How to Export Wine to China in 2026: A Shrinking Market That Still Pays the Prepared
If you want to export wine to China in 2026, start by forgetting the word “booming”. Shipping wine to China still pays for some producers, but the market has shrunk for most of the last decade, and the 2025 customs data confirm it. The brands that win now are the ones that treat China as a small, picky, premium market and do the compliance and channel work before the first container leaves.
Here is my honest read of the numbers, followed by the roadmap I would use for a small winery today.
By Jon Wang, founder of SEO Agency China, a small Shanghai team that sells foreign food and drink brands in China on tight budgets.
We work with wine and spirits importers every month, so I see what sells at the importer’s warehouse, not just in the press releases.
The truth about wine to China: a smaller market, not a booming one
Imported wine in China has been falling for years. According to the OIV’s report on the 2023 wine trade, China’s wine imports dropped for the sixth year in a row in 2023, down 26.1% in volume to 2.5 million hectolitres. Consumption fell from 17.6 million hectolitres in 2018 to an estimated 6.8 million in 2023.
2024 looked like a turnaround. On 28 March 2024, the Ministry of Commerce announced it would end anti-dumping duties on Australian wine from 29 March 2024 (MOFCOM Announcement No. 11 of 2024). Australian bottles came back, and total imports rose to roughly 1.25 billion US dollars and 283 million litres.
Then 2025 erased the gain. Chinese customs data analysed by Spain’s wine interprofessional body show imports fell 14.6% in value to 1.03 billion US dollars and 26.7% in volume to 207.2 million litres. The average import price rose 16.5% to 6.32 dollars a litre. Bulk wine collapsed (volume down 39.6%), bottled wine held up better.
| Supplier | 2025 import value | Change vs 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 536.1 million USD | -5.4% |
| France | 384.9 million USD | -18.8% |
| Chile | 119.7 million USD | -30.4% |
| Italy | 85.6 million USD | -15.5% |
| Total | 1.03 billion USD | -14.6% |
2026 has not turned the corner yet. From January to May, imports were about 81.7 million litres, down 14.2%, worth 555 million dollars, down 5.4%, while the average price rose about 10% to 6.8 dollars a litre (customs data reported by Huxiu in June 2026). Importers are cautious and channels still hold stock.
My position: anyone selling you China as a volume play is selling you the 2017 story. The real signal is the rising price per litre. Fewer bottles, more value per bottle. That favours small producers with a real story and a mid-to-premium price, and it punishes cheap bulk. If your plan is to move containers of entry-level red, China is the wrong bet in 2026. If you have a distinctive wine and patience, it is still worth doing. For the consumer side of the picture, see our China wine market report 2026.
Step 1: compliance and logistics before anything else
Exporting wine to China feels like a sommelier exam, but get the rules right and the rest gets easier. You don’t need a full local entity on day one if you start with cross-border e-commerce. The key hurdles:
- Duties and taxes. Bottled wine pays import duty plus VAT and consumption tax on landed value, unless your country has a free trade agreement with China. Producers from Chile and Australia ship duty-free, which is part of why Spanish and other European wines lost their price edge. Ask your importer for a full landed-cost sheet before you quote a price.
- Producer registration. Every overseas food manufacturer, wineries included, must be registered with China Customs. The rules changed this year: GACC Decree No. 280 replaced Decree No. 248 on 1 June 2026. If you registered under the old rules, check that your number is still valid and that your importer is filed too.
- Labels and documents. A Chinese back label is mandatory: origin, alcohol by volume, importer details, your registration number, and no health claims. Plan for the new general label standard as well; we covered the GB 7718-2025 label rewrite due before March 2027. Prepare health and origin certificates and lab tests before shipping.
- Bonded zones. Shipping into a bonded warehouse in Shanghai, Ningbo or Guangzhou defers duties until the goods leave the zone, which helps cash flow while you test demand. Use temperature-controlled transport; a summer container without it can cook your wine.
Step 2: tell your story the way Chinese buyers read it
Chinese buyers aren’t just drinking, they are signalling taste and status, especially when they buy a bottle as a gift.
- Get a Chinese name. Keep your original name and add a short Chinese one that is easy to say and search. If you don’t pick one, distributors or consumers will, and you may not like it.
- Packaging that photographs well. A clean label and a QR code linking to a Chinese page about the vineyard do more than a long back-label text.
- Sell the place and the people. Family history, the region, how the wine is made, food pairings with Chinese dishes. Organic credentials help, but only with a certificate China recognises.
Step 3: e-commerce, your digital cellar door
Online is where a small winery can test China without a big distributor deal. Cross-border stores let you sell before you set up a local company.
| Platform | Why it works for wine | Best for your bottles |
|---|---|---|
| Tmall Global | Trusted place for imported goods, strong for gifting seasons. | Premium reds, gift sets. |
| JD Worldwide | Strong logistics and a reputation for genuine products. | Mid-price wines, repeat buyers, office gifting. |
| Douyin | Livestreams and short videos drive impulse buys. | Sparkling, rosé and entry premium wines that look good on camera. |
Launch tip: seed with small creators before you spend on ads. Tasting notes on Xiaohongshu and short tastings on Douyin build the reviews the algorithms reward. Alcohol brands get real traction on short video; here is why Douyin is the first channel for alcohol brands in China.
Step 4: marketing that turns reviews into orders
Buzz or bust. Use QR codes on the bottle to collect reviews in exchange for a coupon, and post food pairings in a WeChat mini-program or account. Your Pinot with Peking duck is a better post than another vineyard sunset. Keep a WeChat group of repeat buyers; in a falling market, the customer who reorders is worth more than a new one.
Step 5: scale through distributors
Once online sales are steady, it is time to go offline. Importers such as ASC Fine Wines (premium, national) and Summergate (strong in hotels and restaurants) are established names, but they take on few new labels when the market shrinks. Come with sales proof from Tmall or JD and a marketing plan you will fund. Our list of alcohol and wine distributors in China is a starting point, and our distributor search service handles the vetting.
A realistic timeline: weeks 1 to 4 for registration, labels and branding; weeks 5 to 8 to get a store live; months 2 to 6 to build first sales and reviews; months 6 to 12 for distributor meetings.
What this looks like for one small estate
Picture a hypothetical family estate in Piedmont, run by Paolo, selling a Barbera at about 25 euros ex-cellar. In 2024 he shipped a 20-foot container to a trading company that promised national distribution. A year later, two thirds of the stock was still in a warehouse in Ningbo and the importer asked for a price cut.
What failed: volume first, demand later, in a market that was shrinking. What worked in his second try: a few hundred bottles in a bonded warehouse, sold through a cross-border store, with 20 small creators posting pairings with Chinese food. Why it worked: the stock risk was small, every sale came with a review, and the creators’ posts gave a distributor something to look at. After nine months he had steady monthly reorders and one regional importer asking for samples, with far less money tied up in stock.
China’s wine buyers are fewer and more demanding than ten years ago. That is bad news for cheap volume and decent news for producers who do the work. Got a wine with a real story? Send your catalogue and ex-works prices, and we will tell you honestly whether China is worth it for you.
FAQ
Is China still a good market for wine exporters in 2026?
For volume, no: imports fell 26.7% in volume in 2025 to 207.2 million litres and kept falling in early 2026. For value, it is still worth a look. The average import price rose 16.5% in 2025, so mid-to-premium wines with a clear story and patient owners have a better chance than cheap bulk.
Testing China without betting the cellar
We help small wineries start in China with a cross-border store, creator seeding and the reviews that make importers listen. Our cross-border e-commerce service covers the setup and the first months of sales. To check if your wine fits the 2026 market, send us your catalogue.