Vinexpo 2015: Chinese visitor numbers jump

A sharp rise in the number of Chinese visitors to the Vinexpo 2015 wine trade fair in Bordeaux suggests optimism within China's wine market.

Vinexpo organisers said the number of Chinese visitors to Vinexpo 2015 rose by 14% versus the previous show, held in 2013.

Full visitor figures have not yet been released, but official figures from 2013 show there were 3,388 wine professionals attending from China. That suggests the 2015 figure was more than 3,800.

'The Chinese are the second biggest nationality of visitors after the French,' Vinexpo chief executive Guillaume Deglise told DecanterChina.com during last week's five-day fair in central Bordeaux.

Chinese visitor numbers also increased by 14% in 2013 versus 2011.

The latest rise backs up the views of several wine trade leaders in China who have previously told DecanterChina.com that the country's wine market will continue to grow, despite the fallout from the government's anti-corruption campaign.

The increase also suggests that Vinexpo has become a focal point in Chinese wine merchants' calendars.

'If you want to do business with the Chinese, you have to come to Vinexpo,' one wine estate owner told DecanterChina.com during last week's fair.

The lure of Vinexpo is also bound up with the appeal of Bordeaux itself and many Chinese visitors to Vinexpo also took time out to see chateaux for themselves.

Separately, European and Chinese wine trade bodies CEEV and CADA used Vinexpo to reaffirm their commitment to share information, both in terms of winemaking techniques and trade data.

A deal was initially signed in 2014 for two years, but both organisations said co-operation would continue beyond that period.