Welcome to Heartbeat, the show that gets to the centre of China's ever-changing lifestyle, but still manages to discover the country's rich cultural history. I’m your host Jules Page.

Anyone for tennis? How about a tattoo? Then again you might just enjoy a little sip of red wine. We’re looking at all those topics on today’s ‘Heartbeat’ where wine making and wine appreciation as well as interest in tattooing and tennis are on the rise here in China.
 
Grape wine consumption has not traditionally been all that popular in China, but these days it is becoming more so with wine, as a consumer product, being aggresively marketed in cities throughout China. This rise in popularity has ensured fierce competition between wine producers from both home and abroad. Ting ting has more.

Reporter:

Pan Li is a singer based in Shanghai. Beginning last September, she became a fan of grape wine. She has spent more than 30,000 yuan, that's around 5,000 US dollars on stocking her cellar, and that figure is rising. She also goes to wine tasting events regularly.

"Moderate wine consumption is good for the circulation of the blood. Wine can help resist the aging process, because it contains tannin, which is an anti-oxidant, especially red wine. It helps the skin."

Pan Li is one of 600,000 high-end wine drinkers in urban China. Many more are consuming table wines which are more affordable. Some of them share the common belief that this type of wine can benefit our health. Others just follow the trend during social gatherings.

Statistics say China's grape wine yield saw a 20 percent rise last year. To be expected, the emerging market is also attracting foreign competitors. The US-based Wall Street Journal reports wine imports from France to China have seen a nearly 15-fold increase between 2002 and 2008.

To deal with the competition, Chinese wine makers have taken action. Large scale vineyards such as Yantai Changyu Pioneer Wine, which takes up 30% of the current grape wine market share in China, are improving the quality of their products through international cooperation. Small boutique chateaus have also been spotted in various parts of the country.

Sun Jian, Vice General Manager of the Changyu Group, believes foreign rivals have not caused substantial threats to Changyu's status.

"The imported wines have to be taxed at a 48.2% tariff when they come in. We take advantage naturally. Secondly, Changyu is a household name among Chinese customers. I don't think any foreign brand has been particularly remembered here. And thirdly, we have a well established sales network, thousands of salespersons and distributors. That's not easy to match in a short period of time."

But how long can Chinese wine makers rely on tariffs? Winekee.com is one of the largest online wine importers in China. Shi Xingyu, a sales manager, says the Chinese wine making industry still has its inherent problems, especially when it comes to the high-end market.

"There's no strict quality guarantee in the wine-making industry here in China. In some countries, they have a complete system of regulations to ensure the production process. They have a grading system. Even random irrigation or watering could be breaking the law. While in China, wine-makers just produce as they like."

Wang Zuming, secretary general of the Wine Branch of the China Alcoholic Drinks Industry Association, says they are trying to help promote the wine grading system in China, but it still needs time. He also warns wine makers not to be put off by high-end foreign rivals. The ordinary table wine market is bigger and requires more attention.

"The total amount of the table wine yield of our country is still not enough. No matter in France or in Australia, table wine is always their main product and main consumption. After all, most people can afford it. We should maintain the quality of our table wine. Only so can we really enlarge the wine-making industry."

Thank you Ting ting for that report.