Wines have gradually become a popular drink in Vietnamese people’s gastronomy. Experts estimate that having wines during parties and meals in some big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City accounts for approx 30 per cent. However, there is a sad fact that the usage percentage of wines is directly proportional to the low quality. Low quality and fake wines have really become an urgent matter to Vietnamese consumers.
From rice wine to Bordeaux
Like the brand of Honda motor, French wines particularly Bordeaux have become by default a famous brand in the Vietnamese mind. Almost all of Vietnamese consumers cannot talk about wines without mentioning the brand. Ms Truong Yen Hoa, sales manager of the ADT company, said that during the period of 2006-07, people who are used to drinking wines in Vietnam, particularly youths, followed the so-called New world movement to enjoy themselves with new wine brands of Chile, the U.S. or those of Australia, which is special with a jolly picture of a Kangaroo. However, the movement no longer lasts, said the manager of well-known distributor of wines located at No. 73 Ton Duc Thang Street, Hanoi. So far, there are only two wine brands: Chile wine and Bordeaux, which have affirmed their reputation to Vietnamese consumers, Hoa added.
Imported wines in Vietnam mainly come from producers. These goods must have certificate of origin (C/O) and licenses of health and foodstuff authorities. Apart from the import stamp in accordance with the rule, an auxiliary stamp in Vietnamese recording name of wine, capacity, alcohol concentration, date of production and distributor will be stuck on the bottle. Besides, a few imported wines are from third nations.
In Vietnam, there is a distinctive rice wine culture, which includes unclear and inconsistent criteria on ways of drinking as well as the quality of wines and drinks. Meanwhile, in many nations which specialize in producing wines in the world, the opinion is completely different. For example, wines in France are categorized under the following wine grades, including appellation d'origine contrôlée (A.O.C), Vin De Pays (VDP) and the Vins de table (VDT). The AOC wines are of higher quality. They are strictly ruled in order to ensure the quality and authenticity of products. The Vin de Pays means “country wine” and "Vin de Table" is the every day wine of France. The third-highest one does not have to mention the area of origin. Typically a wine table is a mix of several grapes sometimes coming from different areas of France. The difference in origin, quality and price of wines is one of the causes of counterfeiting wine products.
Misleading
According to Trieu Phong, an expert on wines of the ADT company-distributor of French wines in Vietnam, the French Ministry of Agriculture and Fishery has made a market survey and found 12 kinds of French wines forged to sell in Vietnam, including five in Ho Chi Minh City and seven in Hanoi.
The first trifling skill is replacement of the empty bottle. In detail, counterfeiters buy empty AOC wine bottles and later make them full with Vinde Pays and Vins de table wines, of which prices are much cheaper. Experts on French wines and consumers should pay attention to information on the labels when buying AOC wines. Otherwise, they could buy VDT wines with forged labels. By doing that, counterfeiters will raise the price of a French wine bottle from VND100,000 to VND500,000-VND700,000 to seek profit.
The second way is forging the origin of products. For example, a wine bottle is in fact a joint venture product, but it is labeled Product of France. It is not difficult to identify these fake wines. Consumers can see whether the bar code on the bottle body is Vietnam’s code (084) or France’s code (032).
Particularly, imported wines in Vietnam are all made from 100 percent fresh grapes and not added with any aromatic spices like domestically-made wines.
Thus, if consumers detect any imported wines with taste of artificial aromatic spices, they should not buy these products and could complain to the distributors or headquarters of wine producers in Vietnam.
In addition, Vietnam imports two kinds of wine, including finished products and another that is bottled in Vietnam. Experts recommend consumers should be careful of imported wine products bottled in Vietnam because the bottling process of many Vietnamese manufacturers has not yet met the required standards, which could impact the longevity and warranty of products. For example, the expired day is before one or two years, and even five years. However, it is better to not use products excessively near to the expired day. If not, the risk facing consumers is quite high.
Thanh Tam
Vietnamese
