Italy is looking to topple France as China's top wine exporter, a senior Italian official in Chengdu said on Wednesday.

French wine continues to dominate the Chinese market, and wines from Chile and Australia enjoy tariff reductions. But Sergio Maffettone, the Italian consul-general in Chongqing and former news counselor of the Italian Embassy in China, insists there is "huge space for improvement" for Italian wine to gain market share.

Maffettone said the Italian government is supporting Italian companies and producers "by all means" possible in their efforts to export more to China.

Wine from the country's main exporting region, the Apennine Peninsula, currently occupies around 7 percent share of all imported wines in China. Italy trails France, Australia, Chile and Spain as the fifth-biggest exporter.

Chilean wine was granted tariff exemption from the start of this year, and Australian wine will be given the same advantage over the coming three years, thanks to recently signed free trade agreements with China.

Maffettone is confident, however, that Italian wine can take the number one spot, as Chinese drinking habits shift away from buying expensive wines to cheaper, mass-produced labels, such as those from his country, which are still considered quality nonetheless.

"Some Chinese have been choosing the most expensive ones to be sure of the quality, but once the consumers get to know the taste (of Italian wine), they find a new world opens," Maffettone said.

A recent report has already observed a shift in wine tastes in China. The report was released by the Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, which is located in the Yangling Demonstration Zone of Agricultural Hi-tech Industries, 80 kilometers from Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi province.

It showed the Chinese market consumed 1.94 billion bottles of wine last year, a 5.6 percent increase from 2013 - but it also said that the market has entered an era when value for money has become more important, and that suits mass-produced varieties.

"Italian wine was less known to the United States 30 years ago, but now its quality has won it the largest share in the world's biggest consumer market," said Maffettone.

"China will be the same if we can help bring Italian culture here, a culture that associates wine with good food. We are thinking about pairing Italian wine with certain Chinese food, even dishes such as Sichuan hotpot."

The second Italian trump card is that it plans to promote its 450 different varieties of native grapes, he said, and educate the Chinese wine drinkers to appreciate the nuances involved in those.

According to Vinitaly International, an exhibition showcasing wine from Italy, 90 percent of French vineyards grow just 15 varieties of grape, and 90 percent of their US counterparts grow only eight.

In contrast, 90 percent of their Italian peers produce wine from 65 grape varieties, it said.

"So when people feel bored and want to taste something new and exciting, they can turn to a host of Italian wines," said Simone Incontro, head of Vinitaly International's Shanghai bureau.

Vinitaly first organized exhibitions in the Chinese mainland in 2006, but within three years it shifted its events to Hong Kong. Now, said Incontro, as the mainland market grows, it is returning to the mainland with events planned in eight cities including Chengdu and Shanghai this year where Italian wine producers, distributors and experts will promote their industry.

Zhuang Meirong, general manager of an Italian wine importer from Shandong province, said some of her peers have switched to distributing Australian wine, but she has remained loyal to Italian wine "because the quality is consistent".

Cavit, which promotes itself as a producer of high-quality, food-friendly Italian wine, already has a representative office in Beijing, run by Project Manager Fiorenzo Biscaglia.

"We really believe in the market and want to stay here," said Biscaglia.

"We are optimistic that wine will become part of Chinese life, just as it is in Italy."

wanghuazhong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 03/26/2015 page16)