South Africa’s wine producers could do well to avoid thinking in terms of Asia as a homogenous entity but rather a continent of 57 countries with markedly differing tastes, says wine specialist Debra Meiburg. US-born but resident of Hong Kong for the part 23 years, Meiburg, a master of wine, international writer and consultant to producers trading in Asian markets, has emphasised at a Wosa-hosted seminar that thorough research of individual potential markets is key. According to Wosa, China, including Hong Kong, accounts for just over 35% of the Asia-Pacific wine market value, with Japan accounting for 22.5%.
