WOSA WORLD

Wines of the Beautiful South inaugural presentation in Asia a success

21 June 2014

Following its success in Germany and the United Kingdom, Wines of the Beautiful South, a collaboration between Argentina, Chile and South Africa, ventured east for the first time at Vinexpo Asia-Pacific 2014. This took the form of three joint seminars, each presented by a different high-profile personality. These were very well received – all three seminars were over-subscribed with some of the audience standing at the back in order to learn more about the countries and their wines.

The first seminar, Pushing Boundaries, was presented by Beijing-based educator, writer and judge, Fongyee Walker. She took the audience off the beaten track to discover new varieties, new wine regions, forgotten varieties, new blends and new styles from the three countries.  Robert Joseph, an internationally known author and co-creator of the International Wine Challenge, guided the audience in comparing and analysing the country differentiations across three popular varieties, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, taking into account the impact of sea breezes, high altitudes and soil types. The last seminar was led by Debra Meiburg MW and showcased the Wines of the Beautiful South award-winning wines which have secured at least one gold medal and 90+ points or higher.  

Over 150 people attended the three seminars, including importers, F&B, educators and media spanning 16 countries. They were impressed by the wine selection and were enthusiastic about having the opportunity to be able to learn about the terroir and grape varieties this collaboration of three countries presented. More importantly, some attendees noted that they can see now the great potential of these countries in producing interesting and high quality wines.

NEXT EVENT: Wines of the Beautiful South, London, 10–11 September 2014

Returning to London Olympia in September, the three countries will once again present a two day event, where you can expect to trade and taste with over 250 producers from all three countries, as well as attend themed tastings designed to showcase the synergy and quality of wines available from Argentina, Chile and South Africa.  For further information on the Wines of the Beautiful South collaboration, visit: www.winesofthebeautifulsouth.com.

Tersina Shieh