Western wine descriptions; lost in translation

Asian consumers struggle to understand traditional Western wine language
by Suzannah Ramsdale of Decanter


Asian consumers struggle to grasp traditional Western wine descriptions, says Jeannie Cho Lee MW.


Writing in this month's Decanter, Cho Lee explains that wine writers need to discover new ways to communicate with Asian wine drinkers, but that it may take two generations to come up with a language that is relevant and meaningful to Asian wine lovers.


The traditional Western language of wine has been subject to inaccurate translations and means little to many Asian consumers, according to Cho Lee.

When it comes to the Asian palate there is a need for more familiar reference points which relate to their cuisine and dining habits.

For example, wine drinkers in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore appreciate the subtle elements in mature fine wines, which share the same restrained characters as some of the most-sought after ingredients in Asia such as sea urchin, Kobe beef and shark's fin.

Similarly, the tolerance level for tannins varies depending on whether the consumer is a regular drinker of tea or bitter vegetables such as ginseng and radish. For those people, full-bodied tannic red wines are extremely enjoyable.

Cho Lee points out that while wine drinkers in the West may describe a Shiraz as having notes of black pepper, liquorice, game and bacon fat, Asian consumers will refer to Tandoori spice, roasted goose or char siu (barbecued pork).

See the full article in the June issue of Decanter magazine – Subscribe here

Winemakers turning to Asia to help ride out economic slowdown

WA winemakers look to Asia to beat industry downturn
By Georgia Loney of The West Australia


WA winemakers are turning to emerging markets in Taiwan, Nepal and South Korea to help the industry through the global economic crisis, as traditional markets in Britain and the US dry up.

Major wine importers from Japan, Nepal, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand toured WA wine regions this week in search of supplies.

The value of Asian markets is rising rapidly, with China and Taiwan buying 54 per cent and 23 per cent more of Australian wine over the past year, while the volume of exports to Nepal is up 97 per cent.

Taiwanese wine importers Shelly Wu and Winston Lin signed a deal last month to import Cullen Wines from Margaret River and said there was a strong market for Australian fine wine in Taiwan but it was overwhelmingly for red varieties. Ms Wu said WA shiraz was popular. “The market for (fine wine) has been developed over the last 20 years but they mostly used to drink French wines. Now there is stronger interest in new world wines,” she said.

“There is strong interest in shiraz from Australia and the cabernet sauvignon is beautiful compared to the European style. We are adding to our portfolio of WA wines because the wine style is very elegant and very approachable to the Taiwanese palate.”

Nepalese wine buyer Amit Agrawal imports wine from the Hunter Valley in NSW and is yet to buy any WA wine.

He said the tiny country’s thriving tourism industry generated demand for fine wine. “Because we like spicy types of food, sauvignon blanc goes well,” he said.

Britain and the US remain by far the biggest wine export markets but their value has fallen 20 per cent and 12 per cent respectively over the past year.