By Jim Boyce

ASC and wine writer Jancis Robinson will team up for a series of events in China next month, according to a press release from the wine importer and distributor. The ASC press release states (my highlights):

For three nights only in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, the first lady of wine will divulge the geographical diversity of wine ahead of the mid-year launch of the local edition of her best-selling World Atlas of Wine, co-authored by fellow wine doyen Hugh Johnson. The tome, published in 14 languages and having sold over 4 million copies since its 1971 inception, sees its first simplified Chinese version in 2010.

The breathless text notes that an ” ultra-premium” wine dinner will be held in each city and some of the proceeds will go to Room to Read.

My question: Who is the second lady of wine?

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See also:

Grape Wall Talk: Jancis Robinson on China

By Jim Boyce

Torres China has announced that its portfolio now includes Tyrrell’s and Francis Ford Coppola Winery, including the later winery’s Rubicon Estate.  From the press release:

Established in 1858, [Tyrrell’s was]… awarded Australian Winery of Year 2009 and Australian Red Winemaker of Year 2009 by Campbell Mattinson, the accolade by Australia’s pre-eminent wine writer and author James Halliday as Australian Winery of Year 2010 has placed Tyrrell’s at the pinnacle of the Australian wine industry.

Owned by Francis Ford Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola Winery is located in Geyserville of Sonoma County and Rubicon Estate is situated in the Rutherford AVA of Napa Valley…. The Rutherford Appellation is at the center of the Napa Valley both geographically and historically.

Torres China will be having launch parties for Francis Ford Coppola Winery and Rubicon Estate from January 29 to February 3 in four cities in China.

ASC Fine Wines has added Peter Lehmann and Hess wines to its portfolio in the Chinese mainland as of January 1, according to the company. ASC also includes the wine its Hong Kong and Macau portfolios. According to the company:

Through a loyal partnership with over 160 local grape growers, Peter Lehmann Wines has access to some of the finest of the [Barossa] region’s vineyards to produce wines that have seen the winery twice awarded the title International Winemaker of the Year (2003 and 2006 IWSC London)….

The Hess Collection Winery was founded by Swiss entrepreneur and noted modern art collector Donald Hess. True to his Swiss roots, Hess first purchased vineyards on the volcanic slopes of Mount Veeder, the highest appellation in the Napa Valley, in 1978, and first made wine under The Hess Collection Winery label in 1983.

Peter Lehmann and Hess were previously distributed by Torres.

COFCO – owner of top-four Chinese winery Great Wall and a major player in boutique operation Chateau Junding – will take over the Chinese edition of Food & Wine, starting with the January edition. According to sources inside and outside Food & Wine, COFCO owns the magazine license for Food & Wine and had been leasing it to the Trends Group. A source at the magazine said the entire management team will shift under COFCO.

No doubt concerns will be raised in coming weeks and months as to what it means that one of the biggest wine-makers in China owns one of the most important sources of wine info. This extends to the blind tastings, an integral part of the monthly magazine, as COFCO is both a maker and importer of wine.

A final note: This seems part of a major shift in the wine marketing and distribution landscape in China. The players, and the stakes, are getting bigger as the local market grows, with COFCO competitors such as Changyu also importing wine and Suntory recently buying a majority share of prominent China-based wine distributor and importer ASC Fine Wines.

I will have more on this shortly…

(Photo: Sotheby's)

By Jim Boyce

The Lafitte-Petrus gravy train looks like it will continue at full speed next year when Sotheby’s holds its first Hong Kong wine auction of 2010 on January 23 at the Mandarin Oriental. The auction, the fourth featuring “The Classic Cellar from A Great American Collector“, is, according to the auction house’s press release, “the most valuable wine collection ever offered at auction by Sotheby’s”. It will include 840 lots and the expected take is RMB25-36 million (HKD28.5-40.8 million / USD3.6-5.2 million). Last year, Sotheby’s held wine auctions in April and October 2009, with a total take of  RMB77.3 million (USD11.3 million).

The 2010 “auction highlights” listed are not surprisingly focused on Bordeaux and Burgundy, particularly the much-sought Lafite and Petrus. Among the lots:

• Two cases of 1989 and three cases of 1990 Petrus Petrus estimated at RMB141-211000 (HKD160-240,000  / USD20-30,000) per case
• One 1982 imperial of Lafite estimated at RMB123-176,000 (HKD140-200,000 (USD18-25,000)
• Two cases of 1982 Latour estimated at RMB123-176,000 (HKD140-200,000 / USD18-25,000) per case
• Six cases of 1982 Mouton Rothschild estimated at RMB71-106,000 (HKD80-120,000 / USD10-15,000) per case
• Five cases of 1989 Margaux estimated at RMB75-123,000 (HKD85-140,000 / USD11-18,000) per case
• Twenty-four half-bottles of 1986 Lafite estimated at RMB62-84,000 (HKD70-95,000 / USD9-12,000) (This auction too late for the winner to use these mini-bottles as stocking stuffers, so perhaps they could be used as gifts for lesser friends during Spring Festival. Then again, maybe not…)

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Some related Grape Wall posts:

• First Spectrum wine auction in Hong Kong raises RMB24 million
• Grape Press: Fakers, robbers, and wine in China
• Hong Kong wine auction: Spectrum to sell 200 lots from Aubrey McClendon collection
• China, Thomas Jefferson, and fake wine? Benjamin Wallace, author of Billionaire’s Vinegar
• Money flows like water: Acker Merrall & Conditt tops ~165 million with Hong Kong wine auction
• Grape Press: Hong Kong auction, Down Under downsizing, Gallo on China
• Grape Press: Macau wine tax, China as Chile, Hart Davis Hart auction
• Hong Kong wine auction brings in 64 million
• Acker et al auction in Hong Kong: Got a few million to spare?

Just in case you were looking to drink some wine tonight…

Palette Vino, hutong edition, will hold an Italian wine dinner that pairs Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, a Sangiovese-Merlot blend and more with foods such as pan-seared scallops, osso buca, and beef tenderloin. The reception is at 7:15 PM, the dinner at 8 PM (RMB368). Call 6405-4855 to RSVP.

Meanwhile, MPC wines is teaming up with Mosaico for a wine, beer, and tapas party from 7 PM to 10 PM. For RMB60, you get one drink and five tapas, with additional beverages available at a discount. Three wines, including a Cava, and Mahou beer will be featured.

Months of rumors proved to be true as ASC Fine Wines announced today that, subject to approval by China’s anti-monopoly bureau, the Suntory Group will acquire a majority share of the company by purchasing the shares of Wine Holdings Gmbh – an Austrian holding company owned by Langes-Swarovski. ASC co-founder and CEO Don St. Pierre Jr will retain a share and his title. According to a press release, his father, Don St. Pierre Sr, “will officially retire from ASC at the close of this transaction.”

The press release states:

Suntory is one of Asia ’s largest private companies and one it’s most prominent beverage companies, with sales turnover of approximately Euro 11.5 billion. Suntory owns wineries in France and is one of Japan ’s leading wine importers and distributors. Suntory views ASC as a long-term strategic asset and plan s to fully support ASC’s future expansion plan s by offering greater access to lower cost capital for both organic growth and local wine related acquisitions, supply chain management know how, IT expertise and where it makes sense for ASC’s business, to seek economies of scale from common wine suppliers and cooperation with Suntory’s Premium Whiskey and Midori Melon Liqueur portfolio.

ASC has maintained a high profile over the past few years, not only due to year-long rumors of its sale, but also because of a series of ups and downs that included Don St. Pierre, Jr being held by Customs for nearly a month last year, his being listed as one of the most influential people in the global alcohol business, a restructing of the company, and the hosting of the first visit to China by wine writer Robert Parker, which culminated in a dinner on the Great Wall. The St. Pierres were also the subject of a lengthy story that recently appeared in the New Yorker.

First vintage: Could have been yours for RMB1700.

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By Jim Boyce

Spectrum announced that its first Hong Kong wine auction – held simultaneously at Crown Wine Cellars in Hong Kong and the St. Regis Monarch Beach in California late last month – sold all 686 lots and raised HKD26.8 million (RMB24 million / USD3.5 million).

According to a press release, Burgundy and Bordeaux dominated, with a case of 1962 Roman̩e-Conti selling for USD109,940 (RMB750,890). A magnum of 1998 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon sold for USD3,883 (RMB26,521). Curiously, a bottle of 1966 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon, the first vintage from the vineyard, went for a mere USD200 (RMB1366) Рthough the Spectrum Web site states the selling price at USD239 (check out the 360-degree image of the bottle).

Spectrum plans another auction on March 20 and 21 (Hong Kong time). For more details or for the results of the auction, see the Spectrum Web site.

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By Jim Boyce

Chateau Lafite is insanely popular in China and consumers here should be careful to avoid not only fake bottles, but also mistakenly buying Chateau Lafitte, a separate operation that includes a double-t in its name. Let me be clear: I am not saying there is anything wrong with Chateau Laffite as a wine. Instead, the concern is that some consumers might pay outrageous prices for Lafitte in the belief they are buying the much pricier Lafite. This could not only mean a loss of money but also a loss of face should that Lafitte be given as as a gift to someone who knows the difference. Considering that the label above is being offered to distributors at 5.5 Euros, or about RMB55 per bottles, and adding in transporation costs and duties, you should not be paying more than RMB150 at retail for this one.

By Jim Boyce

Some China-related wine stuff from the Web…

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Morocco-China wine connection

The BBC reports on Moroccan wine industry ambitions, which includes some mentions of China:

Mehdi Bouchaara, a member of ASPRAM [the Moroccan wine-growers association]… says that Morocco is currently producing 300,000 hectolitres of wine each year, making it one of the most significant in the Arab world.

“At the moment we are in negotiations in China and will shortly be building a bottling factory there. Most of our wine is exported in bulk,” he explains.

“With our Chinese partners we will put it in bottles that bear a Moroccan label.”

The story looks at the history of wine in Morroco (“The first evidence… was in the time of the Phoenicians – the first millennium BC.”), twentieth-century changes (“Until the Treaty of Rome in 1957 banned blending wines, the highly coloured, robust Moroccan wine was shipped back to France in bulk and frequently added as a boost to Gallic wine”), and  investment issues (“buyers have to comply with… a list of responsibilities that include employing a certain number of local people“).

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Sichuan food and Shiraz?

Launched in Beijing last year, the International Congress of Chinese Cuisine & Wine (ICCCW) held its follow-up event in Singapore earlier this month, reports Sommelier India. Organized by Ch’ng Poh Tiong, the ICCCW aims to determine the best wine and Chinese food pairings: “the panelists tasted small, individual servings of several representative dishes from Teochew, Sichuan and Cantonese cuisines at three well known specialist restaurants in Singapore, exploring which characteristics of the wines worked best with the dishes and giving their reasons.”

By the way, Grape Wall remains the only Web site to make wine recommendations for this particular food. (More on last year’s ICCCW event in Beijing here, plus an interview with Ch’ng Poh Tiong here.)

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Corner-store Cabernet?

“In its first foray into global merchandising, 7-Eleven, Inc. (SEI) in the U.S. and Seven-Eleven Japan (SEJ) are jointly introducing two proprietary wines – a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon – today under the Yosemite Road label,” according to a post on franchising.com. More from the post:

Value-priced wines, those under $5, have been gaining in popularity and enjoying double-digit sales growth at 7-Eleven stores as consumers continue to search for value in their purchasing decisions…. Suggested retail price for a standard 750 milliliter bottle is $3.99 in the U.S…. and 598 yen in Japan.

I’m waiting for the Super Big Gulp Grenache and the Shiraz Slurpee to hit my local 7-ELEVEN in Beijing.