Chinese use school to cultivate role in rapidly growing wine industry

DIJON, France - Chen Yanfen swirls a glass of Burgundy wine, noting its ruby red robe and fruity bouquet before taking her first sip.

She is part of a group of Chinese students diligently imbibing the secrets of wine-making in the rolling hills of the central French region.

Nearly one-third of the Dijon wine school's 135 students are Chinese, willing to pay up to 13,000 euros ($14,000) for the expertise.

"For most Chinese consumers, French wine is the best, because it has a long history, and it is very famous in the world," said Chen, 30.

Like many of her peers at the School of Wine and Spirits Business, she wants to sell French and other foreign wines in China after she finishes the one-year course.

Wineglass and pen and paper in hand, the students start earning their viticulture stripes, mastering tasting terms in English.

They also study marketing, with a special emphasis on doing business in China.

While China has grown into a prolific buyer of wine, the country has also set its sights on making its own.

Last year, China produced an estimated 11.5 million hectoliters of wine and ranked as the sixth-largest producer in the world, according to the International Organization of Vine and Wine.

For Chinese wine enthusiasts, certification in French oenology translates into considerable cachet back home when they find work in the country's nascent wine industry.

"In China, wine is more like a luxury product. When I tell my friends I'm majoring in wine management, they say 'Wow, that's cool!'" said Liu Xinyang, 22.

"I think it's a well-respected profession, and it's not hard to find a job with this diploma."

As China's middle class has grown and developed a taste for fine wine, France has seen its exports to the country surge - they rose by 12.7 percent last year.

At the same time, Chinese investors are snapping up French vineyards.

Last year, billionaire Jack Ma, founder of e-tailing giant Alibaba, bought three vineyards in the region, along with their 18th-century chateaux.

The school has had to turn away some Chinese applicants to maintain balance in the student body - and because it wants to encourage networking between Asian and European students.

Customers, promoters

But Chinese students are welcomed as both future customers and promoters of French wine back home.

Steve Charters, a British-Australian teacher at the school, said the know-how the students acquire will start them on the road to excellence - but it will be a long journey.

However, he added the Chinese students were fast learners, with the ability to bring their own perspective to the table.

"Because they don't have a long-standing culture of wine consumption, they're more open-minded.

"They love Bordeaux, they love Burgundy, that's absolutely true, but it's easier for them to say 'Ah, yes, but Chile makes good wine, or South Africa makes good wine'," he added.

And, so far, the market for French and other foreign wines is small: about 80 percent of Chinese consumers drink wine made in China.

A Chinese student tastes and studies wine during a class at the Dijon Business School. Nearly one-third of the institution's 135 students are Chinese, willing to pay up to $14,000 for the expertise.Philippe Desmazes / Agence Francepresse