Natalie Wang’s career path didn’t initially point toward the wine industry, yet today she leads Vino Joy News, a leading media platform dedicated to covering the wine scene across Asia, with a particular focus on China and Hong Kong.
She entered the wine world in 2015, working alongside James Suckling and later for The Drinks Business. As Chinese wines began to flourish, Natalie grew frustrated by the lack of an internationally recognized platform devoted to the Asian wine industry. In 2019, she took the leap and founded Vino Joy News.
In this engaging conversation, Natalie shares the challenges of building a wine media platform, while also diving into global and Asian wine consumption trends, the evolution of Chinese wines, and many other fascinating topics — all with warmth and good humor.
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A summary of the interview
When Natalie Wang launched Vino Joy News in 2019, she wasn’t chasing a trend, she was filling a gap. After years as a journalist covering politics for Reuters and later the jewelry trade, Natalie stumbled into wine by chance, working first with critic James Suckling and then as Asia editor for The Drinks Business. What she quickly discovered was that, despite China’s booming wine market, there was almost no English-language reporting on what was happening locally. Out of frustration, she created Vino Joy News.
From journalism to wine media
Before wine, Natalie was not even a wine drinker. But working with James Suckling gave her exposure to fine wines, international tastings, and a front-row seat to the work ethic required to build a media brand. Later, at The Drinks Business, she shifted into more traditional reporting — covering trade, economics, and the business side of wine. Those experiences inspired her to create her own platform.
Building Vino Joy from scratch
With no investors, Vino Joy News started as a one-woman project from Natalie’s apartment in Hong Kong. She spent the early months writing tirelessly while figuring out how to make it financially viable. The site quickly built an audience, attracting advertisers and partnerships with wine regions. Over time, the business model expanded beyond ads to include subscriptions, market intelligence reports (such as “China’s Top 100 Importers”), and limited social media consulting for wineries entering the Chinese market.
Reporting on a shifting market
Natalie Wang describes her platform as the “Bloomberg of wine news in Asia.” That means telling the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable. While some accuse her of being too negative, she insists it’s essential to give producers a realistic view of the market so they can make informed decisions.
The Chinese wine market has changed dramatically:
- Pre-pandemic (2017–2018) was a golden era, with China predicted to become the world’s second-largest wine market.
- COVID-19 and tariffs on Australian wine halved imports and disrupted growth.
- Today, the market is slowly recovering, but government restrictions on alcohol at official events have dampened consumption.
Elsewhere in Asia, the landscape is highly diverse: Hong Kong remains dominated by French wines, Japan and Korea are mature markets, while Southeast Asia shows varied attitudes toward alcohol. A notable trend across the region is rising demand for white wines, with New Zealand and Germany gaining ground.
The rise of Chinese wine
One of Natalie’s passions is highlighting Chinese winemaking. Regions like Ningxia and Yunnan are producing increasingly exciting wines, from Rieslings to Pinot Noir, biodynamic projects, and natural wines. Producers are also embracing Chinese identity in their branding, moving away from imitating French châteaux. Still, while Chinese wines are gaining traction on the mainland, they remain underrepresented on wine lists in Hong Kong.
Generational challenges
Like Europe and the U.S., Asia faces the challenge of engaging younger drinkers. Natalie notes that many Gen Z consumers in China see wine as more appealing than baijiu, but overall consumption is low. To better understand this, Vino Joy is planning a comprehensive survey of Chinese Gen Z attitudes toward wine, which could provide vital insights for the industry.
A small but global team
Vino Joy operates with a small team spread between Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Chengdu, and India. Much of the reporting relies on networks of importers and distributors, as well as monitoring Chinese-language sources. Content is published in both English (for international readers) and Chinese via WeChat (for domestic audiences), effectively doubling the workload.
Looking ahead
Natalie’s mission remains the same: to provide honest, timely reporting on Asia’s dynamic wine scene, and to give both local and international players a clearer picture of what’s happening on the ground. In just a few years, Vino Joy has become a reference point for anyone interested in the Chinese and Asian wine markets: a bridge across languages and continents.