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In Veritas, Vino Wins Over Shanghai

Wine's popularity booms in China

By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff

Posted Apr 3, 2008 2:13 PM CDT

(Newser) – The wine scene, long dormant in China, is booming in Shanghai, reports Portfolio. Chinese consumers were traditionally more passionate about spirits; if anything, only red wine was taken seriously. Not anymore: Shanghai's three premium-wine importers have multiplied to more than 100 since 1999, and wine bars abound. It's a trend expected to shift the figures in a country that consumes 25% of the world's liquor but just 2% of its wine.

In addition to tasting rooms and wine societies, wine-education programs and upgraded restaurant wine lists have arrived. One clubhouse even turned a former bomb shelter into a wine cellar. This newfound popularity is due in part to relaxed wine license restrictions and a consumption tax reduction. Shanghai “is much further along in terms of development than other major Chinese cities,” says one importer.

Wine merchant Yunxiang Dong of China, right, tastes a Californian red wine at the international wine fair Vinexpo in Bordeaux, France, on June 19, 2007. The wine business in Shanghai is booming.
Wine merchant Yunxiang Dong of China, right, tastes a Californian red wine at the international wine fair "Vinexpo" in Bordeaux, France, on June 19, 2007. The wine business in Shanghai is booming.   (AP Photo/Bob Edme)
A Chinese merchant takes part in a wine tasting at the three-day China International Wine Exhibition in Shanghai, China, in this Friday, March 2, 2007 file photo.
A Chinese merchant takes part in a wine tasting at the three-day China International Wine Exhibition in Shanghai, China, in this Friday, March 2, 2007 file photo.   (AP Photo/File)
A Chinese wine buyer samples Italian wine. Wine's popularity is rapidly increasing in China, especially Shanghai.
A Chinese wine buyer samples Italian wine. Wine's popularity is rapidly increasing in China, especially Shanghai.   (Getty Images)
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