Wine buyers from China are visiting France to secure large stock for the Olympics in August.
Chinese buyers are in Bordeaux for this week’s tasting of the latest and still unbottled 2007 vintage. They are also stocking up on earlier vintages for the Olympic Games.
Speaking at a tasting in St Emilion, Chinese buyer Steven Lu and partner Ida Huang, said that with domestic demand growing, they planned to double the amount of new “primeur” wines they bought last year, while also stocking up on bottled wines for the 2008 Olympics.
Lu, who sells to high-end hotels, restaurants and private clients in Beijing and Shanghai, said the Olympic effect would influence purchases across the board.
Mathieu Chadronnier of CVBG Dourthe-Kressmann, one of Bordeaux’s top wholesale merchants for medium to high-end wines, also confirmed the impact of the Olympics.
“We have had lots more orders. It is obvious there will be more sales, particularly in the hotel and restaurant trade. Our importers in China are expecting significantly increased activity during the Olympic Games. ”
Asked if he could put a figure on increased orders, Chadronnier predicted his company, which turned over 135 million euros in 2007 would double sales to China in 2008.