour, key players for Denomination sales in the country. Among the guests were representatives of important companies responsible for the marketing of wine in China, hotel and resort chains, supermarket chains of imported products and state conglomerates in the food and distribution sector.
During the celebration of the three shows, attendees were able to enjoy tastings of more than 450 Rioja wine references, following the traditional wine show format, selected for their uniqueness and versatility to demonstrate the great diversity that characterizes the first. Qualified Denomination of Origin of Spain and the one that exports the most wine from Spain.
Additionally, in parallel, Rioja offered a masterclass in each of the cities taught by official Rioja trainers, selling out all the places. The sessions, led by trainers Dorian Thang, in Beijing, Samuel Li, in Guangzhou and Sam Chen, in Shanghai, managed to immerse attendees in an immersive tour of the different styles of Rioja, although each speaker emphasized aspects specific, such as wines of origin, the art of aging or single-varietal Rioja.
The Marketing Director of the Regulatory Council, Íñigo Tapiador, and those responsible for the Rioja campaign in China have also taken advantage of the tour to hold various meetings with representatives of the sector in each of the cities with importers, specialized journalists, Rioja trainers of origin Chinese and Rioja ambassadors, confirming the market’s interest in DOCa Rioja wines.
Along these lines, Charlene Pan, an importer from southern China who represents two Rioja wineries in the country, commented that “the image that Rioja shows in this type of event is very powerful and represents a magnificent platform to publicize its offer in the country, as well as fundamental promotional support for importers”. Chasey Chen, Guagnzhou importer of half a dozen Rioja wineries, stated that “this type of event differentiates Rioja very positively, sending a clear message of quality, leadership and dynamism.”
Despite the general economic situation of this market, China continues to support Rioja wines and maintains an expectation of market recovery, with the aim of significantly increasing the more than 1.5 million liters of Rioja wine that were exported. in 2023 to the country, thus gaining positions in the ranking of DOCa importing countries.
RIOJA’S TOUR IN CHINA WILL CONTINUE IN AUTUMN
The Rioja Qualified Denomination of Origin is committed to capitalizing on the long-awaited growth and reactivation of the sector in the Asian giant, presenting itself to professionals with several high-impact activities within its promotional campaign. In addition to the three areas visited for the fairs (Beijing, Canton and Shanghai), there are three other cities planned this autumn, thus extending the commercial tour along the coastal area of China, in which Rioja wineries and their importers will show their offer. to distributors, retailers, buyers, sommeliers and experts in each city.
In addition, Rioja will have its own space and institutional stand at the ProWine fair in Asia, which will be held in Shanghai between November 12 and 14, 2024.
