Johann Henschke

During the Australia First Families of Wine dinner at Skylon last week, I caught up with the rather dashing Johann Henschke, a sixth-generation member of iconic estate Henschke in the Barossa Valley, to talk about the bumper 2012 vintage, cork vs screwcap, Australian wine in China, and whether he plans to take over the running of the estate.

Bols yoghurt liqueur launch

During a 24 hour whistle-stop tour of Amsterdam the other week, I caught up with Huub van Doorne, CEO of Lucas Bols at the House of Bols, to ask him about the launch of the world's first 100% natural yoghurt liqueur, why the product was made in response to demand from China, and how important Bols' 437-year history is to the brand.

Cazes and Lurton to lower their prices

Sylvie Cazes, director of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, has admitted that prices for the Bordeaux 2011 vintage will have to come down to a reasonable level. “Prices must come down, but it’s a case of what’s reasonable – we’re looking at 10-15%”, she told the drinks business at the château’s en primeur tasting last week.

“Our 2010 prices were up 10% on 2009, so there’s no question we have to come down as 2011 isn’t as spectacular a vintage,” Cazes (above) added, emphasising that she wants a quick campaign this year, and for prices to be released in time for Vinexpo Hong Kong at the end of May. Despite being in the shadow of 2009 and 2010, Cazes is confident about the quality of Pichon 2011: “It has good acidity, wonderful freshness, good structure and depth,” Cazes said, admitting that the secret to success in 2011 was avoiding over-extraction.

She compared the vintage to both 2001 and 2008, describing it as softer than the former and more concentrated than the latter. “Sorting was vital to success – we had our team picking berry by berry,” she said. As to whether the Asian market was losing interest in Bordeaux, Cazes is unconvinced: “People say the Chinese are moving on to Burgundy and the Rhône but we’re expecting a swarm of visitors in the next two weeks. “They’ve latched onto the fact that primeurs runs for three weeks and are visiting either side of the main week,” she said.

In Sauternes, Pierre Lurton (right), director of Château d’Yquem, revealed the superb quality of 2011 Yquem was the “big surprise” of the vintage. The abnormal weather conditions in 2011, including a rainy August, lead to a rare burst of noble rot creating fully botrytised grapes. “Our 2011 Yquem is better than both 2009 and 2010. The wines have 145g of residual sugar but retain amazing freshness and balance,” he said, comparing the vintage to both 2001 and 2005, and describing the wines as having “the purity of a diamond.”

In terms of pricing for the reds, including Château Cheval Blanc, which he also runs, Lurton agrees that they must come down. “2011 is not the same story as 2009 and 2010 – a different positioning is needed. The Bordelais should lower their prices by at least 20-30%,” he admitted.

Bond boosts Bollinger sales in Asia

Champagne Bollinger’s connection to the James Bond films is helping boost sales of the brand in Asia. “They go crazy for Bond in Asia, which is really helping with brand recognition and giving our sales a boost,” Bollinger president Jérôme Philipon told the drinks business.

“I didn’t appreciate how powerful the Bond brand was for Bollinger in Asia until I saw it. There’s so much hype surrounding the new film Sky Fall out there already," Philipon added. Bollinger has collaborated with the Broccoli family – owners and producers of the James Bond films – for 37 years, in the longest standing relationship between a film series and a brand.

“They originally came to us as they wanted to feature the most British of Champagnes in the film, and we have a big connection to the UK, being the first Champagne to be given the Royal Warrant,” Philipon said. He revealed the brand “hadn’t paid a penny” for it to be featured in the Bond films, but was lucky enough to have an incredibly strong relationship with the Broccoli family.

Having appeared in Casino Royale, Philipon confirmed that Bordeaux Premeir Grand Cru Classé Château Angélus will not be appearing in the forthcoming film. “We had the meeting last week of all the brands involved in the film and Angélus owner Hubert de Boüard was not present,” he said, admitting he is keen to do more with the Bond association due to its positive impact on the brand.

“We’ve got a couple of limited edition Bond-branded bottlings that we’re going to launch in October to coincide with the Sky Fall premier, but I’m sworn to secrecy on the details at the moment,” he said. Directed by Sam Mendez, Sky Fall will have its world premiere in London on 26 October. In addition to Daniel Craig in the role of Bond, it also stars Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Dame Judy Dench and Helen McCrory.

Outside of Bond, Bollinger is keen to step up its presence as the pouring Champagne at other movie premieres, and will be working with premieres in London, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East in the coming year. The house is also nurturing a number of grape varieties permitted in Champagne that have been abandoned. An experimental plot adjacent to the prestigious Terre Chaud Vieilles Vignes vineyard in Ay is planted with Savagnin, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Petit Meslier, Gamay, Arbanne and Pinot Teinturier.

“I’m really proud of what we’re doing with these plantings. We want to make the most of our terroir and experiment with all the different grapes and see what works,” Mentzendorff’s marketing and wine director Elizabeth Ferguson said, adding, “These varieties were rejected and abandoned in the Champagne region over time, but with the threat of global warming, the high acid varieties might become a vital component in the blend in the coming years.”

Lafite winery in China underway

Domaines Barons de Rothschild has begun construction of a winery in Penglai in China’s Shandong province in order to capitalise on the thirst for fine wine in Asia. As reported on thedrinksbusiness.com, in partnership with CITIC East China Group, the new winery, in the only coastal wine producing area in Asia, is expected to produce 120,000 bottles of wine a year.

After fifteen years of research on grape planting in Asia, Lafite selected the port town of Penglai as the optimum site for its Chinese property. The company has invested £10m in the 1.73 hectare winery, and the accompanying 25 hectare estate. A completion date for the project has yet to be given. Lafite will plant different kinds of grapes in accordance with soil constituents, without the use of chemical fertilisers.

“The world’s top luxury brands are all very interested in the Chinese market, Rothschild is no exception,” said Zhang Lu, a Shanghai-based analyst at Capital Securities Corp. Outside France, Lafite also owns Bodegas Caro in Argentina and Viña Los Vascos in Chile. Penglai has a quality grape growing area of more than 10,000 hectares.

Wine production in the region has doubled to 140,000 tons in 2011 from 2005, while the number of winemakers increased to 70 from 39 in the same period. Chinese wine imports meanwhile, were worth over US$1.27bn last year, after an annual increase of 88%. According to the latest figures from Vinexpo, Asia is on course to become the world’s second biggest market for wine within the next three years.

Chinese consumers will increase the amount of wine they drink by 54% by 2015 as consumption reaches 1.9 to 2 liters per person, the Vinexpo study found. The value of wine purchases may outpace volume in the next four years, helped by high-end consumption in China, which is now the fifth largest wine market by volume.

Ornellaia picks Chinese artist for 2009 art series

Super Tuscan Tentuta dell’Ornellaia has chosen Chinese artist Zhang Huan for its limited edition Vendemmia d’Artista 2009 series. As reported on thedrinksbusiness.com, interpreting the theme of equilibrium, reflecting the character of the 2009 vintage, Huan has created a series of works around the figure of 6th century B.C. Chinese philosopher Confucius.

Entitled “Questioning Confucius,” Huan’s works include a steel sculpture of the Chinese thinker, which has been placed in the winery’s courtyard. He has also created a limited series of large format bottles, including 100 double magnums (3L) featuring a Confucius image and quotation on the pursuit of wisdom, and 10 Imperials (6L) of the philosopher during different stages of his life.

The jewel in the crown is a single Salmanazar (9L) with an oval steel sculpture engraved with the philosopher’s portrait (pictured). "Confucius thinks people should find their own position and move forward instead of disturbing the natural order of things. It is wrong to overdo it,” said Huan. “The theory of harmony between man and nature tells us to respect nature and the universe so as to establish a world of equilibrium where we can live together peacefully,” he added.

The Vendemmia d’Artista series was launched by Ornellaia in 2009 with the goal of recovering the tradition cultural patronage popular during the Renaissance. On 27 April, the winery will host a Sotheby's charity auction at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Hong Kong, where 21 of the 111 limited edition bottles, including the Salmanazar, will be auctioned off. The net proceeds of the event will be donated to the H2 Foundation for Arts and Education.

"Every year we commission a great artist to produce a work that captures the essence of the wine, the nature of the vintage, and its personality,” said Ornellaia’s chief executive Giovanni Geddes. “In four editions of Ornellaia Vendemmia D'Artista we have raised over €600.000. A drop in the ocean, but we are proud to have been able to contribute,” he added. Based in Shanghai and New York, in addition to sculpture, Huan works as a performance artist and photographer.

This is not the first time a Chinese artist has been chosen to create a wine label for a high profile property. In 2010, Château Mouton Rothschild asked Beijing-based artist Xu Lei to design its 2008 label – a blue-hued ink drawing of the Château’s signature ram standing on a rock. The number eight is considered particularly lucky in China, as the Chinese word for eight (ba) is similar to the word for prosperity (fa).

Chinese names for Bordeaux revealed

Christie’s auction house has unveiled an official translation of the 61 châteaux in the 1855 classification, after a year of discussions with the estates. As reported on thedrinksbusiness.com, all but four of the châteaux have approved the Chinese translation of their names.

“We have confirmation from all but four châteaux that these Chinese translations are the agreed names for the whole Chinese speaking world,” said Simon Tam (above), Christie’s head of wine in China. “We are trying to make wine as accessible as possible for our clients. Language is the first barrier and we want to break down those barriers,” he added.

The auction house worked with châteaux to agree on a Chinese translation for the 61 estates. Though a small number of châteaux, including Cos d’Estournel, have decided not to take a Chinese name. The translations have been published on a poster (right), which will be unveiled to the trade during the 2012 en primeur week.

The posters will also be given to Christie’s clients and journalists. Tam is hoping that other auction houses and the wider wine trade will adopt the official translation. Christie’s is working on similar translations for properties in Sauternes, the right bank of Bordeaux and Burgundy, which it hopes to release later this year.

China develops thirst for white

China is developing a growing thirst for white wine, according to Vinexpo. As reported on thedrinksbusiness.com, red wine still makes up the vast majority of total wine consumption in China (91%), but white wine drinking rose by 19% last year, with 70% further growth expected by 2015.

Last week, the global wine and spirits exhibition group spelt out its views in Shanghai of the fast-developing Chinese wine market. Dominique Heriard Dubreuil, chairman of both Vinexpo and Rémy Cointreau, said China’s developing taste for white wine presents an educational challenge to vintners worldwide.

“In general, Chinese people don’t like to drink something cold, but white wine is not at its best when warm,” she said. According to Vinexpo, last year China overtook Britain as the fifth largest wine market by volume, behind the US, Italy, France and Germany. Consumption of wine on the mainland and Hong Kong rose by 21.5%.

Within three years, greater China will spend more money on still wines than the UK, and become the world’s second biggest wine consumer by value, after the US. Vinexpo expects China to consume over a billion more bottles annually between now and 2015 – a further 54% increase.

China is also on track to become the world’s biggest Cognac market by 2016, Vinexpo says, forecasting 47% growth between 2011-2015. China is already Cognac’s second largest market, after France. But recently Chinese buyers have complained of having trouble finding the extra-premium spirits they prefer. “In China, people want very old Cognacs, but global inventories of are not extensive,” said Heriard Dubreuil.

Yao Ming wine arrives in China

China's burgeoning interest in fine wine is set to get another boost thanks to the arrival of the first batch of Yao Ming 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon into the country. As reported on thedrinksbusiness.com, the much-hyped wine is ready for sale at 3,800 yuan (£384) a bottle, but none of the 1,200 bottles will be sold on the open market. According to China Daily newspaper, Ming’s wine will only be distributed among high-end consumers.

Made through the former basketball player's wine company – Yao Family Wines – the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes come from six vineyard plots in California’s Napa Valley. The 7 foot 6 sport star, who retired from the Houston Rockets in July with a personal net worth of over US$65 million, announced the debut of Yao Ming Wine in November. Along with winemaking, Ming has also moved into politics, taking his seat on Sunday as a new member of the standing committee of Shanghai's political advisory body during its annual session.

He is not the only celebrity in China targeting the booming fine wine market. Chinese movie star Zhao Wei bought the 7-hectare Château Monlot in Bordeaux’s St Emilion region for around €4m last December. It has been reported that she will sell the wine in China. Celebrities investing in the wine industry are hoping to generate profits from the exuberant Chinese market.

However, experts warn that they will need to pay attention to quality in order to maintain custom and establish a good reputation. "For Yao Ming, it was a good marketing strategy to create his own-brand wine. However, it will take a long time for customers to recognise the intrinsic value of the wine and believe it is worthwhile buying," said marketing expert Shu Guohua. "As a Chinese person, I think it will be better for Yao to invest in white spirits. The market demand for white spirits in China is much larger than for red wine,” Guohua added.

Domaine Dujac

Wine and the City talks to Alec Seysses of Domaine Dujac at the Berry Bros Burgundy 2010 en primeur tasting about the 2010 vintage, comparisons to 2009, how lower yields will affect pricing, and whether Burgundy will become the next big wine investment region for China.

Lafite '08 down 45% as fine wine prices fall

The value of Lafite 2008 is down 45% on last year, as 2011 fine wine prices showed their most dramatic slide since 2008. As reported on the drinks business, according to Liv-ex, prices of the 100 top-traded wines fell by an average 22.5% between June and December last year – the steepest fall since the beginning of the recession nearly four years ago. Lafite ‘08 peaked in January 2011 at £14,043 a case, but was trading this month at £8,108, while Lafite 2009 has dropped 28% in value in the last six months, from £13,831 a case in July 2011 to £9,800 in December 2011.

Year to date prices for Lafite 2008 were already down 26% last August with the wine proving the worst performer in terms of price of the last 10 physical vintages from the estate. This is in stark contrast to October 2010, when the price of Lafite ’08 shot up by 20% overnight after it was announced bottles would be marked with the Chinese symbol for the number 8, regarded as lucky in China.

Meanwhile, the Live-ex Claret Chip, consisting of Bordeaux first growths from top vintages going back to the mid-‘80s was down 26% in the second half of 2011. The second wines of the first growths have also performed poorly, with Château Margaux’s Pavillon Rouge 2008 down by nearly 50%. Carruades de Lafite 2008 fared better, but still lost 29% of its case price. Though Carruades 2005 is holding up well, selling for £3,672 in June 2011 and £3,054 last month.

Bucking the trend are top second growths like Leoville-Las-Cases and Cos d’Estournel, which have maintained their value and outperformed the falling market. Outside first growth claret the picture is slightly rosier, with Burgundy’s Domaine de la Romanee Conti, Chateau d’Yquem and Super Tuscan Sassicaia the strongest brands in 2011.

Why the change? According to WineSociete China, China’s leading organisation for wine education, it can be put down to China’s money supply. In 2009, Chinese banks made almost 10 trillion yuan in new loans, expanding the country’s loan portfolio by a third. In 2010 they lent almost 8 trillion yuan, roughly twice as much as in 2008. Trillions of yuan, formerly locked up in bank reserves, flowed into the economy, leading Chinese consumers to put their rapidly depreciating currency into hard assets like fine wine.

Last year, money supply growth and lending in China fell sharply as Beijing put the brakes on asset and consumer price inflation. As lending has declined, so have sources of credit for many of China's local and privately owned enterprises. In an attempt to generate liquidity, fine wines are quietly being offered for sale by many Chinese collectors.

Champenois ditching flutes for wine glasses

Champagne houses are moving away from using traditional flutes for their fizz in favour of white wine glasses, according to glassware manufacturer Georg Riedel. “The Champenois are starting to serve their sparklers in white wine glasses as the larger surface areas gives more pronounced aromas, complexity and a creamier texture,” Riedel told the drinks business.

“Flutes are too narrow and don’t allow the aroma and richness of the Champagne to shine as there isn’t enough air space,” Riedel added, revealing that flutes are often mistakenly filled to the top, leaving the wine no room to breathe. Ideally, a flute should only be half full, or, better still, a third full in order to release a Champagne’s aromatic potential,” he said.

In response to demand, Riedel has started making bespoke glasses for several Champagne houses and has developed a new sparkling wine glass more akin to a white wine glass. “Our new glasses don’t look anything like a traditional flute. They’re much bigger and rounder,” Riedel enthused.

Meanwhile, the Austrian has his sights firmly set on China, where he is keen to grow the Riedel brand. “China is a new market for us and our hopes are high for it. We’ve been established in Hong Kong for a while, but it’s time to move our marketing subsidiary to the mainland. “We want to get into the top hotels and restaurants in China, and start branching out into department stores,” he said.

Riedel is confident that the Chinese will embrace the idea of buying different glasses for different wines. “Contrary to what has been said, the Asian palate doesn’t differ from the Western palate. Wine is new to them, but they understand it. You start life as a milk drinker, then you evolve. An understanding of the complexities of wine comes with a certain age. It’s a celebration, and people love to toast in Asia.”

Simon Staples, Berry Bros

Wine and the City chats to Simon Staples, fine wine sales director for Berry Bros & Rudd, at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London about the Bordeaux 2010 en primeur campaign, through the roof pricing, interest from Asia, and whether the Bordeaux bubble is about to burst.

Bordeaux wine labels in China

When bordeaux first growth Château Lafite announced that it was to feature the Chinese symbol for the figure eight on every bottle and magnum of its 2008 vintage in celebration of its new vineyard venture in China, case prices for the wine went up by nearly 20% overnight. The number eight in China is considered especially lucky, as the Chinese word for eight (ba) is similar to the word for prosperity (fa). Eight is considered so auspicious that the Beijing Olympics began at eight minutes and eight seconds past 8pm on 8 August 2008.

With less than 1% of the Chinese population (10 million) able to speak English fluently, the power of symbols as communicators cannot be underestimated. Able to transcend language, a symbol can be instantly absorbed and understood. “Symbols can be very powerful and immediate communicators in their own right,” says Roddy Kane, director of Hugo & Henry. “Take the Nike ‘tick’ – you don’t have to see the Nike name to know what the image is and, more importantly, what it stands for.”

With China now the most important market for Bordeaux – a case of Lafite ’82 sold for £70,000 at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong last October – the Bordelais are taking interesting measures in a bid to get noticed in China, from renaming and repackaging to reinventing their brands. Already the darling wine of China, Lafite’s savvy decision to capitalise on Chinese interest and take a risk to enter a new market has made the 2008 vintage almost the sole preserve of Chinese buyers.

Before the announcement, a case of Lafite 2008 was trading on Liv-ex at £8,500. By lunchtime the day after, it had risen to £10,160, with some London merchants completely running out of stock. At the time, a spokesperson for Lafite said she didn’t know what impact the design decision would have on the value of Lafite ‘08 in China, though the suits at the château must have known that their astute move was marketing gold, and a red rag to the bullish Chinese market. Six months on, the wine is trading at around £15,000 a case, up almost a third in value since the initial price spike.

luck and respect

“To the Chinese, Lafite 2008 is the most prestigious gift you can give – a way of giving luck and respect to the recipient,” says Simon Staples, buying director at Berry Bros & Rudd. The London fine wine merchant is selling its remaining cases of Lafite ‘08 at £15,888. “We’ve manipulated the price a bit, but it’s seen as super-lucky for our Chinese customers,” says Staples. Was it a crass move on the part of Lafite? “No,” he says. “Lafite has shown it understands its consumer and is at the top of its game. I’m not aware of other châteaux changing their labels, but it’s going to happen. Call it the Lafite effect – we haven’t seen anything yet.”

However, not everyone is equally applauding. Kevin Shaw, founder of drinks design and packaging agency Stranger & Stranger, is more cynical about the move: “It’s marketing at its absolute crassest – an opportunistic ploy to drive up prices. The Chinese believe they can influence their fortunes with a few well-known talismen: the number eight, the colour red and the metal gold. They don't like white space because emptiness is unlucky and black reminds them of death. So good luck to them, and a big, fat, gold and red lucky eight to the Bordelais too. I’d have preferred to see Lafite spend its budget on tamper-proofing so a consumer would have a greater chance of drinking a real bottle of Lafite in China. Bordeaux has its eye on Asia these days – we’re going to see many more labels done by the Chinese printer.”

On the subject of fakes, Staples believes that the Lafite figure eight symbol could be easily faked, and will in no way protect the château from counterfeiting. Such is the demand for fake Lafite in the Far East that at a recent wine trade fair in China, people were openly selling fake Lafite – as you would Louis Vuitton handbags at a market – in a small room next to the main tasting room. But it’s not only Lafite which has got creative with its labels in a bid to curry favour with the Chinese. Château Mouton Rothschild chose Chinese artist Xu Lei, director of Beijing’s leading contemporary art museum, to design its 2008 label. Based on an ink drawing, the blue-hued label features the château’s signature ram standing on a rock between two moons.

Last January, rumours alone that a Chinese artist would be chosen for the ’08 label saw case prices rise from £1,800 to £2,200 overnight. When the news was officially announced last November, Mouton ’08 became the most traded wine on the Liv-ex exchange. “China has become a major consumer of fine wine, so it seemed a natural choice to select a Chinese artist,” explains Mouton Rothschild managing director Hervé Berland. Last year, wine design agency Barlow Doherty rebranded La Source, the top cuvée of right bank Bordeaux winery Château de Sours, with the Far East in mind. “The new gold label has gone down really well over there,” says director Abigail Pitcher. “We also created gift boxes for the château to help attract the Far East buyer.” The company has since created specific Chinese labels for both a Southern French and an Italian winery. “Bespoke labels for China are definitely on the rise, and red and gold figure heavily in the design brief. ‘Bling’ is still big out there, despite us having moved on in the West,” says Pitcher. The Chinese love of gold may explain why Château Palmer and its second wine, Alter Ego de Palmer, have done so well in the Far East. Both wines have gold labels, making them ideal business gifts.

Meanwhile, last year Margaux second growth Château Brane-Cantenac revamped its label for the 2007 vintage, simplifying the striking signature gold design, and turning the capsule from red to black and gold. According to Stephen Browett of Farr Vintners, there is a strong rumour that Margaux second growth Château Rauzan-Ségla, bought by Chanel in 1994, has commissioned Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld – who recently designed a trio of limited edition Diet Coke labels for Coca-Cola – to design its 2009 label. A Lagerfeld label would have immediate appeal in China – now the fastest-growing consumer of leather goods and jewellery worldwide, where Chanel is the second most lusted after luxury brand behind Louis Vuitton. “Rauzan-Ségla hasn’t been selling well in China, so a Chanel label would certainly give it a boost,” says Staples.

But getting a fashion designer or artist to create a bespoke wine label is nothing new. “With their latest antics to attract interest in Asia, the Bordelais are only doing what the Champenois have been doing for centuries,” says Jack Hibberd, research manager of Liv-ex, in reference to Champagne’s savvy hook-ups with artists and fashion designers. Since 1983, Taittinger has commissioned contemporary artists to commemorate vintage years for its Artist Collection series – both Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Rauschenberg have created signature labels for the Champagne house – while last October, Dom Pérignon released a limited run of Andy Warhol-inspired bottles with pop art-influenced red, yellow and blue labels for its 2000 vintage, designed by Central St Martins School of Art and Design students.

Another way the Bordelais are attracting the attention of the Chinese is by streamlining their second wines with their first. In a country where being seen to be drinking the right wines is crucial, the more a second wine looks like a first the better. Take Carruades de Lafite, or “baby Lafite” as it’s known in China. The label is almost identical to that of Château Lafite, differing only in the wording, while third wine Duhart-Milon’s label also bears a striking resemblance to the first growth. To the Chinese, drinking Carruades is the next best thing to drinking Lafite – “all our Carruades has gone to China. It’s been such a success because it looks so much like Lafite”, says Stephen Browett. “The Chinese want the best or the closest approximation to it. To them, drinking Carruades is drinking Lafite,” agrees Simon Staples.

In 2008, Château Haut-Brion gave its second wine a makeover, changing the name from Bahans Haut-Brion to Le Clarence de Haut-Brion, revamping the label to incorporate the château and rehousing the wine in Haut-Brion’s signature wide-shouldered bottle, making it incredibly similar to the original. Meanwhile, Château Lynch-Bages, known as Lan Chi Pat in China after a famous Cantonese opera singer, went down a similar route to Haut-Brion in 2009, changing the name of its second wine from Château Haut-Bages to Echo de Lynch-Bages, redesigning the label and tidying up the Lynch-Bages label while they were at it. Co-owner Sylvie Cazes says the rebrand has “made a big difference” in the Asian market.

ahead of the curve

One of the first châteaux to market its wine in Asia, Lynch-Bages was ahead of the curve in terms of understanding the needs of the Asian consumer. “I learnt very quickly that in order to be successful, it was essential to market wine with easy-to-pronounce names because consumers don’t often speak foreign languages,” says Lynch-Bages co-owner Jean-Michel Cazes. Most of the top châteaux have nicknames in China – Château Beychevelle, which has proved popular in Asia due to its distinctive Viking ship label, is known as “dragon boat wine”, while Calon-Ségur is called “flying dragon wine” because “tianlong” means celestial dragon in Chinese. Meanwhile, Ducru-Beaucaillou has been translated to “bao jia long”, meaning “treasure”, “good” and “dragon”.

The most successful wine packaging in Asia marries elements of Western sophistication with Chinese culture. The French are cornering the market with a culturally aware approach to marketing and an understanding of the importance of thinking locally. “The Bordelais have always been in tune with their customers, whether it be the Brits in the 19th century, or the Americans in the ’90s. They move where the demand is,” argues Liv-ex’s Jack Hibberd. But a word of warning to those looking to make over their brand for the Asian market: “Don’t underestimate the Chinese,” says Simon Staples. “They're an extremely savvy nation and any interlopers will be sussed out immediately.”

Video: Frédéric Castéja, Château Batailley

Wine and the City talks to Frédéric Castéja of Bordeaux fifth growth Château Batailley at the Bibendum EC1 pop-up tasting about the 2009 En Primeur campaign, his first impressions of the 2010 vintage, escalating wine prices, and the impact of the Asian market.

Video: Olivier Leriche, Domaine de L'Arlot

Wine and the City catches up with Olivier Leriche, owner and winemaker of Domaine de L'Arlot in Nuits-Saint-Georges, at the Corney & Barrow Burgundy 2009 En Primeur tasting at the Tower of London to talk biodynamics, characteristics of the ’09 vintage, and a growing interest from the Asian market.