Wine in China: Premium at the Pump
From Scene Asia:
China’s new thirst for wine has some vintners trying to drive it home with the country’s consumers — literally.
French winery Domaine de Chevalier said last week it plans to sell its wines in China’s gas stations. The premium winemaker has an agreement with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. to peddle its Bordeaux in 110 stores across China, according a report by Shenzhen Special Zone Newsletter (in Chinese).
Olivier Bernard, owner of the 18th-century Bordeaux region winery, said a deal hasn’t been signed yet, but if all goes according to plan, Sinopec will stock Chevalier wines that cost in the range of 600 yuan to 700 yuan (US$90 to $105) — hardly bargain-basement plonk.
Mr. Bernard set up a Domaine de Chevalier office in Shanghai this year, where his son is hosting wine tastings and building the brand. “We’re starting to sell seriously in China,” Mr. Bernard said from his office in France.
This won’t be the first wine sold at Sinopec, as the petroleum company is also known in China. It has been selling Great Wall, one of the country’s leading labels, since it ventured into products other than fuel two years ago (only 15% of its 95,000 stations sell nonfuel products, such as wine).
As the Wall Street Journal reported in October, some marketers have realized that there’s money to be made in the rise of China’s car culture. Domaine de Chevalier, among others, is betting that people who visit Sinopec may want to buy more than gasoline when filling their tanks.
China’s tough stance on drunk driving — getting behind the wheel after having as little as one alcoholic drink can be enough to qualify someone as a “drink driver,” punishable by a six-month license suspension and a possible 15-day jail sentence — will hopefully dissuade people from getting tanked when buying their gasoline.
–Laurie Burkitt, with contributions from Jason Chow and Zhang Junting. @lburkitt
- AFP/Getty Images
- Gridlock in Shanghai: Some companies, including a French winemaker, have realized there’s money to be made in the rise of China’s car culture.
- AFP/Getty Images
- A Sinopec service station in Chengdu, China
China’s new thirst for wine has some vintners trying to drive it home with the country’s consumers — literally.
French winery Domaine de Chevalier said last week it plans to sell its wines in China’s gas stations. The premium winemaker has an agreement with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. to peddle its Bordeaux in 110 stores across China, according a report by Shenzhen Special Zone Newsletter (in Chinese).
Olivier Bernard, owner of the 18th-century Bordeaux region winery, said a deal hasn’t been signed yet, but if all goes according to plan, Sinopec will stock Chevalier wines that cost in the range of 600 yuan to 700 yuan (US$90 to $105) — hardly bargain-basement plonk.
Mr. Bernard set up a Domaine de Chevalier office in Shanghai this year, where his son is hosting wine tastings and building the brand. “We’re starting to sell seriously in China,” Mr. Bernard said from his office in France.
This won’t be the first wine sold at Sinopec, as the petroleum company is also known in China. It has been selling Great Wall, one of the country’s leading labels, since it ventured into products other than fuel two years ago (only 15% of its 95,000 stations sell nonfuel products, such as wine).
As the Wall Street Journal reported in October, some marketers have realized that there’s money to be made in the rise of China’s car culture. Domaine de Chevalier, among others, is betting that people who visit Sinopec may want to buy more than gasoline when filling their tanks.
China’s tough stance on drunk driving — getting behind the wheel after having as little as one alcoholic drink can be enough to qualify someone as a “drink driver,” punishable by a six-month license suspension and a possible 15-day jail sentence — will hopefully dissuade people from getting tanked when buying their gasoline.
–Laurie Burkitt, with contributions from Jason Chow and Zhang Junting. @lburkitt
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