Institutions and producers acknowledge the role played by VeronaFiere with Vinitaly China over the last ten years. Wine consumption in China will be in excess of one billion bottles by 2011.

Huge success for Vinitaly China - the Shanghai stage was warmly welcomed by Italian institutions and companies involved in the promotion tour around the enormous Asian country.

Wine-making companies are beginning to reap the rewards of the commitment and perseverance of VeronaFiere, that focused on China before everyone else in 1998 - launching here its Vinitaly world tour experience. The formula introduced this year - but already tried and tested during the other international stop-offs of Vinitaly - focused on B2B and B2C contacts through invitation-only workshops and wine tastings for importers, restaurateurs/caterers and influential consumers - and has achieved very positive commercial results. This confirms Vinitaly once again not only as the landmark for trade operators in Asia but also as the most credible action platform for the strategies of Italian companies and institutions involved in the promotion of Italian produce.

"Vinitaly is a world-wide promotion system," said Camillo Cametti, Director of VeronaFiere delegated for international activities, "and after ten years in China we aim to continue being the launch-pad to penetrate a market that by 2020 may potentially expand 10 million wine consumers at present to 350 millions."

"In agreement with the Minister for Agricultural Policies, Luca Zaia," said Walter Brunello, the new president of Buonitalia who travelled to China with Vinitaly as his first official mission abroad, "I came to China to understand how the Italy system is moving and to talk with producers and institutions not the least in view of the World Expo scheduled in Shanghai in 2010.".

"We must believe in the potential of this market," Andrea Sartori, president of UIV, in China with Vinitaly for the 'The next quality experience' promotional project funded by the EU and developed in collaboration with VeronaFiere, "just as we did 30 years ago in the USA. We have to multiply our efforts to make ourselves known and Vinitaly plays an important role in this context."

Despite its relative immaturity, the wine market in China is already top of the world rankings. Estimates by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade – CCPIT - indicate consumption of more than one billion bottles by 2011.

"Today," said Yu Chen, Secretary General of CCPIT, "China imports wine from 40 different countries and the promotion of Italy through Vinitaly is a truly effective tool because it also focuses on the culture of wine and food."

The appeal of quality Italian agro-food products is very high in China. In short "although Italy in 2007 only ranked 27th among suppliers of agro-food products," as explained by Maurizio Forte, ICE Director in Shanghai, "if we only consider wine, olive oil, pasta and chocolate Italy actually ranks third".

Promotion of Italian olive oil production through Vintaly China sees Unaprol take part with Portfoil, the catalogue of the best extra virgin olive oils from Italy.

And quality produce is precisely the focus of promotion work by Buonitalia. "Thanks to the variety characterising Italian wine production, we have an advantage compared to our competitors," said president Brunello, "because we can suggest pairings between our wines and all traditional Chinese dishes. At the same time, we are also focusing on olive oil and cheese."

The best potential consumers are young people, whose spending habits are similar to those of their Western counterparts. Wealthy and better-off Chinese of the older generation, on the other hand, still essentially view luxury purchases as a way to demonstrate their success rather than an interest in new experiences. In particular for wine, Chinese consumers can be divided into two categories: "middle-aged slurpers" and "white collar connoisseurs".

The first group enjoys alcoholic drinks on work occasions or during festivities and generally prefers local wines. The second group involves young professionals or white collar works with a strong inclination to spend, preferring imported wines with a view to better quality.