Misha's Vineyard

Misha reports on the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Fair

It is the second year that Misha’s Vineyard has been part of the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Fair with our wonderful distributor Jebsen Fine Wine. This was the fourth time this show has been held and in that time it has become Asia’s biggest wine show and held in a city which is now the focal point of wine business in the Asia Pacific region and a the largest wine auction centre in the world! More than 19,000 buyers from around the world attended the Fair and although that attendance was up 40% over the previous year, it actually felt like there were slightly fewer people than last year but that could also have been because that attendance was spread across a staggering 930 exhibitors from 37 countries! In addition to the trade buyers, nearly 20,000 public visitors took the fair’s final day up nearly 40% over last year’s attendance at the public day.

Taking pride of place just inside the main entrance to the Fair was the Jebsen Fine Wine stand – a location that was unbeatable! And with Jebsen’s portfolio of wine clients, it was a stand that attracted much attention and many photographs! There were 10 of Jebsen’s brands represented on this year’s stand including Champagne Bollinger, Taylor’s Port, Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Robert Mondavi, Luce (by Frescobaldi), Chateau d’Esclans and Grey Goose Vodka! With a line-up of amazing brands like that, it was indeed an honour to be part of the Jebsen family.

There was also a special reason to celebrate at this year’s Fair as it was also the 20th anniversary of Jebsen Fine Wines and on the opening day of the Fair, Mr Hans Michael Jebsen, chairman of Jebsen & Co, was at the stand to toast the anniversary with staff and the winery principals. In fact a small glass of Bollinger was how the following two days started as well! It was a little treat that helped in facing the 9 hours of standing on the booth each day!

It was an exhausting event but wonderful to have been there and very important in our strategy to build a strong brand in the region! Thanks to all of our trade friends and media who came to say hello whilst we were there. See you next year?

Tags: Andy Wilkinson, central otago pinot, Central Otago Pinot Noir, Hong Kong, Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Fair, Jebsen Fine Wines, Misha Wilkinson, Misha's Vineyard Wines, mishas vineyard

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Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Fair

Misha’s Vineyard Wines was placed with some amazing company at the Hong Kong Wine & Spirit Fair held at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre from November 4th to November 6th. Our Hong Kong distributor – Jebsen Fine Wines – had secured a prime hall-entry location for their stunning booth which featured just 8 brands including Bollinger, Robert Mondavi, Marchesi de’ Frescabaldi, Penfolds, Chateau d’Esclans and of course Misha’s Vineyard.

The event attracted over 700 exhibitors with the many thousands of attendees on the two trade days and one public day coming from across the globe. Many of the visitors were from mainland China where wine consumption and education in both old world and new world wines is on a rapid rise. The very high level of interest in the range of Misha’s Vineyard wines kept the Jebsen team and ourselves pouring wines and talking about our vineyard throughout the three days and resulted in quite a number of future placements with fine dining restaurants.

In conjunction with the fair, Jebsen Fine Wines had arranged several wine dinners and special customer tastings of the wines. Our special dinner with the WineNow magazine guests hosted by well known Hong Kong wine personality Mr Lau Chi Su, paired Bollinger Special Curvee, Chateau d’Esclans Rosé, Misha’s Vineyard Pinot Noir, Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon, Luce Toscana IGT and Penfolds Grange with an array of Chinese dishes. (See our Food and Wine blog for the menu)

Thanks to the wonderful team from Jebsen Fine Wines. Such professional organization and support made this event a real success for Misha’s Vineyard Wines.

Tags: Bollinger, Hong Kong, Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Fair, Jebsen Fine Wines, Misha Wilkinson, mishas vineyard, pinot noir, Wine Distributor, WineNow

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Andy, Olly and I all met up in Hong Kong airport having been on different flights but all arriving around the same time and then headed to our hotel in Causeway Bay. The next day was a Sunday so we decided to go to Stanley for shopping and sight-seeing. We took the bus which is a pretty interesting trip as it winds around the narrow streets of the island. That evening we had dinner at Jumbo’s in Aberdeen (something that I had never done in spite of many trips to Hong Kong over the past 20 years) and just the three of us dined on an entire Peking duck – delicious!

Our new distributor in Hong Kong, Jebsen Fine Wine, organised an amazing schedule for us. The first day started with training and a tasting for the whole Jebsen team and then an afternoon of retail store visits and then finishing with a trade dinner at Nicholini’s restaurant at the Conrad Hotel.

Over the course of the next two days we met with many of Hong Kong’s five star hotels and top restaurants and did product training at one of the top hotels who have already taken on Misha’s Vineyard wines. There was a great reaction the wines (especially the Pinot Noir) and you’ll soon see our wines in many key places in Hong Kong.

The schedule for the final day included a media lunch at Cucina at the Marco Polo Hotel. This restaurant has a spectacular location overlooking Hong Kong harbour, on the Kowloon side, and it happened to be a perfect day to enjoy the view! We had a marvellous attendance at the lunch thanks to the brilliant organisation by Florence Luk, who does PR & Marketing for Jebsen (and happens to be an amazing photographer as well!). The highlight of the lunch was the dessert which was created by Pastry Chef Ryan Zimmer, which we didn’t try to match with any wine. After admiring it for some time, we ate it and it was even more delicious than it looked! Ryan described it as “Strawberry rose capsule with greek yoghurt cheesecake, balsamic gelato, candied pistachio, honey, & cinnamon brioche”.

Later in the day we went to Rare & Fine Wines and held a wine tasting in their shop and then headed back to Hong Kong island for a customer dinner which was also hosted by Rare & Fine Wines at the Hong Kong Banker’s Club.

This dinner had some of the most delicious Chinese food I’ve ever eaten and each course was beautifully matched with one of our wines. One of the best matches was actually the chicken livers and The Gallery Gewürztraminer!

We’re so lucky to be working with Jebsen Fine Wines in Hong Kong. We may be their smallest vineyard but I think we’re their most enthusiastic! Thanks to Gavin, Donny, Kevin, Bonnie and the entire sales team for looking after us so well. We’ll be back soon!

Tags: Andy Wilkinson, Conrad Hotel, Cucina, Gewurztraminer, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Banker’s Club, Jebsen Fine Wines, Misha, Misha Wilkinson, mishas vineyard, Nicholini’s restaurant, Olly Masters, Rare and Fine Wines, Ryan Zimmer, The Marco Polo Hotel

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