Amid the tightest security seen for any wine show in the world, the ‘Discover California Wines’ show was held at the Hyatt on the Bund, on Wednesday May 21.

Police, security, scanners and metal detectors were the order of the day, with each guest-and there were plenty-having their bags scanned and being searched. It would make for a great scene in a wine thriller, but alas the security measures were all part of the lockdown in Shanghai due to the 4^th Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia. Read More >

(pronounced suh-mal-‘yAy)

In Medieval Provençal times they were saumaliers, animal pack drivers who evolved during Middle French kingdom to become court officials charged with transportation of supplies. So what does a modern day Sommelier actually do? Well, Wikipedia outlines as such, “A sommelier or wine steward is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, normally working in fine restaurants who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food matching. The most important work of a sommelier is in the areas of wine procurement, wine storage, wine cellar rotation, and expert service to wine consumers.” Read More >

Our Shanghai correspondent, Mick Knuppel, senses a change of the old guard as the new generation Shanghainese move away from pretentious French burgundy and discover that New Zealand’s deep-fruited pinot noirs are not only more generous and accessible they are brilliantly suited to this region’s cuisine moreover, offer exceptional value for money. Read More >

Our resident China correspondent, Mike Knuppel, goes local wetmarket style in Shanghai and realizes the communion is, above all, about food. Read More >

I always approach the Wandering Palate ‘Wine Book of the Year’ with trepidation, partly because wine books can be rather droll for the average reader or even wine consumer, notwithstanding research style works are indeed useful. Read More >

Recommending wine books is not easy.  Unless your obsessed with wine its difficult enough to hold most people’s attention on a wine article little lone an entire book devoted to the subject. Wine books do of course come in many forms, some coffee table formatted with evocative pictures. Nothing wrong in that and frankly my personal preference; like cookbooks I like to be able to visual the dish, and there is nothing more evocative than vineyard pictures moreover excellent photography.

Read More >

The world is already awash in wine. But it appears almost inevitable, given the explosive growth of China’s vineyards, that western producers face competition from yet another lucrative class of exports: bulk wines, which China is gearing up to make in vast quantities at costs far below what traditional vintners can match.

Already, at least one Chinese vintner has announced plans to become one of the top 10 brands in the global market by 2008. That is interesting news for Chris Indelicato, the chief executive of Delicato Family Vineyards of Manteca, California, one of the world’s top exporters of bulk wines, who toured China recently. And, in a telephone interview from California, Indelicato said: “Given how things work, it would be naïve to say about anything from China that it will never be a threat.”

Read More >

Leading vintners from across the globe will be at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre May 23-25, promoting their wines at Vinexpo, the world’s largest and most significant wine show.

Held bi-annually in Bordeaux since 1981, it now offers overseas exhibition s in the Asia-Pacific region in alternate years. Hong Kong staged the first in 1998 with Tokyo wrestling it away in 2000 and 2002, but exhibitors resoundingly requested a return to the fragrant harbour for this year’s event.

Read More >

Aratong Galleries requests the pleasure of your company at the Opening Ceremony of a Solo Exhibition by Chinese Contemporary Painter, Zhong Chen, “Butterfly Lovers”, to be launched by the Australian Ambassador to China, HE Dr Geoff Raby.

The exhibition will be help at the new Aratong Galleries, Beijing, China on Saturday 23rd October 2010 at 3:30pm

Read More >