A vast continent of 44 million km² stretching from Turkey to Japan and from Russia to Indonesia, Asia offers an extreme variety of countries, climates, cultures and customs. Over the centuries, this diversity has given rise to a multifaceted beverage industry, which accounts for more than 30% of global production and consumption.
7 out of 10 of the world's best-selling whisky brands are Indian, the number 1 gin and brandy is Filipino, the world's best-selling alcohol is Chinese, and the Chinese themselves have become the world's biggest consumers of red wine!
Until now, even though many wine and alcohol fairs are organized in Asia, none were specifically dedicated to Asian products.
However, a Belgian company Vinopres has agreed to organise an event to share knowledge and experience in this field. The Fangshan-Peking district wanted to promote Chinese products at the trade fairs.
Organised in partnership with the Beijing International Wine and Spirits Exchange platform, the 1st Asian Wine and Spirits Conference-tasting took place at the beginning of October in Beijing. Its aim was not only to promote dialogue between members of the Asian beverage industry, but also to provide an overview of the region for the global wine and spirits community and to extend Asia's reach to lesser known producing countries such as Armenia, Turkey and Georgia.
China, as the main driving force in the region today, was the obvious choice to organize this first edition, especially Fangshan which is considered a showcase for the country's still nascent wine industry. Nearly 70 foreign guests - producers and exporters of wines and spirits, wine journalists and writers, sommeliers and representatives of professional organisations were invited to a cycle of 24 lectures and master-classes that toured the Asian continent, lectures that will be presented in this magazine throughout the year.
Created in 2013 at the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair, the Asian Wine Producers Association (AWPA) aims to bring together wine producers from all over Asia and promote their products in the global wine community.
There are currently 13 wine-producing areas in Asia, the largest being China, with around 800 producers. It is followed by Japan (230 producers), India (80 producers) and South Korea (80 producers), but wine is also found in Thailand (12 producers), Indonesia (5) as well as Myanmar, Vietnam, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Hong Kong.
Despite the challenges posed by a tropical climate, wine production outside traditional latitudes can be successful, said Sumedh Singh Mandla, highlighting the success of producing regions such as India, Japan, Thailand and Indonesia, calling them "New Wine Latitude".
In India
Wine has been produced and consumed in India for centuries, but over time it has lost ground to spirits such as whisky or rum. The revival took place in the late 1980s in the regions of Pune and Bangalore. In the 1990s, the city of Nashik, 180 km north-east of Mumbai, took the lead in this new activity and is now considered the wine capital. Large investments were also made in Karnataka, in the south of the country.
India today has nearly 100,000 hectares of vineyards, but only 2% are devoted to wine, the remaining 98% being reserved for table or raisin production. There are three regions in three states on the west side of the country: Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The main grape varieties are international (Shiraz, Cabernet, Merlot, Chenin, Zinfandel, Sauvignon, etc.) but the country has a few indigenous varieties including Bangalore Blue, Akravati, Arkeshyam and Thompson.
Local consumers prefer red wines (61%) to white wines (34%). Production is exported to 30 countries and some of the most important names include Grover Zampa Vineyards, Sula Vineyards and York Winery.
In Indonesia
If the Indonesian market is mainly occupied by beer (85%!), the country is also famous for the production of arak (here a sticky rice alcohol), twak (a palm wine) and brem (black rice wine). On the wine side, there are mainly fruit wines with supposedly medicinal virtues, but nevertheless five producers, all located in Bali. Two of them produce their wines with their own grapes and Sababay Wines, but the three others use imported musts from Latin America and/or Australia ( Plaga Wines, Artisan Wines and Cape Discovery).
In Japan
Japan, the second largest producer after China, owes its fame to the Yamanashi region where the main producers are located.
The first commercial winery was created there in 1875 and is today part of Château Mercian, Japan's No. 2, after Hokkaido and ahead of Suntory and Sapporo. Although beer remains the Japanese' favourite alcoholic beverage, the country is the second largest importer in Asia-Pacific and the sixth largest in the world, with a per capita consumption of 4 litres of wine! Although Japan cultivates the widest range of grape varieties, Koshu is undoubtedly the country's most emblematic grape variety.
In Thailand
Syrah and Chenin Blanc are the two main grape varieties grown in Thailand by twelve producers, most of whom started up just ten years ago. An association, the Thai Wine Association, was formed in 2004 to promote the quality of wines produced from locally planted grape varieties. Today, they are almost all located in the centre of the country, north and south of Bangkok. The 12 producers produce about 1000 tons of grapes, which produce some 800,000 bottles a year. The wines are white and sweet, but also sparkling. Thai wines have already won around 100 medals in international competitions. The biggest names are GranMonte, Doyles, Silverlake and Alcidivini.
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