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With Vinexpo Asia 2024 set to kick off Tuesday, visitors to the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre were treated Monday to an early taste of what’s to come.
Emphasis on the word taste, as more than 100 top-tier winemakers from across the globe showcased the fruits of their labour in a Grand Tasting event organised by the internationally acclaimed group of wine experts Bettane+Desseauve.
The idea behind their Grand Tasting series, the first of which took place in France in 2006, is to help guide consumers towards some of the world’s best wines and give them a chance not just to sample, but also meet the people who make the wines.
One of those is Sebastián Labbe, Head Winemaker for Casa Real, the iconic 100% Cabernet Sauvignon produced by Viña Santa Rita in Chile’s Maipo Valley and the only Chilean wine featured in Monday’s B+D tasting.
“It’s an honour and an opportunity to be part of a great selection of wines from around the world, and a chance to access a specific group of consumers united for one great day of tasting”, Labbe told The Daily.
Others present spanned the range from historic producers such as Burgundy’s Maison Albert Bichot to boutique wineries such as Australia’s Cloudburst, which didn’t release its first vintage until 2010.
For smaller producers, the B+D Grand Tasting was of particular importance, as explained by Todd De Vinchenzi, President of Global Operations for Inglenook, in California’s Napa Valley.
“We’re always trying to break in, so events like this one, with top traders coming through, some media and consumer groups with a collector profile...you always want to pour to those people,” he said.
