Is China threatening to take on the wine industry?

close

Video

Wine Doctor's House Calls

Dwight Casimere, aka

We constantly hear threats the China is going to overtake the U.S. to become the largest economy in the world.  And while many of us don’t believe it, we’ve gotten accustomed to hearing it.

But is China threatening to take on the wine industry?

Sure, we know its millionaires are buying up the world's high-priced inventory. And according to International Wine and Spirit Research, it is the world’s fifth largest wine consumer after the U.S., Italy, France and Germany.

But are its producers really making a world-class wine that will stand up in a global market?  That idea almost makes me chuckle.

Well, it's true, at least according to Dwight Casimere, aka The Wine Doctor -- a food and wine writer who travels the world in search of wine trends.

“Excellent wine is being made in places some of us have never heard of,” says Casimere.  He says China is producing wine that will be ready in a few years.

Labels to look for include Great Wall, Changyu and Dynasty.

There are even countries in Eastern Europe and in the Middle East, yes, the Middle East, that will bring wine to market soon.

“The wines from these countries are good, not Bordeaux or Napa good, but general consumer good, and they’re cheap,” says Casimere.

In these tough economic times, cheap could work.  And while there are plenty of reasonable priced wines that are currently available from vineyards here at home -- like the $14 Barefoot Pink Moscato Casimere brought with him the day we met -- there's always room for more reasonable priced wine.

While it's hard to believe that China will become the next Tuscany or Napa, there are no barriers to entry in the wine world.

So like all things China – don’t count them out just yet.