Just finished updating the loose outline of Mir Global Marketing LLC’s new Long Island Experience section.

For all the readers of Globowines, we invite you to take a sneak peak –

The Long Island Wine Experience

Click through the subsections on the tap at the top to see all the updates!

~ Bennett

Wines of the New World have stolen the spotlight at this years Decanter World Wine Awards in Covent Garden, London. Of the 24 international trophies, 15 went to New World, 9 to the old world.

“Chile has proven itself a producer of some of the finest Sauvignon, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Cabernet blends in the world,” writes Adam Lechmere of Decanter.com.

Other highlights from the event include:

• International Trophies for Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Bordeaux Varietals all went to Chile at a glittering dinner in the Floral Hall at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

• The trophy for best Sauvignon Blanc Over £10 went to Undurraga’s TH from San Antonio, which judges described as ‘Crisp, herbal, grassy and zesty, appealing elegant and expressive.’

• Cono Sur’s Riesling won the Under £10 in that category, for its Bio Bio Valley Reserva 2008, with its ‘racy nose of lime, honey, grapefuit and ripe peach with hints of mineral and kerosene’.

• And for the fourth time in the past five years the Red Single Varietal trophy Under £10 went to an Argentinian Malbec: this year, the Malbec aka Rodolfo Sadler from Opi Sadler in Mendoza.

Click here for a full list of awards, including international trophy winners

Click here to read more about Decanter’s World Wine Awards from Adam Lechmere’s article “Chile triumphs at Decanter World Wine Awards,”

[Source] – Decanter.com

Back on June 16th Mir Global ran a small piece on South America’s numerous wine producing regions (click here to read). The basic premise of the blog post was to share with readers around the world that wines are produced across Latin America.

Chile and Argentina are unarguably the regional leaders in wine production, with their wines now common place in international markets around the world. Nonetheless, it would be unwise to overlook the potential of other up and coming producers from other countries in Latin America.

Of the many countries that do produce wine in South America, Bolivia is one country Mir Global Marketing is largely ignorant about. I stumbled upon this interesting from the Global Post this afternoon about Bolivia’s burgeoning wine scene and I must say I’m intrigued.

Here is a small excerpt from the article, A hidden high-altitude treasure; Bolivia’s Tarija region produces great wines — it’s just hard to find them outside the country.

Even the French will admit that Chilean and Argentine vinos can be as good as they come. But Bolivian wine? Well, just wait. If you haven’t tried a fine merlot, syrah, cabernet sauvignon, malbec or sauvignon blanc from this small but expanding wine-producing area in southern Bolivia, you’re in for a tasty surprise.

Bolivians long have had a passion for their national drink, singani, a grape brandy distilled from muscatel grapes, but as recently as a decade ago, locals turned up their noses at their own wines, preferring to buy excellent and inexpensive ones from their southern neighbors.

Today, however, Tarija’s major winemakers — Kohlberg, La Concepcion, Aranjuez, and Campos de Solana — are supplying the national market and sending their wines abroad, especially to Europe. Their secret: altitude.

…

Bolivia’s modern wine industry began some 40 years ago when Julio Kohlberg and others brought new varietals, mostly reds, to production. Nobody is really sure, but it is estimated that about 4,942 acres are under cultivation in the Tarija region. Producers began exporting about a decade ago but have been stifled by a lack of investment, marketing and stable access to markets.

Click here to access the complete article from the Global Post

Looking back on my most recent business trip to China to promote Mir Global’s wines and last night’s Sister City Networking Event in Chicago which Mir Global was present at, the two grapes the new Chinese wine consumer seem to prefer are Sauvignon Blanc and Malbec.

This doesn’t mean it is as simple as pitching quality bottles of each of these types of wines to importers / distributors in China. For starters, Chinese by and large have never heard of Malbec and when it comes to white wines you are always fighting against the current because about 70% of the wine consumed in China is red.

Cabernet Sauvignon’s dry, deep tannin full tastes are seldom well received in China. Wine experts and sophisticated consumers do exist, but these consumers are not representative of the greater wine market.

When it comes to Chardonnay, a young wine which has not been aged in french oak and has a sweet almost fresh taste (which reminds me of Sauvignon Blanc) can work. However, finding a young Chardonnay which has these qualities is quite difficult. It is a great deal easier to find a Chardonnay from California that does have a drier, woody taste… sadly Chardonnay’s of this style (which are very popular in the US), are not what the unrefined Chinese wine palate seems to prefer

A friend of mine who is marketing French wines to China has also found Viognier to be quite conducive with the Chinese palate. The floral fruity aromas of a Viognier, attract the Chinese to the wine and when paired with food it goes superbly with spicy Asian cuisine such as Thai food.

Sauvignon Blanc’s fruity and vibrant aromas along with its crisp and refreshing taste seem to draw the Chinese wine drinker in. During last night’s networking event in Chicago, I was particularly intrigued by the overwhelming positive reaction of women who sampled Palmer Vineyard’s 2008 Sauvignon Blanc.

Palmer’s Sauvignon Blanc gives the wine drinker a refreshing and crisp experience. It is almost as if this particular wine has a subtle carbonated kick to it. Not strong enough to think you are drinking a wine spritzer, but just enough to give it a unique kick and not overcompensate other elements of the wine.

Moving onto Malbec’s, Argentina’s pride and joy. Many describe Malbec as a versatile red wine, and this is exactly what it is. Malbec in my mind, is almost a hybrid of characteristics commonly associated with other reds such as Merlot, Cabernet and Pinot Noir. Malbec’s which have been aged in french oak retain their berry, fruity substance while also balancing in a magical way with the dry and intense tannin’s typically associated with a full bodied red wine.

** Reminder to all readers, opinions expressed in this entry are my own and should be not treated as fact. Thank you.

~ Bennett Reiss – International Trade Consultant at Mir Global Marketing LLC

WA winemakers look to Asia to beat industry downturn
By Georgia Loney of The West Australia

WA winemakers are turning to emerging markets in Taiwan, Nepal and South Korea to help the industry through the global economic crisis, as traditional markets in Britain and the US dry up.

Major wine importers from Japan, Nepal, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand toured WA wine regions this week in search of supplies.

The value of Asian markets is rising rapidly, with China and Taiwan buying 54 per cent and 23 per cent more of Australian wine over the past year, while the volume of exports to Nepal is up 97 per cent.

Taiwanese wine importers Shelly Wu and Winston Lin signed a deal last month to import Cullen Wines from Margaret River and said there was a strong market for Australian fine wine in Taiwan but it was overwhelmingly for red varieties. Ms Wu said WA shiraz was popular. “The market for (fine wine) has been developed over the last 20 years but they mostly used to drink French wines. Now there is stronger interest in new world wines,” she said.

“There is strong interest in shiraz from Australia and the cabernet sauvignon is beautiful compared to the European style. We are adding to our portfolio of WA wines because the wine style is very elegant and very approachable to the Taiwanese palate.”

Nepalese wine buyer Amit Agrawal imports wine from the Hunter Valley in NSW and is yet to buy any WA wine.

He said the tiny country’s thriving tourism industry generated demand for fine wine. “Because we like spicy types of food, sauvignon blanc goes well,” he said.

Britain and the US remain by far the biggest wine export markets but their value has fallen 20 per cent and 12 per cent respectively over the past year.

The love of a good barbecue / grill out is a tradition many cultures around the world share. Social norms, which let me just say are heavily influenced by the media we watch and read, typically make you associate barbecued or grilled foods with beer.

I must admit- a good quality beer, served cold, complements anything from a American BBQ to a Argentinean parrillada wonderfully.

However, there are wines that go with barbecue as well. Here are a few that were recently highlighted in this San Francisco Chronicle article:

2006 Earthquake Zin Lodi Zinfandel ($28)
This registers at least 7.0 on the Richter scale – with enough power, spice and jammy fruit to conquer most tomato-based barbecue sauces. Blended with a little Petite Sirah and Syrah… Click to read more

2007 Feudi di San Gregorio Sannio Falanghina ($16)
A meld of stone fruit, pear, golden apple and Meyer lemon; aromatic with more body than expected. The balance and tart, clean finish speaks to both grilled vegetables and shrimp. A Sauvignon Blanc like the 2007 Vina Robles Paso Robles bottling ($14) will also work… Click to read more

2006 Hess Collection Allomi Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($25)
Intense nose of dark berry, loam and creme brulee with similar berry, chocolate hints and supple tannins on the palate. A relatively inexpensive Napa Valley Cab that will pair well with grilled meats… Click to read more

2006 JC Cellars California Cuvee Syrah ($25)
This is blended from multiple vineyards and appellations, resulting in a deep, rich California-style Syrah. Ripe aromas and flavors of blackberry, loam and pepper with generous lashings of oak. Includes 21 percent Petite Sirah… Click to read more

2007 King Estate Winery Domaine Oregon Pinot Gris ($25)
Oregon’s organically farmed King Estate, founded in 1991 by the King family, produces Pinot Gris on 300 of its 465 acres. Lovely aromas and flavors of citrus, stone fruit and spice underscored with hints of mineral; rather lush mouthfeel… Click to read more

Twenty years ago New Zealand barely had a wine industry. Now now only are their wines found on shelves in Europe, North America and Asia.

Zealand’s wine exports have grown at an average of 23.8% over the past two years, four times the rate of growth in any other export sector.

Marlborough, one of New Zealand’s primier wine growing regions and home to the country’s most famous Sauvignon Blanc’s, now accounts for 20% of ecomonomy. Not bad for a industry which as I already mentioned did not really exist 20 years ago…

“For the industry the NZIER report represents a very positive analysis of the contribution grape growing and winemaking make to the New Zealand economy. That contribution totals over $3.5 billion of revenue through our own direct sales and the sales we generate in related sectors such as the tourism and hospitality industries,” Winegrowers chairman Stuart Smith says, according to a news report by the NZ National Business Review.

India, a relative new comer in the global wine scene is now looking to use growth of New Zealand’s wine industry as a template for nurturing their own infant industry.

Wairau Valley, Marlborough – New Zealand

Here are a few excerpts from a interesting article covering this topic, courtesy of The Indian Wine Academy.

In India, Sula took the lead in wine tourism with a tasting room and a reasonably world-class structure has been commissioned but nothing much has been done by Indage or Grover- though Indage opened a wine bar outside the winery with a modern tasting room inside and Grover has also opened a tasting room recently.

The infra-structure to travel to Nashik is practically non-existent. It takes over 5 hours to reach Nashik from the airport with a private taxi and once you reach there, finding the winery locations is a nightmare for most visitors.

The tourism ministry does not seem to pay much attention to this aspect either. Even Destination India 2009 project to promote tourism in India seems to have ignored this lucrative part of the tourism. Hopefully, the Nashik grape growers association or the newly formed National Grape Board would have a look at the potential honey pot when it gets down to business.

Click here for complete article