Hungarian wines step up sales strategies

BEIJING, Nov. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- After several marketing attempts by individual wineries, Hungarian wine exports to China now have a new platform from which to sell their wares. Arpad Winehouse was launched Thursday in Beijing with the aim of introducing handcrafted Hungarian wines to the Chinese market.

The project, named after the tribal leader who brought Hungary into Europe, works only with handcrafted wines made by traditional, small-production vineyards.  Announced at a reception at the Hungarian Embassy in Beijing, Arpad Winehouse aims to showcase wines from leading winemakers from across the country.

"We believe that Chinese people have a rich and superb culinary culture, so they will easily understand the difference between a product made by a factory and our wines, which are the result of a year's hard work and constant care from a family," explained David Varga-Sabjan, head of Arpad China operations. "Our winemakers have been hand-crafting noble wines for generations and because they do not produce a large volume, you can be sure that each bottle is of exceptional quality."

For more than 1,000 years, Hungary has had an important winemaking industry due to its various microclimates and different soils. The wines brought to China will be available in both retail outlets and restaurants, with private wine shops in the pipeline.