Stretching hundreds and thousands of miles from Atlantic ocean to the central land of France, the Loire, the longest river in France, is also the most famous one. Along the Loire, a cluster of wineries makes up the most complex and diverse wine-producing region— the Loire Valley. In terms of wine output, the Loire Valley is, after Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley, the third largest wine-producing region in France.
Thanks to its climatic and soil diversity, the Loire boasts the most diverse grape varieties, making it stand out from all the other wine-producing regions. The diversity of grape varieties maybe part of the reason that, unlike other win-producing regions such as Bordeaux, Bourgogne where there is a standard AOC for the whole area, the wines in Loire Valley are called VDP du Val de Loire. For many emerging wine markets like China, consumers will consider wine classification when choosing wine products and most of them think that AOC must be better than VDP (clearly, this is a big misunderstanding). Maybe this is the main reason why Loire Valley wines haven't seen much popularity in the emerging markets.
The annual wine output from the Loire Valley stands at 300 million liters, of which white wines take up 50% and red wines 20%. The fact that red wines are the mainstream in the emerging markets including China is the reason why Loire Valley wines have difficulty in export growth. To meet market preference, the Loire Valley has seen a gradual expansion of red grapes planting in recent years.
The most known and influential red wine produced in the Loire Valley is undoubtedly Cabernet Franc, which has many similarities in terms of fragrance with the well-known Cabernet Sauvignon in that these two are closely related. Compared with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc contains a lower amount of tannins. If vintage potential is the name card for Bordeaux, especially for Bordeaux wineries, comparatively speaking, wines produced at the Loire Valley are fresh and cool and more preferable to be served with other dishes ( and the Loire Valley also has many wines with vintage potential).
The diverse and complex features make promotion for Loire Valley wines hard among ordinary consumers and what makes it harder is that there are a lack of big Loire wineries to build brand confidence among consumers,let alone prestigious ones. Look at the bright side, lacking big wineries and brands make the wine price rather reasonable and affordable. Jancis Robinson, the former president of UK Institute of Wines & Spirits and an expert in wine industry, wrote on her own webpage: In deed the Loire in general is a wonderful hunting ground for those looking for true value, especially as all but the most commercial wines of all colour age particularly well.
Being undervalued, suitable for consuming at daily occasions rather than for collection, and well-paired with most of the food, all these features determine that sommeliers and restaurant managers should be the focus of targeted promotion for Loire Valley wines. At present, Loire Valley wines are not common on the wine list in Chinese restaurants, which is really a loss for both the Loire Valley and consumers.
No matter how cost-effective and preferable a wine is to be served with other dishes, it will not present on the wine list by itself. To my knowledge, the one or two Loire Valley wineries’ names on the price lists from some big comprehensive wines importers are, for most of the time, no other than empty titles to show that these wineries have a complete wine list. Few importers make Loire Valley wines their promotion priority, let alone small wine importers. Loire Valley wines promotion activities are also hard to be found in South China’ s market.
Loire Valley industry Association as represented by Interloire, has pumped a lot money in promotion in America and Japan, while China market has not been valued. The Association may have underestimated the potential of China market. Introducingand promoting Loire Valley wines now may help them capture opportunities in China market as America market and Japan market have usually been the bell wether for China market which follows their trend in the next 3-5 years.
