Twenty-three Spanish wineries promoted their wines at the Jockey Club, supported by ICEX
Twenty-three wineries from various Spanish regions presented their wines to importers, distributors, restaurateurs and specialist press in Hong Kong throughout the day, in a city where Spanish wine is increasingly in demand.
The event, which took place at the Jockey Club and was supported by the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade, was complemented by the seminar "Spanish Wines: Diversity and Variety", led by Pancho Campo, president of the Spanish Wine Academy, since one of the objectives sought was to "educate".
According to figures from the Spanish trade office in Hong Kong, which organized the event together with the Ciudad Real Chamber of Commerce, in the last two years the import of Spanish wine has grown by 85 percent in the former colony, an increase above the average of close competitors.
More than 7 percent of the wine imported into Hong Kong is Spanish, and in terms of value, Spanish wines represent just over 2 percent of the total, which, according to Borja Sánchez, an analyst at the trade office, indicates that the "quality-price ratio is very good".
Spanish trade officials agreed that there is an increase in the variety of wines presented under the "wines of Spain" brand, and also that Spanish SMEs have improved in their expansion planning.
On the contrary, in marketing the subject has not yet been mastered, since, as Elena Bisbal, director of the Hong Kong office of the Valencian Institute of Export, told Efe, "the design of the labeling is fundamental" and in the Spanish case, it can be improved.
"Without abandoning our varieties, we must consider which grape is being used and specify it," as New World wines do, focused on export from the beginning and knowledgeable about the varieties that are of interest, work, and are understood.
Guillermo Pérez, commercial director of Bodega Emina, agreed that Spanish wineries still have a way to go in "labeling and communication management with key influencers." However, he complained that Spain, as the world's third-largest wine producer, does not invest enough in promoting its wines abroad.
"More frequent and more money is needed for these kinds of events" for Spain to be as aggressive as France, Argentina, or Chile, Pérez estimated. He also noted that there is an export drive "out of necessity," given that the domestic market is saturated.
Emina's commercial director added that Spain should be prepared to occupy the French wine market, and that "New World or Italian wines should not get ahead of it."
In Asia, Hong Kong, along with Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, are the economies toward which the Ciudad Real Chamber of Commerce is currently directing its efforts, according to Alberto Rodríguez, its foreign trade coordinator.
The expedition will travel tomorrow, Wednesday, to Taipei (Taiwan), where it will complete its trade mission.
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