Business / Industry Watch

Wine sales fall but dealers' outlook still rosy

By Xu Junqian in Shanghai (China Daily) Updated: 2014-02-22 09:34

Breaking down the numbers, however, every Chinese person drank the equivalent of 1.5 liters of wine in 2013, far less than "traditional and stagnant markets" such as France, where average volume per head is 51.9 liters. That is one of the primary reasons behind the optimism of global wine producers.

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Red wine in particular continues to enjoy great popularity in China, a nation that believes the color generates luck.

In 2013, China confirmed its position, first reached in 2012, as the world's largest buyer of red wine.

The number of super-rich individuals who do not drink, or at least claim not to have a drinking habit, mainly for health concerns, has doubled over the last five years to 40 percent, according to a report released by Rupert Hoogewerf, better known as Hu Run in China for keeping a close eye on the lifestyles of the wealthiest people in the country.

But for those who do drink alcohol, red wine remains the preferred beverage.

Nearly 400 Chinese mainland "millionaires" were interviewed in the report, called the Chinese Luxury Consumer Survey 2014. They are defined as people with at least 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) assets.