For decades, China’s Lunar New Year has been built around banquets, gifting and big red bottles—a short, intense period that could make or break a wine importer’s year.
In the run-up to the 2026 holiday, those traditions still mattered. But among China’s largest wine importers, a quieter shift was taking place. As business-led demand softened, individual consumers began to matter more. Sparkling wines and whites, rarely associated with the holiday in the past, found new space on family tables and at small gatherings.
Interviews with eight leading importers conducted by Vino Joy News suggest the holiday season is no longer just a test of inventory and price, but a window into how China’s wine market is being rewired—brand by brand, category by category.
The interviewees ranged from full-channel supply-chain platforms such as Wajiu Group, to long-established importers focused on the on-trade like EMW Fine Wines, to large wholesalers and group-buying specialists such as Fond Wine. They also included niche-focused players such as Pran Cellar and Sparkling World. Together, their observations offer a snapshot of how China’s most important wine consumption season is evolving.
Their observations offer a rare, ground-level view of how China’s most important wine sales season is evolving—and what that may signal for the year ahead.
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