During the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles in Plovdiv (Bulgaria) last week, nearly 80 international guests and journalists attended the official launch of the 1st Asian Conference & Wine and Spirits Competition to be held in Fangshan in October.
By way of an introduction, Baudouin Havaux, managing director of Vinopres, warmly thanked the government of Fangshan District for its support in organizing this ambitious initiative, particularly Mr Lu Guoyi, vice-mayor of Beijing Funhill District people’s government, who made the trip specially from Beijing to attend the evening conference.
Lu Guoyi emphasized the importance of “the Silk Road that was an ancient trade route connecting Asia, Africa and Europe and which played a part in transporting products, like silk and porcelain, from ancient China. Later it became the main channel for the economy, politics and culture communications between the East and the West. “This year”, he explained, “the Forum-Tasting, which plans to invite more than 30 relevant countries and regions to participate, will undoubtedly promote communication between China and attending countries. Additionally, the Forum will promote heritage and develop China’s 5,000-year history.”
After the screening of a very dynamic clip presenting the conference, Mr. Wang Xianfeng, director of the High-End Grape Industry Development Centre for Funhill District presented the incredible changes that are occurring in the wine industry in the district of Fangshan. “This a young, thriving wine producing area”, they both explained, “and we aim to build China’s best qualified wine region here. So far, we have signed up 33 wineries and 22 of them are being built. Currently, 18 wineries have entered the production or pre-production stage. During 2015, production from wineries in Funhill District started to emerge at a number of major events at home and abroad.”
Among countries participating in this significant global event is India, with several speakers due to present major trends in the country. In Plovdiv, Rojita Tiwari, an independent wine and spirits writer & consultant in Mumbai, stressed that “Up until now, there has been no platform for sharing information and promoting dialogue on wine and spirits production and drinking in Asia”. She believes that the AWS-Silk Road will bridge this gap. After quoting some facts revealing the significance of the present-day Asian market, particularly China, she presented the four pillars of the event before handing over to American journalist John Isacs who has lived in Asia for 30 years. He enthusiastically explained the importance of the project from his viewpoint and its timeliness.
“This will be a very unique event”, concluded Baudouin Havaux, “and also the first time that we will welcome producers from Asian countries under the same roof, along with Asian and Western journalists and experts from the wine and spirits industry.” See you in October 2016 in Fangshan.
The event is organized by Vinopres, with the support of Bjiwex (Beijing International Wine and Spirits Exchange) with full support from the government of Fangshan District – Beijing.
More information on this website. Co-ordination: Thierry Heins, thierry.heins@vinopres.com.
