Pútáo people: Who’s Who in the China wine scene, part 1

~

By Jim Boyce

Last year, I wrote a “who’s who in China” piece for magazine Wine Business International. There were ten categories — such as distributor, wine maker and sommelier — with a pick for each and mentions of other notable people. It wasn’t so much a “top ten” as it was a list of some key players here that those outside of China should know about. Below is a brief summary of each category: you can get detailed info on topics such as this by subscribing to Wine Business International here.

 ~

Big wine company

Wu Fei, COFCO Wines & Spirits

COFCO produces more than 100 million bottles of wine, imports bottled wine from at least a half-dozen countries, bought wineries in Chile and France last year, and has substantial political connections and marketing clout — it was a sponsor of both the Beijing Olympics and Shanghai Expo. And that’s just for starters.

~

Small-medium wine company

Judy Leissner, Grace Vineyard

Grace in Shanxi is the success story of the millennium when it comes to quality wine here. It has produced a decent portfolio for a decade, made wine lists in top hotels and restaurants, experimented with vineyards in Shaanxi and Ningxia, and been willing to take risks, including this year, when it bucked industry trends to put its entry-level red under screw caps.

~

Wine distributor

Alberto Fernandez, Torres China

Not the biggest distributor, but what Torres does, it does well. It has a good portfolio of wines from 15 countries, a growing retail presence with its Everwines website and shops, and high staff retention. It also distributes two of China’s best wine brands — Grace and Silver Heights.

~

Wine consultant

Li Demei, Beijng University of Agriculture

Many outside China first heard of Li last year when Decanter awarded an “international trophy” to Chinese winery Helan Qing Xue, where he is chief consultant. But in China, he is a fixture: a professor at Beijing University of Agriculture, a writer, commentator and social media enthusiast, and a consultant to numerous wineries, all with stints at University of Bordeaux and Chateau Palmer under his belt.

~

Government Agency

China Customs

The issue with China Customs is not high tariffs — those are fixed — but how rules might be interpreted differently in Tianjin, Yantai and Xiamen.That can mean headaches for importers, from how wine stuck in customs is stored to the need to dedicate resources to paperwork. To be fair, Customs has seen a huge increase in wine and has to deal with many other products.

I’ll have part 2 on Monday.

Sign up for the Grape Wall newsletter here. Follow Grape Wall on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. And see my sibling sites World Marselan Day, World Baijiu Day and Beijing Boyce. Grape Wall has no advertisers, so if you find the content useful, please help cover the costs via PayPal, WeChat or Alipay. Contact Grape Wall via grapewallofchina (at) gmail.com.