Balthasar Ress on Tour December/January 2015

For me, the end of October meant back on the road again in Asia, where there’s a growing fan club for our wines. I’m always glad to visit them and try to show our appreciation for their support. The reviews of our wines recently published in The Wine Advocate were well received there, too.

 

I first flew to Seoul, where I proceeded directly from the airport – amidst traffic turmoil – to an educational seminar for local sommeliers and the sales staff of our local importer. It’s an interesting market, not least because young people are unbiased and inquisitive about the subject of wine and have a lot of fun with our Riesling wines. In addition, they’re excellent with Korean cuisine.

 

From Seoul, I took the train south to Busan, the second-largest city of Korea, located on the coast of the Sea of Japan. It’s a popular vacation spot where people relax, get lost in gigantic shopping malls, and naturally want to eat and drink well. In other words: a perfect place for a glass of Rheingau Riesling. From Busan I flew to Shanghai, where our white wines were in the limelight at the trendy restaurant “g+” for the entire evening. Dress code: white! Guests were able to enjoy a veritable feast of molecular cuisine prepared by a Chinese chef who had lived in Italy for a long time and returned home inspired by many of the culinary delights he had experienced there. All of this was accompanied by our Riesling wines.

 

On another evening – an exception to the focus on “wine and food” – it was “wine and art.” Our wines were served at a vernissage of the Canadian artist An Te Liu. The guests on hand had a rare opportunity to pair a suitable wine with each of the imaginative sculptures. Wine is truly an art of its own.

 

Onward, from Shanghai to Hong Kong, with a brief stop en route in Taipei, where we’re happy to report that Balthasar Ress wines are now available – a market traditionally oriented primarily to red wines.

 

In Hong Kong, a colorful mixture of wine enthusiasts gathered around the pool of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, where they could gain an overview of our local importer’s premium wines. Our 1992 Hattenheimer Nussbrunnen Auslese was doubtlessly one of the highlights of the evening.