High end wine companies expected China’s anti-corruption and anti-graft campaign to ease in 2013 however corporate entertaining and spending did not rebound as expected, and reforms continue to tighten leaving premium wine companies holding inventory. John Watkins, chief executive of ASC Fine Wines states that the key to growth in the Chinese market now lies in e-commerce and lower prices wines. The market is shifting its interest to Burgundy wines and wines from Italy and Spain. In China, wine accounts for 34% of all online alcohol sales as opposed to 5% of all online alcohol sales outside the country with more women and younger buyers making up the online demographic of consumers. Additionally, wine companies in China have had to create methods of combatting the large issue of counterfeiting. Mr. Watkins explains how ASC has begun to put a QR code and hologram on the neck of each bottle of wine it produces. The QR code and hologram can be scanned by a smartphone to show when it left the winery and arrived on the shelf to ensure authenticity. To read further about how wine companies are dealing with the shifting conditions in China:
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