Rioja redoubles its promotional activity in China with a view to reactivating the market

Beijing, Canton and Shanghai host Rioja shows

87 Rioja wineries present more than 450 references on a tour that marks the return of sales staff to the Asian country

---

 

La Rioja Qualified Denomination of Origin has given new impetus to its promotional activity in China with the celebration of a commercial tour that has toured the cities of Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. A total of 87 Rioja wineries have participated in this initiative, which has brought together more than 2.000 professionals from the sector and has allowed them to taste more than 450 references of Rioja wines.

 

The tour marks the return of the commercial staff of the Rioja wineries to the Asian country after the pandemic and is part of the strategy of the Designation of Origin to capitalize on the expected reactivation of the Chinese market, one of the reference international markets for Rioja.

 

The Rioja shows have been very well received by professionals in the sector, with more than 2.000 attendees in total. Among the guests were representatives of important companies responsible for the marketing of wine in China, hotel chains and resorts, supermarket chains of imported products and state conglomerates in the food and distribution sector.

 

During the three exhibitions, attendees were able to enjoy tastings of more than 450 references of Rioja wines, selected for their uniqueness and versatility to demonstrate the great diversity that characterizes the first. Qualified Denomination of Origin of Spain and the one that exports the most wine from Spain.

 

The Rioja Qualified Denomination of Origin is committed to capitalizing on the long-awaited growth of the Chinese market with various promotional actions

 

Additionally, in parallel, Rioja offered a masterclass in each of the cities taught by official Rioja trainers, selling out all the places. The sessions, led by the trainers Dorian Thang, Beijing, Samuel Li, in Guangzhou and Sam Chen, in Shanghai, managed to immerse attendees in an immersive tour of the different styles of Rioja, although each speaker emphasized specific aspects, such as wines of origin, the art of aging or Rioja single varietals.

 

The Marketing Director of the Regulatory Council, Inigo Tapiador, and those responsible for the Rioja campaign in China have also taken advantage of the tour to hold various meetings with representatives of the sector in each of the cities with importers, specialized journalists, Rioja trainers of Chinese origin and Rioja ambassadors, confirming the interest of the market for the wines of the DOCa Rioja.

 

Despite the general economic situation of this market, China continues to bet on Rioja wines and maintains an expectation of market recovery, with the aim of significantly increasing the more than 1,5 million liters of Rioja wine that were exported to the country in 2023, thus gaining positions in the ranking of DOCa importing countries.

 

Rioja's tour in China will continue in autumn, with visits to three other cities in the coastal area of ​​the country. In addition, Rioja will have its own space and institutional stand at the fair. ProWine in Asia, which will be held in Shanghai between November 12 and 14, 2024.