California to lead wine education in China

On the Chinese mainland last year, sales of US wine totaled $74 million, up 18 percent from the previous year, according to the San Francisco-based Wine Institute. The Chinese mainland is the fifth-largest export market for California wines.

But even though the quantity is there, Golden State vintners are hoping the quality of their wines can be more appreciated in the country. To achieve that goal, one key component of the project is to develop a curriculum.

"Unlike many other producing countries, we have not had a large formal wine education program in China," Insel explained, adding that she and her team have asked the Culinary Institute of America to adapt its three-day intensive course on California wines into a multi-level certification program tailored for China.

"We are particularly interested in training wine educators who will then deliver the classes across China themselves, so we can reach many more people," Insel said.

The Chinese market is extremely price-sensitive, but Insel believes that Golden State wine should be sold at fine wine prices because of its high quality.

"Industry experts in China described the tiers of wine in China as: up to $50, from $50 to $130 and $130 and above. Today, the market expects most California wines to sell in the lowest tier," Insel said.

Although the mid-tier - $50 to $130 - is the least active segment of China's market, Insel noted it is a price segment that is economically reasonable for many of their wines.

"The only way we know how to win a wine customer's heart is to tell them the stories - about handcrafted world class wines, about the people who make them, the places and the history and its intimate connection to the soil, the people and the place," she said.