Vinexpo Daily 2018 - Review Edition

NEWS
ADVERTORIAL
The Wine Wizards of Oz
Australian winemakers demonstrate their magic at Vinexpo 2018
The magic of Australian wines and the mysteries of the nation’s littler-known regions
were all revealed to a highly admiring pack of Asian and global buyers at Vinexpo
2018. Not only was Australia the Country of Honour, it played its role to a tee, with
master classes, conferences, tastings and of course the “Blend” evening, which added
a little entertainment to the more serious side of the business. While there were far too
many exhibitors to give justice to all in one article, we asked just a few how the show
went for them…
CASELLA FAMILY BRANDS
Malcolm Paul Davies,
Export Manager – APAC and Emerging Markets
We’ve been meeting with a number of important
distributors every day. We’ve had people
come up that I wasn’t expecting to see, which I am
hoping will do very well for us in our business. Initially,
I just thought it was just about having a presence and
showcasing our wines, but this has actually worked
out to be much more than that. It’s a big set-up. There
are a lot of Australians and Australian wine in the
room, and the response from customers and distributors
coming through has been very positive, and the
networking session – the Blend – was pretty amazing!
THE PAWN WINE CO
Zachary Tom Keelan,
Director, Winemaker, Crayon Control
It’s my first time in Hong Kong, and for me, it’s
been a bit of an educational tour to be honest.
I came in eyes wide open, with no huge expectations
of what was going to be the outcome, but I have learnt
so much in the past three days in terms of what the
market is, what they want, pricing, and labelling. Especially
labelling in fact – it’s incredible the amount of
attention to detail that some of the customers have on
labels. The show has been a success. I have a suitcase
full of business cards, and it will take a good
week or two when I get back to Adelaide to go
contact all these people. And now I am an expert on
WeChat, which is fantastic!
ROWLEE SINGLE VINEYARD
WINES – ORANGE
Nicole Samodol, Principal
We have had two master classes through
Vinexpo and also had the regional bar so it
has given us an opportunity to introduce them to the
Orange region, and explain why it’s different to
other regions, with the cool climate and high altitude
delivering elegant, lovely textured wines. Feedback
has been very positive, with great engagement. The
show has been a big success.
FINE WINES
OF AUSTRALIA
Ryan G Hale, Director
It’s all about Sinful 8: bringing out a
new brand to the Asian markets from the
Riverina area – basically from the wine to the
bottle to the label – everything has been done
with no expenses spared. Reaction has been
fantastic. Everyone I talked to knew I was here,
and this was my first Vinexpo. It’s been great.
Everyone has at least stopped by and taken
photos. Wine Australia has done a fantastic
job.
CW WINES (COONAWARRA)
Denise Tranter,
Director (and husband Jason)
We sell a lot of bulk wine, we do about seven million litres a year, but we are
getting into buyer’s own brands of bottled stock from McLaren Vale and Barossa,
and predominantly Coonawarra and the Limestone Coast, from entry-level right through to
high end. We know that for the China market, labelling is extremely important, and we
are working with John Jewell for this. He has a good handle on the latest and greatest
labels and that’s a great help. The show has been very busy. We’ve made a lot of
contacts, and I think you’ve just got to keep coming back every year and keep at it.
4 VINEXPO DAILY / REVIEW / TUESDAY 12 TH JUNE 2018