Compared with other wine brands, wines from Alsace are special, for the bottles that contain them are labeled with the grape that they are made from. If there is no label, then this wine is made of several types of grape together. Also, all wines should be bottled with a special container in its production place. The seven major varieties of grape in Alsace are: Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Riesling,Muscat d’ Alsace, Pinot GriS, Sylvaner, and Pinot Noir.
Compared with other wines, like wines from Australia, Alsace is made using pure traditional techniques, and has longer history. The soil condition, the climate, and the storages cannot be copied. Australian wines are more modern and more commercialized, while Alsace sticks to the tradition.
Alscace Wines: where do they go
Alsace wines are classified into three classes: AOC Alsace、AOC Alsace Grand Cru and Cremant d’Alsace. About 35 million bottles of Alsace wines (about 26.4 million liters) are exported every year, accounting for 25% of the total annual sales of wines.
Alsace wines are mostly exported to European countries. Belgium has been the biggest oversea market of Alsace wines for several years, with a portion of 24.7% of total Alsace wine export. Then Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, the U.K., Canada, Swiss, Finland and America are also big importers of Alsace wine.
Alsace wines coming into China
Nowadays, according to a talk show given by an official in France in charge of the import and export issues, the trade volume of Alsace wines in China is not very large, but it is increasing. Alsace wines make up 2% in the wine market of Asia, and only 0.2% in the wine market of China in year 2008. Thus there is great market potential in China. Having realized this, the companies were trying to contact more with Chinese consumers. For example, they make special sales on Valentine’s Day, which is a festival receiving increasing attention in China. Due to the fact that most wines in China market are red wines but Alsace is focused in making white wines, they also intentionally raise Chinese consumers’ knowledge of white wines, and provide the importers in China with help in selling Alsace wines. In China, most consumers are young females. Since the most notable characteristic of Alsace is the flavor of fruit, it is easy for Chinese females to accept Alsace.
Now Alsace selling companies are launching travelling programs, which welcome Chinese tourists are guided to take a look at grape plantations and breweries in Alsace. The transportation is convenient, and there are more and more tour guides who speak Chinese. This will increase Alsace wines’ fame among Chinese consumers quickly and effectively.
Credit photo: Pinjiu8
