Wine drinking has become a national phenomenon giving a big Global boost
By Kunal Bose
Till not very long ago, people around the world loved to believe that bigness in volume of industrial and agricultural products was the only hallmark of China. But this is now disabused by a growing number of sectoral experts. More recently, Nvidia chairman Jensen Huang reminded the US that its dominance in the very powerful high-end chips faced significant threat from China due to its “superior infra, speed in completing projects and national energy capacity.” Beijing has served notice that anybody who thinks China cannot do something is missing a “big idea.” That China has a robust innovative system is underpinned by its having approximately half the world’s AI researchers. Furthermore, 70 per cent of all global patents originates in China.
Beyond AI where China will take some time to close distances more with Europe than U.S is the very exclusive segment of the automobile industry, the products of which are fancied by super rich around the world. In the meantime, China has firmly established its status as the world’s by far the largest producer of vehicles claiming a share of nearly one-third of global production. In electric car where Elon Musk led Tesla held the crown as the world leader has now ceded it to China’s BYD. Tesla was undone by a host of factors, including expiry of US tax credits and the brand backlash that it faced because of Musk’s association with President Trump. Automobile analysts based in India say even while global EV sales rose impressively by 28 per cent in 2025, Tesla sales fell for two consecutive years. Not only is BYD producing as good EVs as Tesla, but they are also priced lower. In politically and price conscious Europe, Tesla is weighed down by besides BYD, the likes of Volkswagen and BMW.
If China has made this kind of progress in the automobile industry, can it be left behind in making cars that represent ultimate luxury! Now there are Hongqi and Maextro S800 models with their bespoke craftmanship throwing a challenge to Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Maybach, which are fancied by the superrich Chinese. Now in luxury and exclusive features, the top-end Chinese cars match what is on offer from Europe. But they come to buyers at prices which foreign companies are not able to match. Infosys founder Narayana Murthy may have courted criticism from ultra-nationalists here by saying economically there is no comparison between China and India and the latter will have to make great efforts over the years to do the catching up. But Murthy has said the truth.
All this is fine, but an agro-based industry where from choosing the land to selecting the seed to plucking the fruit to subsequently going through a long complex process to produce red and white wine, China is still to find a place alongside Bordeaux of France (think of its Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon) or California in the US or clusters in Western Cape in South Africa. But sommeliers will say in one voice that the ever-expanding Chinese wine industry have lines which will compare well (or could even be better) with what comes from Germany or Australia. While China is increasing the production of wine by expanding vineyards in operation and developing new ones, the principal tipples there remain Baijiu, the white liquor extracted from sorghum and beer. At the same time, thanks to official patronage, the wineries have the incentive to expand their production as the consumption of wine across the country is growing, urban centres in particular.
China has a long tradition of wine drinking, going back to Han dynasty (206BC-220AD). India too has a rich history of wine consumption with Soma (a divine drink) and Sura (a fermented rice wine). During the Mauryan rule, wine extracted from grapes became popular among the elite. In later times, India started importing wine from Afghanistan and Italy. Some Mughal emperors, including Akbar and Jehangir, defying Islamic prohibition on drinking, would indulge in the forbidden pleasure. Credit goes to the British during the colonial rule for laying the foundation of a modern wine making industry in India by opening vineyards and the downstream facilities. But official patronisation to the industry was missing for a long number of years since Independence. In any case Indians for their love for whisky and rum were not missing wine. More recent times have, however, seen Maharashtra and Karnataka extending the needed support to wine makers.
When it comes to wine, China is a unique story where the industry gets the support from the mightiest political leaders from Mao Zedong to the present- day general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and President Xi Jinping. Mao wanted every Chinese to have the pleasure of drinking wine. This is in spite of his own fascination for Kweichow Moutai. Going steps ahead, Xi is serving Chinese wine at state banquets. It required of him considerable courage to offer the French President Emanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte the local wine at official reception during their visit to Beijing. The move must have been based on the belief that the finest Chinese reds and whites might meet with the approval of the Macron couple whose country has set such a high benchmark for wine that other producing countries can at the best aspire to reach.
Whatever that is, Chinese wine has started winning global recognition signified by its winning awards at the prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards. That’s vintners’ Oscar. What primarily works to the advantage of China to steadily grow vines for production of wine is the vastness of the country with a variety of terroir, some of which with their soil and climate are ideal to stay as centres of wineries. Ningxia, for example. Oenophiles in the West will happily keep wine originating in north-western China alongside bouteille de vin from Bordeaux. While individual entrepreneurship has helped, the Chinese wine industry could come this far because of liberal state patronage ranging from land acquisition to generous subsidy to allowing professionals to learn the finer points of oenology from France in particular. Though very expensive, Chinese viticulturists will find state support to use the best foreign equipment, including French oak barrels for maturing wine. In the process, however, the cost of making wine in China is high, making exports a challenging proposition.
What then saves the day for Chinese wine makers is wine drinking is becoming a national phenomenon alongside Baiju and beer. In fact, today drinking wine in Chinese cities is a lifestyle statement. Here also, government support has helped. Besides locally produced wine, China is spending over $1.6 billion to import the stuff mainly from Australia and France. The country’s own production in 2024 was 118,000 kilolitres enough to fill 160 million bottles. If any proof of China’s potential to make very good wine is needed, then the confirmation comes from the French luxury giant LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Henessey) setting up production facilities in Ningxia and Yunan. (IPA Service)
