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What if there was a central "New York State Wine Outlet" that could serve as a promotional facility, trading center, warehouse, and distribution gateway for New York wines in China?
That was the vision presented this week at the New York Wine & Culinary Center to a couple dozen winery representatives by Jinshui Zhang of the New York State Small Business Development Center. The idea is to house an actual physical facility dedicated exclusively to New York wines within the China International Exhibition and Trading Center of Wine & Beverage in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone.
The New York State Wine Outlet could be used for educational classes and promotional events, to conduct business with the Chinese trade, and to serve as a consolidation and staging point for wines from many different New York wineries. The venture is a collaboration among the NYSSBDC in coordination with the New York State Department of Agriculture & markets, New York Wine & Grape Foundation, and New York State Department of Economic Development.
Mr. Zhang gave an excellent and informative presentation which included all of the services that will be provided for participating wineries, from help with customs paperwork to shipping and translation services. These are major benefits, as they're typically among the biggest impediments to international trade.
Still, the winery representatives asked many good questions about pricing, wine style preferences, consumer demographics and other factors needed for making an informed business decision. The answers will be coming soon, we have been told, as the hope is to have the New York State Wine Outlet open for business by September.
Exporting wine to any country is complex and challenging, and China even more so, but this program could eliminate many of the traditional headaches. But by far the most attractive and potentially effective aspect is having an actual center for New York wines, rather than having New York wineries individually adrift in a market of 1.3 billion people.
Jim Trezise of Penn Yan has been the President of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation since 1985 and President of the International Riesling Foundation since 2011.
