Eight Spanish bodegas attend 3rd Traditional Quality Wine Tasting Exhibition in Vietnam

The event boasts the collaboration of wineries from France, Italy and Spain who have joined together to showcase their wines in the Asian country

06/28/2012

Saigon and Hanoi were chosen as the backdrops for this year’s event

A total of eight Spanish bodegas took part in the 3^rd Traditional Quality Wine Tasting Exhibition in Vietnam, a pioneering event held on 25^th June in Saigon and 26^th June in Hanoi, which boasts the collaboration of France, Italy and Spain with the aim of jointly showcasing fine wines from some of Europe’s most important wine regions.

In total, the event, organised by UBIFRANCE from France, ICE from Italy, and ICEX from Spain, boasts the participation of 24 European wineries: 7 French, 9 Italian, and 8 Spanish, and brings together around 400 Vietnamese wine trade and hospitality sector professionals, a figure which represents the total number of agents in the country.

Spanish wines, which corner only a modest market share are however one of the products which has registered the highest growth rate. In 2010, Spanish wine exports to Vietnam were up 154 per cent, while total imports to Vietnam increased 56 per cent in 2011.

Nevertheless, the Vietnamese wine market is dominated by France, although its lead is decreasing somewhat owing to the boost in wines from New World countries such as Chile and Australia, currently the most active countries and those registering the highest growth rates. Owing to the competition, Spain, France and Italy – the countries with the longest winemaking history on the international market – have joined forces in order to highlight the value of centuries of tradition in the art of winemaking: terroir, native grape varieties, traditional methods and generations of experience, which give rise to distinctive flavours and unique complexity in each individual vintage.

Vietnam is an emerging market and as such still has a long way to go before becoming a not-to-be-missed venue for Spanish exports to Asia. Notwithstanding, its progress to date has been very promising. Yearly increases of between 20 and 85 per cent in wine imports are beginning to catch the eye of many agents who have already noted that Vietnam is more open to wine culture than other south-east Asian countries.