Wine Future Hong Kong 2011: Top 20 Tweets from Day Three

What exactly do you wine types mean by "education"?

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Wine Future Hong Kong 2011 ended today and — based on reading a few thousand tweets from afar — pretty much turned out to be the insular love-in I expected. Oh, well. Anyway, while the world’s wine elite were in Hong Kong talking about Chinese consumers, we were in Beijing doing our annual Grape Wall Challenge with those same buyers. I’ll post the results tomorrow. In the meantime, here are my “20 top tweets” from The Final Day of Wine Future.

  • @artwine77 RT @PanchoCampoMW: Parker tasting required 20.000 glasses by Lucaris, 45 sommeliers, 72 bottles of each wine, 1000 spitoons…spectacular numbers. [Ludacris was there? I love his stuff.]
  • @Arto_KoskeloRT @winekorea88: Wow! More wineries in China (904) than New Zealand (672). Potential there. [Does filling up bottles with imported bulk wine qualify a place as a winery? If so, raise that number to 905 because I’m about to start an operation in my kitchen.]
  • @charles_perez RT @vinternet: “@PhHUGON: If u want to approach chinese market u first want to get to understand the culture#wfhk11 spend time in the country” [And by understand the culture, I think he means hold the next Wine Future in Macau.]
  • @vinalytics “we are now all worried by the news that the Chinese have discovered Burgundy, because the quantities are so tiny.” Jancis Robinson [Likewise, I’m hoping small-batch Bourbon doesn’t catch on here. Or pet rhinos.]
  • @thewinehub: #WFHK11 is over… I never got 2 know HK (airport>hotel>airport), but I had a wonderful time seeing old friends & making new ones. #thankful [Trust me, you can still get away with calling yourself a China expert.]
  • @droujoudb RT @richardsiddle: Chinese palate: sweetness for beginners; sourness for women, tannins for educated drinkers, bitterness only a few, oak not a prob ##WFHK11 [And all of them for wushu master: nose and tongue division.]
  • @TimothyFeather RT @richardsiddle: Pinot Noir tipped as long term winner in China; suits palate, works with food and has heritage of Burgundy #WFHK11 says Ian Ford, Summergate [Plus it goes well with Beijing duck. All plummy ‘n’ stuff.]
  • @gloriachangRT @winebuzzhk: #WFHK11 education most important in China for the next 2 years > guess especially for not-French wines [Actually, it is second most important. Getting consumers to avoid education and simply try more wines beats it by a nose.]
  • @internet “@PhHUGON: Chinese advice : don’t try to satisfy so-called chinese palate, make good products, patience and respect #wfhk11 thx Yang Lu” [Exactly. I just saw a Lamborghini go by. It was not designed specifically for Chinese tastes. Same goes with the Volkswagen Passat behind it. That Honda Forbidden City Roadster with chuanr holder that came next, though? We might have an exception to the rule.]
  • @WineMonologues “@DebraMeiburgMW: Chinese not crazy abt oak – too chemical & medicinal. DiMei #WFHK11” [Mainly because we get those flavors from the tap water and that makes them all so common.]
  • @philkightley @WineBusProf @winehero #WFHK11 reconfirms wine is impenetrable to the ave consumer as message led by anglo elite.  [Which just means consumers need to be above average. Pass the DRC.]
  • @richardsiddle RT @thewinehub: “@cisfotografie: “You make wine the western way, you sell it the Chinese way” #wfhk11” #wine #marketing [And when the Chinese buy your winery, you make it the way they want.]
  • @tw_top_food RT @JancisRobinson: White wines in China? Confirmed by sommelier Yang Lu. Lafite hardly mentioned! [Also confirmed with this new-fangled thing called the Internet. And an older one called a visit to the supermarket.]

Agh! I fell short again, with only 13 tweets. Such is life. Anyway, thanks for all the laughs #wfhk11. And the memories. I won’t forget the memories….


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2 Comments

  1. I just wanted to say THANK YOU for your posts each day with the tweets and the great comments. I was not at the conference, but have greatly enjoyed your take on the “top” tweets that resulted and look forward to reading more of your thoughts on the wine market in China in future.

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