Misha's Vineyard

Misha shares the experience of being invited to one of the most glitzy black tie dinners of the year!

How often do you get invited to a black tie dinner in Hong Kong at the landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel with a wine selection that includes vintage Bollinger champagne plus selected vintages of Penfolds Grange, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Robert Mondavi Reserve, Frescobaldi, and Taylor’s Port? In fact on this special evening there were 10 wines selected to match a menu that was spectacular – both in taste and presentation! It was undoubtedly the most sublime evening of food and wine I’ve ever experienced in Asia!

The occasion was the 20th Anniversary of Jebsen Fine Wines – our distributor in both Hong Kong and China. Jebsen & Co is a private trade firm that was established in 1895 by a couple of Danish seafaring cousins who established trading routes between China and Europe. Over the years Jebsen has evolved into a diversified business coverings chemical, engineering, oil & gas, as well as metals & mining sectors and also become a sophisticated marketing, distribution and logistics company stewarding a portfolio of luxury yacht, camera and watch brands (including Raymond Weill) and even Porsche cars – a brand they have represented in Hong Kong for nearly 60 years and in China for the last 10 years! One of the newer divisions is the Fine Wine group but even that has twenty years of solid trading and has built an enviable reputation as one of the largest independent importer and distributors of premium wines and spirits in Greater China!

All 200 guests at this special dinner were individually welcomed by Chairman Hans Michael Jebsen, grandson of the founding partner who joined the company thirty years ago, and after a glass or two of Bolly we took our seats at the spectacularly dressed tables. There were many sublime food and wine matches but one of the most inspiring courses was served in a book! The waiting staff carried out piles of what appeared to be bound books which were presented to everyone. When the books were opened, they revealed a beautifully plated main course on a porcelain lined interior. Everyone reached for a camera or a mobile phone to capture the unique presentation of the course – in fact throughout the night it would have been hard to find someone who wasn’t taking photos of various courses! Even the San Pellegrino water (also a brand in the Jebsen portfolio) had special Bulgari packaging! The dessert course was also a very clever presentation as it looked exactly like a mango but was so much more than just a mango and the selection of cheeses on a two level glass platter also produced gasps of amazement. It was food presentation at its very finest but then we were at the glamorous Mandarin Oriental – a hotel which continues to be the vanguard of luxury with an enduring reputation for their legendary service.

Just over 40 principals from Jebsens’s wine brands attended the dinner, as well as the Jebsen Fine Wine team and over a hundred guests from Hong Kong’s top hotels and restaurants. Congratulations Jebsen Fine Wines – a fine achievement and a fine way to celebrate!

Misha

Tags: Andy Wilkinson, Central Otago Pinot Noir, Jebsen Fine Wines, Misha Wilkinson, Misha's Vineyard Wines, mishas vineyard

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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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Misha’s update on the recent launch of Misha’s Vineyard Wines in China

Shanghai is the largest city (by population) in China and in fact it’s the largest in the world – and it just became one of my top 3 favourite cities! Misha’s Vineyard wines are now distributed in China through Jebsen Fine Wines – our distribution partner in both Hong Kong and China. Jebsen have the most fabulous teams and they are a company with amazing links into the greater China market having initially started in 1895 as a shipping agency that quickly developed into a trading company. Now the Jebsen Group are a leading marketing and distribution organization for luxury brands and across China representing such brands as Porsche, Bosch, Raymond Weil and Pentax. The wine division also represents leading brands including Frescobaldi, Robert Mondavi, and Laurent-Perrier champagne along with many others, so it’s a great privilege that they are our partner in this important and fast-growing market.

After a day of training the Jebsen Fine Wine team in our wines and visiting some of the most luxurious boutique hotels in Shanghai to introduce them to Misha’s Vineyard wines in order to get them listed in all the right places, we held our first wine dinner on the 1st November in a private dining room at the luxurious JW Marriott Hotel at Tomorrow Square. We had 25 guests, comprised of both customers and trade guests invited to attend the sumptuous dinner. We even had some friends from the US who happened to be visiting Shanghai at the time join us for the dinner. (It was great to see you Colleen!). It was a really fun night and we enjoyed the most spectacular views over Shanghai.

In Shanghai, we already have wines listed at M on the Bund, the House of Roosevelt, a few more amazing places with many more hotels about to list our wines. Andy and I look forward to spending more time in this fabulous city and are planning to do education on New Zealand wine with our winemaker Olly as this is a market with plenty of money to spend but just a little more convincing that New Zealand wine is a good alternative to French wine which still dominates the market of course!

Here’s the menu from our special Shanghai dinner.

Raspberry Sangria Sorbet, Lemongrass Jelly and Amaebi with Lime

Green Tea Smoked Bay Oyster and Chanterelles Mushrooms
Misha’s Vineyard Lyric Riesling 2010

Bamboo Clam “a la Plancha “with Citrus Fruits on Spiced Leek Compote
Misha’s Vineyard The Starlet Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Confit Black Cod in Sichuan Pepper, Tomatoes and Fennel with Provencal Olives
Misha’s Vineyard Dress Circle Pinot Gris 2010
Misha’s Vineyard The Gallery Gewurztraminer 2010

Grilled Wagyu Beef Strip loin and Potato in different Textures
Misha’s Vineyard The High Note Pinot Noir 2008
Misha’s Vineyard Verismo Pinot Noir 2008 (Reserve)

Bitter Chocolate Soufflé and Ice Cream with Truffle

Thanks to the wonderful Jebsen team including Sarah, Christine, Stephen, Thomas, Ken, Ryan, Vivian, and Ken for making our first visit so successful. See you all soon!

Tags: Andy Wilkinson, central otago pinot, Central Otago Pinot Noir, Jebsen Fine Wines, JW Marriott, Misha Wilkinson, Misha's Vineyard Wines, mishas vineyard, Sauvignon Blanc, The High Note, Wine Distributor

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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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