Model Worker: New Zealand Ambassador Talks Wine in China

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By Jim Boyce

Carl Worker is not only the New Zealand ambassador for China but also a food and wine lover. The latter is no surprise given he is married to Connie Aldao: they met when he was stationed in Argentina and she was GM and head chef of Francis Mallmann 1884 Restaurant in Mendoza. In fact, Worker sees the two nations as compatible on wine terms, especially their signature reds (Pinot Noir and Malbec) and whites (Sauvignon Blanc and Torrontes). But when it comes down to business, the talk turns to New Zealand. Some excerpts from a recent exchange:

On New Zealand wine exports:

“The first thing to say is that we are duty free. We can go to anyone and say that, along with Chile, there is no 14 percent Customs duty on our wines. It’s very helpful.”

“When I went to Argentina in 2001, New Zealand’s total production of wine was 60 million liters. We drank 40 million liters and exported 20 million liters. Today, we produce about 200 million liters. We still drink 40 million liters but now we export 160 to 170 million liters.”

“A lot of our wine is Sauvignon Blanc, so we don’t need old vines for excellent quality. The quality is maintained despite the newness of the vines.”

“Many Chinese people don’t know much about New Zealand wines. Some who lived overseas know it but most don’t because until recently we didn’t have enough to sell. New Zealand wine is a very well-kept secret [in China] worth explaining. The New Zealand market is now focusing on China.”

On quality:

“There is nothing in the bottom half of the market. It’s simply not economical to make cheap wines in New Zealand. We start in the middle and go up from there. The Chinese market is very strong at the entry level and at the top. It is growing very fast at the middle level now but is still not big at this stage.”

“[New Zealand wine] is not cheap but it is still excellent value for money unlike wines from bigger and more complicated markets. I’d be surprised if people felt cheated or that they didn’t get value from New Zealand wines.”

On red versus white wine:

“The New Zealand wine industry is 75 percent white wine. Chinese exports are greater for red wine than white wine, last year it was about NZD15 million to NZD10 million, and we recognize that the buyer comes first and we respect that. But we are observing that more and more people, including younger women, find white wine more desirable.”

On grape varieties:

You talk to wine-savvy consumers about New Zealand wine and they all come up with, one, Sauvignon Blanc, and two, Pinot Noir. Pinor Noir is the Holy Grail, with very few places beyond Burgundy that have done it well, so we are very proud of this. But there are other excellent varietals and it would be an awful shame to only think of these two.”

If you look at Riesling, for example, we’re one of the countries outside of Germany keeping the flame alive for this grape. It is very inexpensive for what you get and goes from quite sweet to steely. Even cheap Rieslings can be better five years down the road.”

But on reds, our flagship is Pinot Noir. In the 30- to 60-dollar range, for wines of those quality in France, you would have to pay two, three or four times as much. They are not cheap but they are excellent, wines. We’ve expanded our Pinot Noir vineyards recently and some of the most exciting wines are made with younger grapes. You don’t get as much complexity but some of these only cost 20 dollars.”

New Zealand Shiraz is also coming through beautifully and is completely different from Australia. Lighter, smoother and peppier, all at the same time.”

We also have Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends. There is some beautiful Bordeaux that tends to be Merlot dominated. We don’t spend a lot of time promoting it globally because we have so much other good wine at accessible prices, but it you are a Bordeaux lover and spend some time in New Zealand, do go down to Hawke’s Bay and Waiheke Island . You will pay a little more but you get something different.”

On promotion:

“The winegrowers are taking people to New Zealand to see the wine, people who can influence and inform the market, and there is also a program to create good Chinese-language materials about New Zealand wine. There was also a program done for Chinese TV looking at a day in the life of three New Zealand wineries.”

“We also need to help wineries find distributors, to create good relations with upscale hotels, and to put New Zealand wines in sustainable positions. I believe New Zealand wine can walk the talk and that at every point is offers value. We should position our wine so we are not competing on price with cheaper producers. You have to show enormous respect: There are so many wealthy people in China who will pay and who want value for money.”

“One of the best organized events at our embassy was with one of our top wines, Craggy Range. Steve Smith is a talented winemaker and he led the tasting.  We had four very good Bordeaux, including Lafite, with four very good New Zealand wines in a blind tasting. Lafite came out on top followed by three wines from New Zealand, including Craggy Range  Quarry and Craggy Range Sophia, and it struck me they can do very well.*

On entertaining with wine:

I do a lot of entertaining because I do a lot of serious business. In the past, we used to do cocktails, then everyone would sit down to dinner. Now, I also like to kick off with a wine tasting. I have a map of New Zealand, and we come out with a tray of samples, and I talk about the wine and where it came from. Then we take away the empty glasses and bring back a tray of a new wine. I can go through three or four whites and three or four reds in a half hour. I find that Chinese people are hungry for information and I get a wonderful response. They see the maps, try the wines and by then everyone is a good mood. It promotes New Zealand and it shows respect for the guests.

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* I was lucky enough to be at that 2010 tasting. The New Zealand wines were Craggy Range ‘Sophia’ 2007, Craggy Range ‘The Quarry’ 2007, Sacred Hill ‘Helmsman’ 2007 and Trinity Hill ‘The Gimblett’ 2007. The French wines were Chateau Lafite 2006, Chateau Pichon Baron 2006, Chateau La Gaffeliere 2005 and Cos d’Estournal 2005.

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