"Japanese are crazy for wine" - Brief Article

In 1995, Japanese drank a liter of grape wine per head. Last year, they drank four liters a head. "Japanese are crazy for wine," contends Robert Beynat, chief executive of Vinexpo and its Asian offshoot, V&S. He says 60% to 65% of all Asia-Pacific wine sales are in the Land of the Rising Sun.

That's why the big V&S Show will this year be held in a huge window-less exhibition center on Tokyo Bay. Beynat must be keeping airline accountants happy. In recent months, he's been crisscrossing Asia, visiting Seoul, Sydney, Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei and Bangkok, preaching the value of visiting the show. The show will be held from June 5 to 8 at Tokyo Big Sight.

He claims success, with 38 producing companies and 1,000 companies registered. It will be about 30% larger than the first V&S show staged in Hong Kong two years ago, at the nadir of the Asian economic crisis. France has taken about half the floor space in Tokyo, with other major representation from Italy, Spain, Chile and the United States.

Spending so much time in Tokyo has given Beynat a chance to study the Japanese wine system. It's different, he agrees, than anywhere else on earth. For instance, the wine show is being supported by Suntory (whisky) and the two huge breweries, Asahi and Sapporo. They are also both wine distributors.

The archaic old system of selling wine had every bottle going through an intricate medieval system of national, regional, provincial, city and local agents each adding their slice to the cost. When the bottle was finally sold to a customer, the price was astronomical.

That's changing. Beynat says thousands of tiny corner liquor shops have closed down and major supermarkets are taking their place. It's not uncommon to see wines imported under the traditional system on sale alongside wines directly imported by major retailers, with one costing three times as much as another.

"Young people are buying wine in Japan," he says. "These are all new customers. And Japanese housewives are going out with their girlfriends and drinking wine. It's cultural. It says they are free."

Despite this, selling wine in Japan in the new century is no stroll in the park. In the glory years up until 1997, Japanese importers went insane and stocked up with enormous amounts. Now they are desperate and unloading at discount prices. It's tough to import against this situation.

No matter how successful is V&S 2000, the next Asian show two years later will be held elsewhere. "We want to be itinerant," Beynat explains. The site could be Singapore, Hong Kong or some other city. Shanghai has expressed interest, but he has doubts about the city's organizational flair to carry off such a big wine show, plus worries about getting in samples.

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