China’s Newest MW on What Wineries Still Get Wrong about Wine Fairs

A few years ago, Liu Weiran walked away from wine. He had just become a father, finance paid better, and he wanted to push himself.

It didn’t last.

“I found that period exhausting,” he said. “As my family put it, the light had gone out of my eyes.”

After six months, he came back to wine. Today, he is China’s newest Master of Wine, and the light is very much back.

Less than a month after passing, Liu is fielding more offers than he can count. In China’s wine trade, the MW title carries instant pulling power. “It’s brought me far more exposure than before,” he said. “On social media, lots of people are keen to get to know me and talk about work. It’s been less than a month, and I’ve already had a huge number of offers.”

A mutual friend warned us he had been “very busy.” Yet Liu agreed to talk straight away, carving out 40 minutes between commitments. When we called him a star student, pointing to his double degree and his new title, he brushed it off: “I should stay humble.”

What sets Liu apart from many of his MW peers is not only technical expertise but also a feel for the business of wine. He has worked at an auction house, sold and promoted wine, and organised trade fairs. His MW research paper was about trade fairs too. Knowing both sides, he said, lets him “close the loop.”

A key to the table

Liu’s path into wine began far from the trade. He studied International Relations and French Literature, and on an exchange from the US to France, he found a university wine club where a different estate owner visited every week.

What struck him was not just the wine but the people drinking it. “Many of France’s elite, including academics and professors, all drank wine. And what they talked about over a glass went far beyond the alcohol itself. You could feel the French love of the good life,” he said. “Wine was a kind of social key, and it brings emotional value. That showed me a side of wine different from other drinks, and it really drew me in.”

He started WSET soon after. A self-described exam specialist, he treats study as a puzzle rather than a memory test. “I like to start from the underlying logic and draw conclusions from there, so it’s not just dull memorisation,” he said.

From Margaux to the collectors’ table

Internships at Château Margaux and at Christie’s in Hong Kong followed. His first full-time job was at a Hong Kong wine club founded by a wealthy businessman with a cellar drawn from around the world.

“A club like that would buy more than a million euros’ worth of wine a year. I was involved in the whole planning process,” Liu said. “In my first wine job I got to handle some of the very top wines and meet the boss’s friends, some of the top collectors. We organised lots of events and dinners. That job really opened my eyes.”

Then came the detour into finance, and the return. 

“I had just become a father, and I suppose I wanted to push myself, since finance pays better. But I found that period exhausting” Liu said. “I felt it wasn’t something I truly loved, so after about half a year I returned to wine.”

Many people warn against turning a passion into a job. Liu disagrees.

On turning a hobby into a career, he said: “A lot of people think it’s a bad idea, but I really enjoy it. I don’t feel it’s work at all. Even if I work late, as long as I’m doing something I love, I’m happy. I don’t feel it as pressure.”

An unusual research paper

Liu’s work shifted during the pandemic. Roadshows at home and abroad, major international fairs, event planning and buyer invitations all became central to what he did.

So when it came time to choose an MW research topic, his adviser’s advice was simple: pick what you know best, where you have an edge nobody else does. For Liu, that was trade fairs.

The result was Choosing the Right Wine Trade Fair: An Analysis of Factors Influencing Exhibitor Preferences in China. It is a rare choice. Most MW papers are technical, such as how a grape variety performs in a given region. As far as Liu knows, only one other MW has written about wine fairs, around a decade ago.

He interviewed exhibitors and worked with UK experts to build a data model, examining how different types of exhibitors weigh cost, location, buyer invitations and promotion. “I found that different exhibitors have very different needs,” he said. “For wine companies looking to enter China’s vast market, the paper has real practical value.” It also feeds directly into his consultancy work.

The end of the fast lane

That research sits against a changing backdrop. China’s biggest drinks show, the China Food and Drinks Fair in Chengdu, known as the Tangjiuhui, is not what it was. High costs and uncertain returns have made exhibitors cautious as the wine trade adjusts.

“The days of making big money in the fast lane are over,” Liu said. “Exhibitors’ incomes have fallen, while the costs of exhibiting remain high. And greater transparency of information has made fairs less effective.”

“At the Tangjiuhui’s peak, exhibitors could sign big orders on the spot. Now a fair is more of a showcase. Companies that spend tens of thousands and turn that directly into orders no longer exist.”

Even so, his advice to wineries eyeing China is to come anyway. Many know the market is huge and that e-commerce is booming, but few have a firsthand feel for it.

“However glowingly we describe it, they have to come to China and see it for themselves,” he said. “You don’t need a huge stand, and you can apply for some EU funding. The money is worth it. Seeing is believing, and it gives you reassurance and a real foothold.”

Beyond the logo and the booth

Coming is one thing. Coming well is another. Liu has seen too many wineries rent a stand, put up a logo and station a foreigner behind the counter.

“The days when you could set up a stand and people would come to you are gone,” he said. The answer is a combination approach: promote on social media, try a livestream, host a small dinner at a wine bar and invite your contacts. Even branded regional clothing or a few cute items on the stand can help. “The fair may draw big crowds, but wineries need to do more to capture the traffic that’s actually valuable to them.”

Closing the loop

Liu’s market work goes beyond fairs. He helps wine regions connect with Chinese importers, and he hopes to help Chinese wine go global, perhaps by pairing it with Chinese restaurants overseas, where food makes the wine easier for foreign consumers to understand.

Teaching is a big part of his work, but he resists being seen purely as an educator. “If you only teach, you only see a small part of the picture,” he said. “When I deal with the market directly, I learn about inventory levels and what people prefer. When I’m teaching about a region, I can say this style is trending right now, or this winery isn’t selling well in that country.”

“Combining broad theory with frontline market insight makes for a more complete and objective experience, for me and for my students.”

It is a long way from the finance job that dimmed the light in his eyes. “I don’t feel it’s work at all,” Liu said. “Even if I work late, as long as I’m doing something I love, I’m happy.”