Wine production and consumption are slowing in China as demand falters.  The country's production volumes were down 29% on 2021 figures, at 4.2mhl. It also imported 20% less wine in 2022.

The OIV estimates consumption in China was down 16% last year, from 10.5mhl to 8.8mhl. By comparison, consumption was over double that five years ago – at an estimated 17.6mhl in 2017. Recent consumption has been impacted by the pandemic as well as anti-dumping tariffs on Australian exports, which all but stopped the country’s wine entering China.

China’s area under vine was stagnant last year following years of slow-but-steady growth. Still, it is the third-largest winemaking country after Spain and France, with 10.8% of the world’s vines.

A number of explanations are oft-cited for slowing production of Chinese wine, including tricky growing conditions, domestic taxes, the dominance of a few, large producers and lack of incentive for newcomers, and competition from traditional Chinese liquor baijiu. China also has a thirst for Japanese rice wine, sake, and was the product’s largest export market in 2022.