Nov 3 (REUTERS) Rice wine – a staple low-value alcoholic beverage – is going upmarket in South Korea in the hands of the Kooksoondang brewery which is marketing it as a cocktail base.

Basmah Fahim reports.

NAPA, Calif., Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ — The continued growth of Argentine wine  imports to the US (more than 40% annually over three years) has made it the  most important “import to watch” in the wine  ndustry.

That New Age White is the largest-selling Argentine white wine in just-released Nielsen Research data on Argentine wines sales in the US makes it a “hot brand” in a hot category. This does not surprise Argentines, who say that Americans have finally discovered what bar patrons and club-goers in Buenos Aires and the rest of the country have long-known – New Age is the most unique, flavorful, and versatile Argentine white wine on the market.

Direct Wines Selects iMarketing LTD As Agency Of Record For All Online Marketing Initiatives – PRNewswire/ iMarketing LTD

PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ — iMarketing LTD (www.iMarketingltd.com), a full-service online marketing agency, today announced that it has been selected to implement an integrated online marketing program for Direct Wines, supporting the company’s expansion in the US and increased emphasis on online sales**. Through affiliate, search engine, and CPA marketing, iMarketing will be focused on generating more cost-effective orders for Direct Wines, increasing site traffic and sales growth with improved ROI.

Editorial: Malaysia pact boosts Asean trade strategy – New Zealand Herald

And then there were seven. New Zealand’s latest free-trade agreement, with Malaysia, was accompanied by the customary enthusiasm from politicians and business representatives. There was much talk of a gateway into Asia, and the Prime Minister described it as “a significant step forward in relations with Malaysia and further evidence of our economic integration with Asia”. Michael Barnett, of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, said it was a great opportunity for businesses if they chose to take it. Clearly, this is a welcome development, but its importance lies as much in its actual signing as in the likelihood of any dramatic change in trade between New Zealand and Malaysia.

…

Equally, it underlined the growth in Asia of a similar sentiment. Formulating an agreement with Malaysia was, obviously, always going to be far simpler than the ground-breaking deal struck with China last year. But that does not mean there were no complications. For the first time, Malaysia has, at New Zealand’s insistence, agreed to include environmental and labour-law co-operation clauses in such a pact. New Zealand, for its part, had to bow to Muslim Malaysia’s demand that alcohol-related products, notably wine, be excluded

Any major themes to take note of?  Comparing this commercial, with that of the Remy commercials in yesterday’s posts, one thing is indeed VERY clear.

When marketing a product that is (generally speaking) for the masses of everyday consumers, tapping a worldly theme is very important.  China wants to fee like it is not only a part of the greater global community, but that it is contributing to it.  This commercial highlights such a theme perfectly in a very straight forward fashion.

The commercials from Remy Martin (see yesterday’s post) target a wealthier consumer and promote images of peace, tranquility, class and sophistication which are derived from the pleasure of enjoying a exclusive and expensive beverage like Remy Martin cognac.  Perhaps this is tapping into the desire to find a way to relax and disconnect from a life of a over-worked Chinese executive.  Offering a type of reward incentive for ones hard work, in the form of a “special” drink, the you work hard to be able to afford, consume and thereafter experience the feeling promoted in the marketing image.

Chinese culture tends to place far less emphasis and importance on receiving and giving compliments.  Confucius said, “to remain un-soured even though one’s merits are not recognized by others, is that not what is expected of a man of virtue?”  In other words, when the over-worked, wealthy business executives in China see this commercial, they see a beverage that creates the aura of achievement, recognition and merit so desperately desired.

The Tsingtao commercial on the other side wants you to let go of that hard day, drop your personal barrier and simply enjoy a beer with the world around you (not escape from it).

Jonathan “Jono” Warren is one cool guy, whom I must say it a honor to call my friend. Despite what his un-updated profile may say over at his blog, Garbageandnoodles, he is currently based out of Kashgar, Xinjiang, China.   He is working to begin a very interesting tea business, involving the packaging of Pakistani tea in China, and thereafter marketing it in the US.  He hopes all readers extract something from his posts and learn a little about a different side of China.

Carved in Stone – Reflections from the KKH

Written by Jono, the autthor and man behind Garbageandnoodles

Karakorum Highway (KKH) Nanga Parbat - wikipedia

“This is pretty scary, right?” I said as the crowded bus swerved to avoid a gaping pothole in the middle of the dirt road, the leftmost tires gripping pebbles and nothing. I contemplated the possibility that this imported Japanese schoolbus could careen off this mountain pass into the river below as I spoke aloud: “our lives are entirely in the hands of our driver.”

“First they are in Allah’s hands… then our driver’s,” the young man of 25 to my left assured me.

Unassured, I looked up to notice a brilliant moon illuminating the night sky in a gradient from white to black, but never touching gray. The other stars, normally radiant, glowed dimly, jealously. The moon set late in the night to reveal the same night sky that compelled Gallileo to wake up and say “I must invent the telescope.” I remembered seeing the Milky Way from a similar viewpoint some nights before, during the new moon after Eid-al Fitr. Silhouetted mountains were peperred with the earthly stars of little houses in even smaller hamlets with juniper wood fires for brewing tea. It was then that I noticed that Allah’s outstretched hands had guided us safely into Chipurson Valley.

The Karakoram Highway (KKH) is about 40 years old and is currently being renovated. There are 4 to 5 thousand Chinese laborers hard at work connecting China’s cheap goods to Pakistan’s cheaper markets. It is the major artery that connects western China to Pakistan and far northern Pakistan to Islamabad. The snaking road that hugs the side of the karakoram overlooking the Indus river is only ever as wide as to allow the width of two cars separated by just enough space to keep the paint from scratching off two passing cars. One learns to accept potentially near death experiences as commonplace. In the three weeks I spent in Pakistan, about 40 hours were clocked on the picturesque and oftentimes periloius KKH.

Most human transportation between cities on the KKH is done with old 15-seat toyota vans. These vans will only leave the depot if there are at least 19 passengers in the seats, sometimes with more hanging off the back or sitting on top alongside the luggage. The ride is cramped and hot. Women and children usually sit in the first row behind the driver.

Driving in the daytime, the road is enveloped in a couldren of mountains. As the path winds, the mountains cleave from one another in an ever-widening “V” (or lowercase “y”) reavealing new titans, each one more spectacular than the last.

Even though the ride from Shonas to Gilgit may be uncomfortable, sometims you get to meet some fun characters. Afsar and I had a conversation about Pakistani hiphop – his cousin “Bee Jay Hussein” was the most famous “northsyde” rapper in Gilgit-Baltistan (formerly the “Northern Areas” or “NA”). He told me how much people liked Lupe Fiasco here because he was a muslim rapper.

The 25-year old going to Chipurson with us was trying to secure support for his “Walk 4 Peace” from “Khunjerab 2 Karachi.” The 100-day walk would try to raise awareness of the Pakistani domestic problems in Swat and Tribal Areas and show that the majority of the Pakistani people are against the Talibanization of their people.

My conversation with Afsar was interrupted by the sight of some viscous orange-brown liquid creeping down the window. It was local apricot jam and I just hoped none of it jammed my bag stored up top. I drifted off to sleep and expected to wake up covered in jam.

I had just begun to doze off when I was abruptly roused from my slumber by a terrible noise. A brilliantly adorned sphinxy painted in the brightest greens and yellows had honked its horn. On the KKH, the sounds and sights of these hulking iron beasts on wheels are quite common. The passing of a truck is always accompanied by the blast of its horn or, when there was no need to honk, by the gentle sound of chimes followed by the roar of a diesel engine. The truck is truly a product of a failed “Pimp My Ride” episode where Xzibit takes some redneck’s pickup and comes out at the end of the episode and tells the owner “Aight, your trunk can hold 50000 kilos of potatoes now. We set you up with a horn that is as loud as it is obnoxious and sounds like mo’f'n’ Flash Gordon’s lizardman-blastin’ lasergun killing an elephant.” Some of them have decorative Ben Hur-like charriot spours. Dick Dastardly is the driver while Muttley rides shotgun and operates the smoke screen and oil slick.

On the 16 hour busride from Gilgit to Mansehra, in addition to stops to let people off the bus, we stopped four times. The first stop was right outside Gilgit for lunch. We stopped in Chilas for a tea break. At about 6pm, we stopped for evening prayer, which conventiantly gave the bus driver enough time to change a tire. The last stop was my favoirte and always is on these long rides on the KKH: dinner at a cliffside restaurant. Lit by Christmas lights and propane-fueled lanterns, we’re presented with a plate of roti(bread), daal(lentils), and gosht(beef) as we sit on a rope-mesh bench as a tributary of the Indus rushes beside us.

The KKH is an unforgiving mistress, but at least I’ll have Allah on my side the next time I’m on a shaky 40-year old rope bridge when it snaps.

[Source] – Garbageandnoodles

When Hong Kong slashed its alcohol taxes to zero last year, it put a dent in Singapore’s attempts to grow as a wine business hub of Asia. Without the huge mainland Chinese market in its backyard, wine businesses have also found it a challenge to grow the local industry, even as Singaporean palates become more sophisticated and the demand for more variety increases.

Singapore-Merlion (Globowines)

Wine conferences and fairs

This is turning out to be an area of growth as organisers see greater interest from consumers in learning more about wine while distributors, retailers and restaurateurs reap benefits from visibility, networking and co-operation.

This week, for example, sees the International Congress of Chinese Cuisine & Wine (ICCCW) and Wine For Asia (WFA), running back-to-back, while the Singapore Wine Fiesta starts at the end of the month.

The ICCCW conference was founded last year by local publisher and columnist Ch’ng Poh Tiong, and it’s a feather in Singapore’s hat that after its first year in Beijing, he brought it here instead of tax-free Hong Kong, although it will be touring there next year.

‘The choice of venue is not dictated by local tax regimes vis-a-vis wine,’ explains Ch’ng. ‘Our goal is to spread the concept, and culture, of wine with Chinese cuisine wherever Chinese cuisine is highly appreciated.’

…

Click here to access complete article from Businesstimes.com.sg

[Source] – Businesstimes.com.sg Written by Christopher Lim and additional reporting by Melissa Lwee

Img: Business Week

For all the toothsome crabs and delicate siu mai that make Hong Kong one of the world’s best places to eat, until recently wine was largely enjoyed more as a marker of status than as a complement to a meal. Wine programs and shops in the city’s main district catered to local tycoons and expatriates with a taste for Bordeaux and expense accounts to match.

But venues for wine—shops, tasting bars and even a winery—now flourish in the city, thanks to a happy convergence of factors that includes reduced taxes and a government mandate declaring 2009 “Food & Wine Year”. Auction houses are clamoring to sell fine Bordeaux, Burgundies and Barolos and ever more restaurants are hosting dinners with wine makers flown in for the occasion. Tasting events, trade shows and oenology courses abound. A recent Sotheby’s auction of two American-owned wine collections raised $7.9 million, almost 30% more than estimated.

Still, many of the best and most interesting sites are tucked away, often a short taxi ride out of central Hong Kong.

Click here to access the complete article from the WSJ

[Source] – The Wall Street Journal, by Jake Lee

Just a reminder to all those readers out there in Singapore — Wine For Asia begins October 22 and runs until October 24.

Wine For Asia (WFA) 2009, the most comprehensive international wine exhibition in the region, returns to Singapore from 22 – 24 October 2009 with the promise of another bumper event.

An exciting exposition that help you expand your footprint into Asia’s burgeoning wine market, WFA 2009 offers a one-stop opportunity to keep abreast of the latest wine offerings, complete with a myriad of first-class business, educational and networking opportunities and lifestyle pursuits. Exhibitors and visitors can look forward to three days of non-stop business, networking and learning opportunities.

Click here to visit the Wine for Asia home page for more information.