Affluent Chinese acquire taste for wine
Last Updated: Saturday, December 30, 2000 | 3:33 PM ET
CBC News
For decades, the potent sorghum liquor called baijiu has been the libation of choice in China.
But with a growing desire to embrace western customs, many newly affluent city dwellers are trying wine – despite a whopping 70 per cent duty on imported varieties.
Some major wineries are looking to cash in on this untapped market by holding wine tasting festivals. Italian exporters who organized such an event in Beijing recently said the Chinese are not yet very knowledgeable about the drink.
Sales figures, however, suggest that more people are acquiring a taste for it. Wine consumption in China has increased ten-fold over a one-year period.
Advertisers are capitalizing on current medical reports that say drinking wine in moderation is good for what ails you.
"I'm more attracted to the cultural significance of wine" said one bar patron in Beijing. "In novels and in movies, we see people who like to drink French wine, so I also wanted to have a try, to taste that kind of culture.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- HMCS Corner Brook collision damage extensive
- The damage done to HMCS Corner Brook when it hit the ocean floor off B.C.'s coast last summer was more extensive than first reported, CBC News has learned by obtaining exclusive pictures of the submarine. more »
- Mandatory gun sentence struck down by Ontario judge
- An Ontario Superior Court judge has struck down a mandatory minimum sentence for a first offence of possessing a loaded firearm. more »
- Online surveillance critics siding with child porn: Toews
- Critics of a bill that would give law enforcement new powers to access Canadians' electronic communications are aligning themselves with child pornographers, Canada's public safety minister says. more »
- Low vitamin D in womb tied to poor language skills
- Children born to women who had low levels of vitamin D during their pregnancy are more likely to have language problems, a new study suggests. more »
Latest World News Headlines
- Moody's downgrades Italy, Portugal, Spain
- Ratings agency Moody's Investor Service on Monday downgraded its credit ratings on Italy, Portugal and Spain, while France, Britain and Austria kept their top ratings but had their outlooks dropped to "negative" from "stable." more »
- Obama unveils $3.8T budget proposal
- U.S. President Barack Obama unveiled a $3.8 trillion spending plan on Monday for 2013 that seeks to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade. more »
- Whitney Houston's body now at N.J. funeral home
- Whitney Houston's body has been flown from Los Angeles to New Jersey, where her family is making arrangements for a funeral at the end of the week. more »
- Radical cleric Abu Qatada released from U.K. prison
- Abu Qatada, a radical Muslim cleric whom British officials say is an al-Qaeda figurehead, was freed from an English prison into virtual house arrest, British media reported. more »
Dispatches »
- Syrian refugees' defiance and division Feb. 13, 2012 4:06 PM With the deadly game in Syria changing almost daily, CBC's Derek Stoffel in Turkey met militant refugees who reflect the division in the rebel forces about whether to go it alone or wait for the international community to back them against the current regime.
Connect Newsroom Blog
Siege in Syria, Ship Rescue & The Pickton Inquiry Feb. 13, 2012 8:09 PM We'll talk to a Syrian-American doctor tonight about whether the Assad regime is using medicine as a weapon.
- HMCS Corner Brook collision damage extensive
- Online surveillance critics siding with child porn: Toews
- Stanley Cup rioter seen in brick attack on cop
- Mandatory gun sentence struck down by Ontario judge
- Whitney Houston's body headed home to New Jersey
- Whitney Houston's body now at N.J. funeral home
- Man pleads guilty to murder of stepdaughter, 17
- Whitney Houston estate value set to soar
- HIV-positive B.C. man jailed for assault, child porn
