Ian Ford arrived in China in 1995, started importing wine in 1999, and has spent the decades since watching the market transform from an expat novelty into one of the world’s most significant markets. He now runs Nimbility, an export management and market development operation with teams across Asia Pacific, and in this conversation he offers a detailed account of where the China wine market actually stands — not the 2019 version that many exporters are still mentally working from. That means the May 2025 government decree banning alcohol at official functions and its chilling effect on banqueting and gifting, why the post-tariff Australian recovery stalled despite an enthusiastic initial welcome, and what blind tasting clubs run by tattooed twenty-somethings tell us about the generational shift now reshaping Chinese wine culture from the ground up.
Ford also takes the listener on a broader tour of the region: why New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and German Riesling are the wines of the current moment in China, what is driving South Korea‘s growth, why Japan's importers are hunkered down under a yen that has lost nearly half its value against the dollar, and why India remains perpetually five years away from the boom everyone keeps predicting. For producers with limited budgets trying to decide where to focus, Ford has a clear view — and equally clear advice on where not to spend money, including the digital black hole that swallows producers who try to build proprietary audiences from scratch. If you want to understand how Asia actually works for wine right now, this is the episode.
Felicity Carter is an award-winning wine and drinks journalist, editor and analyst. She led Meininger’s Wine Business International to become the world’s most must-read wine trade magazine, and was founding Executive Editor of The Drop/Pix, which the Wall Street Journal named one of the most trusted sources of wine information. A regular keynote speaker, she was named a 2024 Industry Leader by WineBusiness Monthly. Her Drinks Insider podcast won the 67 Pall Mall Global Wine Communicator Award for Audio.
Chapters
(00:00:05) - Drinks Insider: China and the Future
(00:02:04) - Ian Fleming on China's wine market
(00:05:47) - Nimbility Wine and Spirits
(00:06:57) - China's wine style trends
(00:13:13) - Australian Wine: The Market's Changed
(00:14:19) - China's wine sales slump
(00:16:58) - China Wine Market: Changes
(00:19:37) - The epicenter of Chinese wine in Shanghai
(00:21:10) - Should Chinese Wine Be More Complex?
(00:24:39) - China's GLP1 drugs off patent
(00:25:26) - Japan's second biggest market is South Korea
(00:30:16) - Women Drink More Wine in China
(00:31:37) - What are people drinking in South Korea?
(00:33:15) - Japan
(00:35:04) - Iran war and its impact on trade
(00:36:12) - India and the future
(00:39:43) - China
(00:40:56) - What Should I Not Spend Money On?
(00:42:20) - Japan's wine exports are doing poorly
(00:43:34) - Exploring the China white wine market
(00:45:30) - China Wine Trade: Excitement among consumers
(00:47:35) - Drinks Insider: The Business of Drinking
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