Exploring the Impacts of Technology on Younger Chinese Consumers’ Pinot Noir Consumption
Xiaoyu Feng
Kyuho Lee
In the past, the Chinese wine market had been driven by older Chinese generations who viewed wine as a way to manifest their emerging social and economic status (Maguire & Zhang, 2017). Particularly, drinking a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux is a symbol of their social and economic status (Lee et al., 2022). Not surprisingly, the wine imported from France to China in 2023 recorded $559 million (Statista, 2024a). The market share of French wine to the Chinese imported wine market is forty eight percent in 2023 (Statista, 2024b). Surprisingly, the younger Chinese generations such as Millennials and Generation Z who account for 74% of the wine market in China seek to more diverse wine grape varietals such as Pinot Noir and different types of wines such as sparkling wines, compared to the older Chinese wine consumers who drink Cabernet Sauvignon from famous wine regions such as Bordeaux (Statista, 2024C). The younger Chinese generations have undergone significant technological innovations ranging from social media, smartphones to nowadays AI. As a result, the younger Chinese wine consumers tend to adopt new technologies more proactively compared to the older generations (Deng et al., 2022). This study explores how new technologies such as social media have affected Chinese younger consumers’ Pinot Noir consumption (Wine Intelligence, 2021). Pinot Noir is the second most consumed red varietal among Chinese consumers right after Cabernet Sauvignon. While Pinot Noir is an expensive wine, its market share in the Chinese market has increased (Wine Intelligence, 2021). We adopt Bourdieu’s theory on social, and cultural capital to explain how emerging technologies have influenced younger Chinese consumers’ wine consumption behavior toward Pinot Noir which is contrasted with Cabernet Sauvignon primarily from Bordeaux. Bourdieu’s theory suggests that drinking wine is associated with a person’s social, cultural and economic capital. Drinking wine entails a deep knowledge on wine to truly appreciate the wine product which is related to cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1986). We assert that possessing technological capital also leads to Pinot Noir consumption among younger Chinese consumers. We add technological capital into Bourdieu’s cultural capital theory for this study to explain how emerging technologies have affected younger Chinese wine consumers toward Pinot Noir. For example, the evolving technology has made younger Chinese wine consumers more easily access to a vast amount of Pinot Noir information, share the Pinot Noir information with other wine consumers, and helped younger Chinese wine consumers build a variety of online wine consumption communities which foster drinking Pinot Noir (Zhou et al., 2016).
The study employs in-depth personal interviews with an array of younger Chinese wine consumers and wine experts of the Chinese market. The personal in-depth interviews will be conducted through Zoom and the length of each interview will be between 60-90 minutes. The interview questions will be derived from prior literature to capture the impacts of technology on younger Chinese consumers’ Pinot Noir consumption.
Xiaoyu Feng is a wine marketing specialist and experienced translator from Shanghai, China, who moved to the U.S. to pursue a Wine MBA at Sonoma State University (2023–2025). She holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and earned her master’s degree in management of culinary and gastronomic heritage from the University of Barcelona in 2014. Her career spans various roles in the wine industry, including marketing manager, wine journalist, translator, and e-commerce business owner. Fluent in Mandarin, English, Spanish, and French, Xiaoyu is able to communicate effectively with colleagues and clients across cultures. She is passionate about wine advocacy and most recently served as the project manager for DOCa Rioja in China. Creative, committed, and fun, she always strives to build thoughtful solutions that make work and life better. Outside of work, Xiaoyu enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, hiking, snorkeling, singing, and—of course—wine and spirits tastings.
Kyuho Lee is Professor of Marketing and Wine Business at Sonoma State University, California, USA. He also serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Foodservice Business Research and Co Editor-in-Chief of Services Marketing Quarterly. His work has been published in academic journals such as Journal of Retailing, Services Marketing, and The Service Industries Journal.