More American wines being offered for sale in China
No one would have believed it possible a decade or two ago, but American companies like Beverly Hills Purveyors Inc. has announced that its latest wines are being aimed at the Chinese market.
To help it grow, the company also launched a re-branded Web site, www.beverlyhillspurveyors.com, to help build sales.
It wasn't that long ago that when touring China to hear a restaurant waiter ask, when a customer inquired about having wine with dinner, "Which -- red wine? or white wine?"
That was it folks; no discussion about country of origin, aromatics or grape varietal. Their frame of reference was only for serving wine by the color of the finished product. Forget about flavor or compatibility with the foods being eaten.
Beverly Hills Purveyors -- just in time for the Summer Olympics due to begin this week in Beijing -- is taking advantage of a growing middle-class market in China.
I can attest to the fact that the wine market still is in its developing stages although it is said to be growing rapidly as incomes rise and people become aware of the health benefits associated with drinking wine.
Statistics claim that in the past five years, wine imports in China have grown over 270 percent and the trend is expected to continue to grow in the next 10 years. If that happens, China will surpass Japan to become the world's second-largest purchaser of luxury goods by 2015.
Focus groups and blend taste tests have been conducted among Chinese wine consumers during the past year. In the same vein, the California company is setting up a wholly-owned Chinese import company in Shanghai to distribute its products.
"We feel that we're in an excellent position to capitalize on this trend, and that our line of premium wines will be very well received in the Chinese market," said Scott Young, co-founder of the company and a certified sommelier.
SUMMER SIPPING
A cute e-mail crossed my desk recently, equating "beach novels or summer movies" with a seasonally appealing crisp wine.
"And no matter how seriously we take wine, when the weather gets too hot and sticky, complex, subtle and cerebral wines lose some of their appeal," the wine expert's note continued.
He suggests three wines that are among his favorites. "They are fun, they're easy and they don't demand your full attention. More specifically, they are all, to varying degrees, off-dry, low in alcohol and fizzy," he told me.
For that reason alone, I'll pass his recommendations on to you. The trio includes a light-hearted Pacific Rim Sweet Riesling 2007 from Washington state's Columbia Valley. With a residual sugar content of just 6.5 percent, the alcohol level is only 9 percent. The retail price is about $11.99.
The second choice is Primo Amore Juliet, an Italian import from the vine-growing area near Verona where Garnega and Moscato grapes grow. Picnic perfect, the wine is sweet and fizzy, with only 7.5 percent alcohol. California winemakers would raise their eyebrows at hearing that low number -- barely a fermentation, they'd say. Look for a price tag of about $6.99.
A sibling to that wine is the Primo Amore Romeo -- remember both wines come from Romeo and Juliet terrain. The Garnega and Moscato grapes are blended here by the Italian winemakers to produce a sweet, aromatic and fizzy wine. Its 7.5 percent alcohol content is meant for sipping on a warm afternoon. And it will treat your wallet well at just $6.99 retail.