A Portuguese Orient Express – SHANGHAI

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!

Once inside the pavilion, the visitor is treated to an excellent short video “Portugal, a Square for the World”, and before exiting has the chance to buy Portuguese wines (including Cortes de Cima!) as a souvenir, or to drink a glass of Cortes de Cima or Chaminé at the wine bar adjacent to the souvenir shop! What a great opportunity to try Portuguese wines for the 3 million expected visitors to the Portuguese Pavilion, out of the 70 million expected visitors to Expo Shanghai while it runs over the next 6 months!