China drinks expert Ian Ford previously joined us on Drinks Adventures https://drinksadventures.com.au/2020/06/29/lessons-from-sars-and-china-drinks-trends-with-industry-veteran-ian-ford-s5e8/ (in June 2020).
The plan was to get his insights about the pandemic’s likely impact on the drinks industry, but it turned into a really interesting discussion about wine, spirits and beer consumption trends in China, more generally.


This is another update on the dynamic Chinese drinks market, including moves by spirits giants Diageo and Pernod Ricard to establish single malt distilleries there, and the opportunities Ian can see for Australian distillers.


First off though, we get Ian’s thoughts on the news that Australian icon Penfolds is set to make wine in China.


It’s a bid to circumvent the punitive Chinese tariffs implemented on Australian wine imports in August 2021.


I started by asking Ian whether he was surprised at the severity of those tariffs, and the ripple effect for the global wine market.