Spanish winemakers uncork sweeter, simpler new wines in Shanghai

The CIIE, or the China International Import Expo, is a giant import fair where the world's biggest companies put on a show to sell into the Chinese market.

From November 5-10 Shanghai welcomes the world, and in its eight edition the expo could see transactions exceed $500 billion with over 3,200 companies from more than 110 countries present.

Big brands and household names like Mercedes-Benz, Samsung, and TikTok, will be among over 260 Fortune 500 companies at the CIIE, and Spain will be there too, aiming to entice Chinese consumers with Spanish delicias.

CGTN travelled to the Felix Solis winery in Valdepeñas, Castilla La Mancha region, where production runs 24 hours and a million bottles of wine a day are produced for sale in 130 countries, including China.

The winery produces the famous drops Viña Albali - the top-selling wine in Spanish supermarkets - and Mucho Más, and had a turnover above $450 million in 2024.

The company has been doing business in China for nearly three decades.

"We opened the first production plant for a Spanish winery in China in 1998," says Asia director Alberto Bermejo. "We were pioneers and we had a production plant and our own warehouse and distribution from that time."

France, Italy, and Spain are the world's biggest wine producers, and it's an industry worth around $40 billion last year.

The company will be there at the fair in Shanghai.

Bermejo adds: "CIE is a very important fair in China. It's strategic- a government fair. It's a good opportunity to sell to small distributors all around China, but also to close bigger agreements to export containers from Spain to China."

How wine culture in China is changing

Globally, however, wine producers face big challenges and cultural changes.

"China, especially, young people are drinking less and better," says Bermejo. "They care more about their health, about habits, and about what they really like, so we are moving to a trend of easy to drink wines, easy to understand, easy concepts, like, more fruity for example."

The industry is adapting and zero alcohol wine is on the rise. But Spain has a lot more to offer than just wine.

Maria Naranjo Crespo is the agri-food director at ICEX Spain, the body in charge of promoting brand Spain worldwide.

"Our most iconic products will be at CIIE, like pork, wine or olive oil," she says. "We try promote the image of our gastronomy, first of all, so in our exhibition you're going to see ham carving, olive oil, wine tastings as well.

"Restaurants from Spain will be well represented too. We have around 600 certified Spanish restaurants worldwide, around 30 of them in China.

"Young Chinese consumers say they see Spain as a very fun country, they want to know more about the new flavors that Spain can bring. We have a very good opportunity with younger generations."

CIIE brings big opportunities because of its mixture of final consumers, professionals and authorities.

Spain is bringing the fun and raising a glass to new friends and new business in Shanghai.