From September 23rd to October 2nd 2012, Nelson Chow and a delegation of 15 Chinese wine professionals made a wine tour in the best bodegas in the North of Spain. As soon as they arrived in Madrid, they set off to visit at a one hour drive away the Bodegas Regajal in Aranjuez where they have been welcomed by David Garcia...

The fourth edition of the Contest of the Best Spanish Wines in Asia took place in Hong Kong on October 27th and 28th, 2012. 70 % of the participating wines were awarded a medal, which proves once more the quality of the presented bottles...

Within the framework of a close partnership with the prestigious Mauritian hotel group Constance,
six wine growers of the club “Art de Vignes” take part in a week of promotion of their wines and gastronomy, but also of education. If the sommeliers from the hotels Constance Belle Mare Plage and Constance Prince Maurice were the most concerned...

2012 London International Wine Fair and Distil were reported a success by exhibitors and visitors alike.  In the face of a challenging economic environment, the show cemented its position as essential to the UK and international wine and spirits industries. 

First of all, we would like to thank all the participants in this great event of highlighting and promotion of French wines which took place in the magnificent setting of the famous restaurant Vita Baoli of Miami Beach last 21st and 22nd of October.

200 km in the South of Santiago, near the city of Curico, the Spanish Torres family owns one of the oldest vines in the world. They produce an icon wine, the Manso de Velasco, a pure, spicy, and highly concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon.

For the lauch of the range Cave Privée on the American market, Veuve Clicquot enjoyed a historical anniversary. In 1782, 230 years ago, the house Clicquot sent its first delivery of Champagne to the United States only 6 years
after the Declaration of Independence!

Importer and wine purchase manager for Daniel Boulud's restaurants, Daniel Johnnes, madly found of Burgundy wines for nearly 30 years, had the idea to recreate the Paulée of Meursault in the United States.

Cork is the bark of the cork oak (Quercus suber L), a noble tree with very special characteristics that grows in Mediterranean regions such as Spain, Italy, France, Morocco, Algeria and, most particularly, in Portugal, where there are more than 720 thousand hectares of cork forests (Montado in Portuguese), as well as a cork industry of considerable economic importance.

The Montsecano is considered to be one of Chile's best Pinot Noir. Only one varietal for a small vineyard, managed in biodynamics, created by 4 Chilean and Frenchmen among them the Alsacian André Ostertag.

In the heart of the Wairau Valley, in the middle of an ocean of vines, it can be seen from far away. The chapel Sainte-Solange is the symbol of Clos Henri. Important characters of the Sancerre region, the Bourgeois settled in the area of Marlborough in 2000 after having sought for a new land where to export their know-how...

European expertise joins South African resources in a quest to create the “First Growth of the Cape”. The newly established wine producer 4G Wines takes an unorthodox and unique approach in its absolute ‘quality over quantity’ standard....

For the second session of the BEM Wine MBA 2011-2012 program, the students went down under.  Cameras poised, they saw kangaroos hopping in the fields, koala crossing signs, and the beautiful vineyards changing colors for the fall.

Sud de France is a surge that comes from the soul, heart and papillae. It is born in the midst of the Languedoc-Roussillon, one of the most beautiful and talented regions of France...

No more can this statement be seen to be true than in South East Asia with the emergence (and some might argue subsequent dominance) of new markets such as Greater China, including Hong Kong.

20 year Anniversary Celebration, Norwegian Championship, Young Sommelier and Honorary Members. Norwegian Sommelier Association has completed its largest event ever. The association was established in November 1990 by a group of enthusiasts who wanted to improve the academic and professional wine community in Norway.

Meeting with the young Sommelier of Enrico Bernardo's restaurant Il Vino.

Matteo Ghiringhelli, 24-years-old young Milanese, is Italy's Best Sommelier ASPI. Strengthened by this title, he represented Italy at the last Contest of the Best Sommelier of Europe ASI that took place in Strasbourg in November 2010.

Riesling du monde, Pinot Gris du monde, Gewurztraminer du monde have obtained the patronage of the OIV !
The ambition of Les Grands Concours du monde is to foster the promotion of varietals throughout the world, to give producers the opportunity to present their best wines and to offer consumers the unassailable...

In charge of the wine at the restaurant ‘Deer Hunter’, at the Constance Belle Mare Plage, she outstripped the six other candidates retained after a first selection.

ESC'prit d'Aventure 2010 is a team that gathers 11 students
in 1st and 2nd year, members of an association of the ESC Dijon [School of Business], a school that proposes a MSc Wine Business, in the heart of one of world's most famous viticultural regions.

Gabriela Furlotti is the Manager of Soluna Wines which production is certified by the FLO (Fairtrade Labelling Organization). This 100% Fairtrade commitment means that every bottle of Soluna will enable to directly embetter the life conditions of the small farmers whom they work with. Interview.

We had the pleasure to attend to the second Competition of the Best Spanish Wines in Asia as spectators, because the jury is composed of 100% Asian professionals. It was presided over by Nelson Chow, President of the Hong Kong Sommeliers Association (HKSA), still as dynamic and friendly, just like the members of his association.

20 years ago the Wall fell. Some wine growers of Saale-Unstrut and of Saxony,
who started from nothing, set their vineyards under the spotlights again. Well done ! In the West of Germany, one could doubt quality could return in these vineyards in the North-Easternmost region of the country: Saale-Unstrut and Saxony.

Tuesday September 14th, a custumary scene of harvest in the heart of the Italian region of Asti. Back from the steep slopes of the vineyards, where harvesting can only be manual, the trucks, full of grapes, pour their cargo directly into the presses. There, what a surprise: vehicules, machines, cellar, everything wears the stamp... Martini !

The façade of a grande dame of the 19th century holds court on the banks of  Vila Nova de Gaïa and imposes itself facing the city of Porto. House founded in 1880 by an artist and merchant, Adriano Ramos Pinto, who managed to conquer commercialy the Brasilian market with top quality wines from Portugal and Porto of, while innovating in production and communication.

Who would ever think, especially in recent times, that Italy could claim to be an innovative country in winemaking? In the old as in the new world of wine, the so called Belpaese is synonymous with extremely old-fashioned, bold and earthy red wines often related to stories about medieval noble houses or fascinating conquerors.

This exceptionnal wine growers' club organized a gastronomic week within two establishments of the Constance group. A first large-scale action far from the Hexagon.

Philippe Faure-Brac's alumnus, settled accross the Channel for more than ten years, has just won this trophy sponsored by Piper Heidsieck.

Casinos and gambling are no longer the only themes used for promotion. Capital of gambling and leisure, this city that stands in a Nevada desert is constantly changing and growing.  Along the Las Vegas Boulevard, the famous Strip, numerous worksites show these incessant changes.  Whilst the Encore Hotel, twin of the Wynn, opened last December, “Caesar’s Palace” was extended by the addition of a new building.

The only ‘MOF’ (one of France’s finest artisans) in the sommelier category to have settled abroad, he discovers in Las Vegas a new professional dimension working for MIX, the Michelin-starred restaurant that caters for the largest number of covers in the world.

With a career spanning more than twenty years, Bertrand Despinoy from Lille is enjoying some excellent professional experience far from France.  The challenge he was given, to win a ‘Grand Award’ for this three-star restaurant, convinced him to go and work in Las Vegas after eighteen months spent in Macau.  

Colomé, Argentina. Facing the Nevado de Cachi, which rises to 6,380 metres, the world's highest vineyard, Altura Maxima (3,111 metres) is surrounded by a dry stone wall raised by an Indian who has spent his whole life on the slopes of the mountain.

For its 8th show outside France, Vinexpo, the international wine and spirits exhibition, is again travelling to Hong Kong, as it did in 1998, 2006 and 2008.

Man has been brewing beer for as long as he is farming. Agriculture developed in the fertile lands of the Eastern Mediterranean about 8,000 years ago when wild cereals were “tamed” and cultivated for the first time. Grain was eaten as porridge, ground to make bread and brewed as beer...

At the end of 2009, Joseph E. Bou Samra, chairman and managing director of the stores “La Cigale”, delicatessen specialized in gourmet products and fine wines in Beyrouth, decided to organize a week dedicated to wine from December 6th to 13th in his two shops in Zalka and Achrafieh. The project became real after he met Pierre-Hervé Masson, wine specialist in France. Pierre-Hervé Masson introduced the guests to the main stages of wine tasting during the opening diner and the four tasting sessions.

Of course, I knew Tuscany for I had visited many great cellars with prestigious names. I didn't really feel like travelling in winter in a minibus with other journalists and sommeliers. Then I decided to go anyway, listening to the calls of my dear Italy and my dear Sangiovese.

TOKAJ – wine region, world’s famous region for sweet wines. Most people know the region as a Hungarian, but this top rated wines made from grapes with noble rot of mold Botrytis Cinerea Persoon is also located in small part of southern-eastern part of Slovak republic.

The world’s first ice cider show was held in Rougement, Quebec from February  in the village of Montérégie which proclaimed itself to be Canada’s “apple capital”.  Sponsored enthusiastically by Véronique Rivest, ‘Canada’s Best Sommelier’ in 2006, the creator of this event was cider-maker Francis Lavoie. 

Rangiroa is a paradisal atoll in French Polynesia which attracts tourists from all over the world who love sun, beaches and scuba-diving.  Since 2000, it also the setting of a fantasy, a Bacchic folly, as a consequence of Dominique Auroy’s boundless passion for winegrowing.

Wine globalisation is moving at full speed.  Everyone wants his share of markets worldwide.  After Morocco, and as we await Algeria, Tunisia is now pulling out all the stops to re-establish its ertswhile booming wine industry.

The Disznóko estate, named “Wild Boar’s Rock”, covers 100 hectares in one single plot of land and stands in a glorious location in the southern part of Tokay, Hungary’s most well-known winegrowing region. Disznók_ has been owned by the French group AXA-Millésimes since 1992.

Located 12 km from Eger, Noszvaj is a superb baroque town in the north-eastern part of Hungary which established its reputation by producing a powerful red wine named “Bikaver”, meaning “Bull’s blood”.

Alajos Wunderlich, who is of Swiss origin, was tremendously enthused by his first finely accomplished wine, “Kardarka” in 1992. Therefore, in 1997, he decided to establish a small estate in the region of Villany, located at the southern most part of Hungary on the border with Croatia.

Interview of Kalman Kozma,President of Hungarian Sommelier Association,
Manager of the Gundel Restaurant in Budapest

Since 1990, the Hungarian winegrowing area has been divided into 22 regions which cover a total area of 150 000 hectares and produce approximately 4 million hectolitres annually.