Sphere
#38
2015
23
>>
he more sophisticated
markets in Europe and North
America have had centuries
to learn the nuances of wine
culture. The Mainland on
the other hand, has done it overnight.
Votre sommelier:
Monsieur Watson
Since its entrance into the Mainland market
in 2007, Watson’s Wine has contributed to
building wine culture. In that time, Chinese
consumers have evolved dramatically in
terms of their preferences and knowledge of
wine. A generation of cultured consumers
has emerged, hungry for a better experience
and thirsty for pristine wines.
Watson’s Wine in China has worked
through different channels to educate
and empower consumers to make more
sophisticated choices when it comes to
picking wine. This includes retail stores,
on-trade (hotels, restaurants, cafés, bars,
clubs), off-trade (super/hypermarkets,
convenience stores), wholesalers
and e-commerce. “We work with our
trade partners including hoteliers and
restaurateurs to provide tailored wine
selections to meet their customer needs,”
says Johnny Lai, General Manager of
Watson’s Wine China. “We also support
our wholesalers and other trade partners
with professional wine training and
recommendations to meet the needs of
each type of end consumer.”
Their efforts seem to be paying off. While
less expensive domestically produced wine
still takes up the lion’s share of the market,
demand for better quality imported wines
has been increasing rapidly. “There has
been a big increase in entry-level everyday
wine consumption,” says Mr Lai, indicating
the switch to a more private consumption-
driven market.
Food andwine pairing
An important topic on which Watson’s
Wine has helped educate consumers
on is wine pairing. Matching wine with
Western food is well established and well-
documented: You select a white wine to
pair with Western-style seafood, or a red
wine to go with a red-meat dish. But what
about Chinese cooking?
“The huge variety of different cooking
styles across China requires more
knowledge of the dish rather than just
what ingredients are used,” says Mr Lai.
For example, a light red wine will be
selected to pair with Shanghai-style fried
crab with rice cake in heavy sauce. Or a
low acidity, sweet rosé or white wine to go
with a Sichuan-style poached beef in chilli
soup, rather than the traditional matching
of a red wine with red meat. “We need
to consider more factors when we do
wine pairing to match the more diverse
and complex flavours of Chinese food,”
continues Mr Lai.
It is not just the cooking method that
differentiates Chinese cuisine from the
traditional food and wine-pairing culture.
The Chinese market for wines also
typically distinguishes between first-tier
(e.g. Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou),
second-tier (e.g. Changsha, Wuhan,
Chengdu) and third-tier cities (e.g.
Urumqi).
The first-tier city consumers are quite
knowledgeable about wine. “We are
already seeing wine being the first
choice, replacing baijiu or spirits at
dinner functions,” says Mr Lai. This is
no doubt due, in part, to the efforts of
Watson’s Wine.
Second- or third-tier cities, on the other
hand, can be quite different. Customers
in these cities usually share a number of
different wines over a traditional Chinese
round table meal instead of pairing
separate glasses with each course.
Watson’s Wine has also organised guided
food and wine-pairing sessions through
its education team, helping customers
maximise the enjoyment of fine wines with
their meals. During these wine events, the
host will take the lead throughout a meal
and each course will come with a pre-
assigned fresh glass of wine. The host will
explain the rationale behind each selection,
such as the right combination of flavours
and textures that would complement
the course being served. An engaging
Q&A discussion follows afterwards. “Our
customers enjoy this as they are able to
learn a lot,” says Mr Lai.
T
Credit: Kwan Cheuk Heen,
Harbour Grand Hong Kong
