Insights into Asian wine trends
Meet Angelina Swee Eng, Angie was born in Singapore and has lived in all corners of the globe before moving back to South Africa in 97. She is currently based in Cape Town and is part of the KWV commercial sales team, focusing on the Asian and Australian markets.
We asked Angie a couple of questions about her opinions of wine trends in the Asian market, this is what she had to say:
What do you enjoy most about working in Asia?
I love the food! And the melting pot of different cultures that you find in Asia. The sheer size of the market is very exciting and I am looking forward to visiting a few new places and learning a few new languages
What’s different about how wine is enjoyed in Asia compared with Europe or other western markets?
Though there have been wine producers in some Asian countries for centuries, wine drinking is largely new to Asia. Wine consumption is often about trust – if the company and the brand have a strong and proud heritage, then the products will be trusted. In a number of our Asian markets, KWV is regarded as a company to trust, because of our 90 year heritage and the quality of the wines produced.
Are there particular cultivars or styles that are particularly popular?
The Asian market is more partial to red wines than white wines. Quality wines are appreciated.
Does the Asian style of food and entertaining influence how wine is consumed?
From my recent visit to Singapore, I observed that traditionally wines do not appear to be drunk with Asian style foods, but this is changing as more people are exposed to different wines and are able to try them with different foods.
What’s the biggest challenge of selling South African wine in Asia?
In my opinion, one of the first steps is to educate Asia about South Africa as a quality wine producing country to rival any European country. Currently there is plenty of awareness about the fact that France and Italy produce quality wines, but little is known about South African wines. I do believe that the focus on South Africa in the coming months will give people a picture of South Africa and inform them about our winelands.
I will be working very closely with WOSA (Wines of South Africa) to promote South Africa as a wine producing country and to promote and educate consumers about KWV Wines.