Last month, when we were participating in Vinexpo Asia in Hong Kong, we ran into an old friend, winemaker Tersina Shieh. We last met Tersina here at Cortes de Cima, when she gave a helping hand out in the cellar for a spell, a few vintages ago. Tersina has now teamed up with Simon Tam and together they are wine consultants running the Independent Wine Centre, a contemporary tasting and education centre based in Hong Kong. We asked IWC to do some ‘Chinese’ tasting notes, and here they are!

Chaminé Branco

This wine is more fragrant than Chinese pear. It is fresh and lively. The refreshing feel lingers for a while.

Best food match: Steamed fresh seafood, Salt and pepper stir fried dish in Southern China.

Courela

It has abundant grapey sweetness. The texture is rich and smooth with a bitter-sweet aftertaste.

Best food match: Shanghaiese smoked appetiser, Air-dried preserved meat.

Chaminé Tinto

Rich fruit aromas give a satisfying mouthfeel. It has intense fragrance of dried prunes and preserved plums. Overall, 2009 Chaminé Tinto is powerful, simple but rich.

Best food match: Mongolian barbecue, Cantonese style roast meat.

Syrah

This Syrah reflects the best growing season of 2007. The aroma is forward yet it is more complex than Syrah from other countries. Westerners will describe the aroma as mineral but in the food culture of Chinese, this 2007 Syrah reminds us of one of our beloved food – dried seafood, especially dried scallops. This wine is the result of the best combination of ideal …

On a modern day Sino-Luso vinous encounter last month we joined a group of Portuguese winemakers embarked on an epic journey to Beijing, Shanghai, Macau and Hong Kong, to showcase Portuguese wines to the booming Chinese market. This is the 3rd and last post.

Following Beijing and  Shanghai, the winemakers group moved on to Hong Kong for Vinexpo Asia-Pacific 2010, where Cortes de Cima participated for the first time in this biannual fair in it’s 3rd edition.

“More than 880 exhibitors from 32 different countries greeted 12,000 visitors over three days, a 40 percent attendance increase from 2008.  Two years ago, during the trade show’s last visit to Asia, producers and industry members were still exploring how to get their feet wet in the Chinese market. This time, there was a gold rush atmosphere as startup Chinese firms scrambled to make deals with wineries and merchants.  The energy inside the show was a result of the rapidly expanding market—according to Vinexpo, total wine consumption in the region is increasing four times faster than the world average.” – Wine Spectator.

We could most definitely feel that buzz of activity and energy, as buyers and exhibitors jostled for attention during the 3 non-stop days! It was hard to find a free moment …

Shanghai was the second hop on our Luso-Sino Wine Express in May, which started in Beijing (see previous post), and was to end in Macau and Hong Kong at Vinexpo Asia 2010 (next post).

We reached Shanghai just in time for the start of the SIAL China Food and Beverage Fair, where we again formed part of a group of Portuguese winery exhibitors. Our importer RuoAo helped us man the stand at the 3 day fair, lucky for us, as the majority of the visitors were from the local Chinese beverage trade and not fluent in English.

As in Beijing, our importers RuoAo were again impeccable hosts, escorting us around all the Shanghai highlights, the Bund, French Concession, People’s Park, Oriental Pearl Tower, and at mealtimes plying us with many-coursed delectable Chinese dishes.

The highlight of our Shanghai visit was visiting EXPO 2010, and in particular, the Portuguese pavilion. As we are VERY supportive of using natural cork as the closure of choice for all our wine bottles,  we were excited to see that the Portugal Pavilion has a façade that is covered in cork, a nationally sourced, recyclable and environmentally friendly material!

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On a modern day Sino-Luso vinous encounter last month we joined a group of Portuguese winemakers embarked on an epic journey to Beijing, Shanghai, Macau and Hong Kong, to showcase Portuguese wines to the booming Chinese market. This is the 1st in a series of 3 posts, followed by Shanghai and Hong Kong.)

The trip started in Beijing, where our importer and distributor RuoAo played the role of superb hosts in true Chinese fashion. Picking us up upon arrival at the Beijing airport the world’s largest and most advanced airport building designed by Norman Foster, we were whisked off to RuoAo’s very  impressive Beijing wine store outlet, specializing in Portuguese wines and boasting a fine selection from the Cortes de Cima range. Subsequently, we were chaperoned around all the major sights, including the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, interspersed by numerous lavish and sumptuous Chinese meals with an over abundance of courses.

Not to be excluded was a visit to YuanMingYuan the Imperial Gardens destroyed by British and French troops in 1860 during the Second Opium War. The scene of destruction is still regarded as a symbol of foreign aggression and humiliation in China, and an eye-opener for a Westerner visiting China for the first time, to put relations …