In 2012, Changyu Jiebaina entered the supermarkets of Waitrose, a wine provider for the British royal family.
A Chinese wine priced at about RMB¥100,ChangyuJiebainaentered3,000supermarketsin 28 European countries, arousing a Chinese wind among European consumers.Andfurthermore,itfound favor withWaitrose, the wine provider for British Queen Elizabeth II. ChangyuJiebainahit the shelves of the chain hypermarket and once set asalerecord of400 casesin a week.
With a history of over 100 years,Waitroseis not only the sixth largest British chainhypermarketowning more than 200retailing outlets across UK, but also a provider the Britishroyalfamilyhas designated for daily necessities,winesand spirits, famous for its supply of high quality products.
Mr.GuyWoodward, editor ofDecanter,the British specialized wine magazine,said,“As know-how improves (often via the employment of overseas consultants) and the best regions are identified, Chinawill start turning out some decent wines worthy of export.I have tried Changyu Jiebaina and it is among the worthy.” Waitrosehasconductedextremelyrigorous standardsinselecting wines,according toJonathan Ray, famous UK wine critic. The wine purchasers ofWaitrosehave long been on the run around the world, and they would bring wines they are interested in back to UK.Thosewines, however, must go through a judgingcommitteecomposed of 20 specialized wine tasterswho will decide on whether theycanhit theWaitroseshelves.“As Changyu Jiebaina has gone through so strict a selection process and enteredWaitrose,it is obvious that other tasters agree with me, and it is indeed impressive.”Jonathan Raysaid.
Katie Mollet, a senior purchasing manager at Waitrose, said,“As interest inChina, especiallythe Chinese wine industry,continues to grow,we scour the world to find excitingbrandwinesfor sale in UKandareparticularly impressed by the ChangyuJiebaina.”She hopes Waitrose will help raise the profile of Chinese wines among UK consumers.“The Changyu is a great wine to drink with a Friday night takeaway, perfect with Chinese style beef with ginger and spring onion,”Katie Molletsaid.
