South Korean convenience store chain CU is cutting prices on six wines for the Asian Games this month, adding bottles costing as little as 7,500 won to a promotion aimed at consumers watching the competition at home.
The campaign, running Sept. 15 through the end of the month, covers more than 70 products, including alcoholic drinks, snacks and soft drinks. It places wine alongside beer and whisky as retailers compete for spending around the regional sporting event.
Four G7 wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Merlot cost 7,500 won, about $5.50, per bottle when customers buy at least two, a discount of approximately 30%.
Australia’s popular brand Yellow Tail will have two of its wines – a Shiraz and a Cabernet Sauvignon – on sale as well at 14,000 won, about $10.20, each, roughly 20% off.
Tsingtao, Asahi and Heineken beers are also included, along with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Apple and Nikka Frontier.
The promotion coincides with the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, scheduled for Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 in Japan. South Korea is sending 792 athletes and 260 officials, with competitors participating in 41 of the event’s 43 sports.
Archery, swimming, shooting, fencing, taekwondo and badminton are among South Korea’s leading medal prospects. Football and table tennis are also expected to draw viewers.
An expanding role for wine
CU, owned by Korea’s retail conglomerate BGF Retail, operates 18,711 stores in South Korea at the end of 2025, up 253 from a year earlier.
The chain has previously used sporting events to promote wine. During the Asian Cup in January and February 2024, it offered deals on seven imported beers and two small-format wines as South Korean matches drove demand for drinks and snacks.
Such campaigns give wine a place in drinking occasions traditionally associated with beer and soju. For convenience stores, affordable bottles offer a way to encourage purchases beyond celebrations, gifts and more formal meals.
Drinking at home became an important source of wine demand during the pandemic, helping lift South Korean imports. Retailers subsequently expanded their affordable ranges, private labels and promotions to reach more consumers.
Yellow Tail Tops 10 Million in Korea
CU’s figures suggest that demand for lower-priced wines has continued to grow within its stores.
Sales of wines costing less than 30,000 won, about $21.90, rose 13.5% year on year in the first nine months of 2025, according to BGF Retail. Sales of its private-label wine brand, “음mmm!”, increased 60.3% over the same period.
In June, the company said the brand had sold more than 5 million bottles since its launch in 2021.
CU has expanded the range through partnerships with overseas wineries, sourcing wines mainly from the United States, Italy, Spain and New Zealand. Most sell for around 10,000 won, about US$7.30.
The Asian Games selection follows that emphasis on affordability, featuring established mass-market brands rather than high-end bottles.
South Korean media have described G7 as a longstanding bestseller in the value segment. Yellow Tail’s cumulative sales in South Korea exceeded 10 million bottles over its first 20 years in the market, according to reports published in June.
CU’s promotion illustrates how retailers are seeking to broaden wine’s appeal through familiar brands, lower prices and everyday occasions. Its sales figures provide evidence of growth in affordable wine at the chain, though they do not establish whether the same trend extends across South Korea’s wine market.
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