'You have to be there to build the brand'

By Li Xiang in Paris and Todd Balazovic in Beijing (China Daily) Updated: 2014-05-12 09:32

Didier Cuvelier, the general manager of the French chateau, says it is a positive sign that more and more distributors and merchants from China are visiting the chateau every year.

With more than 3 million tourists in 2012, Bordeaux is one of the few cities in France that has had an increase in tourism, according to the Bordeaux Tourism Office.

Of those visitors, 35 percent were from outside of France.

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"It is interesting to observe the Chinese market," he says ,noting that he has planned to buy up small neighboring vineyards to increase the production and to reinvest the profits.

In 2008, the global economic downturn hit Western demand for French wines, and many wine producers in Bordeaux saw a sharp drop in prices.

"During the financial crisis, the open-market prices were very low. We sold our vintage wine for 22 euros a bottle," Didier says. "But in 2009 the quality and demand was incredible and we saw the price rebound to over 60 euros a bottle," he says. "I am quite optimistic about the future and yet it is still difficult to predict."

While the sales of some wines to Western customers dwindled amid the economic downturn in Europe, Chinese buyers are being viewed as the saviors of the French wine industry. Sales of premium wines priced over 20 euros to Asian markets, particularly the Chinese market, have significantly boosted the overall export values, according to data from French Customs.

But Anne Cuvelier says that she is well aware of the risk of being overly reliant on the Chinese market, which has seen much slower growth partly because of the government's crackdown on corruption and extravagant gift-giving by officials.

French wines, which account for nearly half of all foreign wine imports to China, according to Vinexpo, have been hit particularly hard by the new measures.

"We don't want to put all our eggs in one basket," Cuvelier says. "So we are also developing and nurturing the wine market in countries such as Russia and India."