Definition: Asian market

Wine exporters are discovering Asian markets, much like Marco Polo did. The European Union remains the main market, but countries as far away as Southeast Asia are seeing a significant increase in their share.

It is well known that the Japanese love cognac (90% of French cognac is exported). It is less well known that French wines are sold in Japan. According to SOPEXA, sales have increased by 34% in value (and by as much as 50% in Singapore).

The new World's Best Sommelier 1995 is Japanese: Shinya Tasaki.

The preferred wines are not sweet whites, but dry whites, and there is a growing demand for red wines (70% of which come from Bordeaux). This may be due to the influence of the "French paradox": wine is beneficial in preventing coronary heart disease.