The JamesSuckling.com and James Suckling Wine Central Italian wine promotion in Hong Kong from September 24 to 30 – Great Wines of Italy Hong Kong 2020 – attracted nearly 500 people keen to learn about and taste 111 recently released wines on the market. The tastings and classes were held in 26 90-minute masterclasses in the restaurant/wine bar in Soho, Hong Kong.
Most of the people attending the masterclasses were wine trade from key importers, wine merchants, restaurants and hotels although consumers attended the sit down tastings particularly during the weekends. Merchants included such companies as Altaya, ASC, Corney & Barrow, Enoteca, Ethica Wines, Farr Vintners, Fine + Rare, Kerry Wines, Links Concept, Jebsen, Justerini & Brooks, Watsons and Y18.
“It’s a great way to taste so many wines and learn something about the wines and their producers,” said one participant. “I could take my time and tasting the wines. And it was organized in a safe way with social distancing.”
The 111 wines continue to be served by the glass at James Suckling Wine Central for the next month.
If you missed the promo in Hong Kong or just want to see and learn about the wines that were poured, please download the guidebook here.
James Suckling himself introduced each tasting/masterclass session with four held each day during the work week. Some of the key takeaways for attendees included:
1. The 2016 and 2015 vintages are two outstanding back-to-back years producing excellent quality wines throughout Italy from northern parts such as Alto Adige to the southern ones in Sicily. The 2015 is slightly riper and richer while the 2016 is more tannic and more classic in style. The two vintages in Barolo are good examples of this.
2. The 2017 vintage was a dry and difficult year but top producers as well as regions such as Chianti Classico managed to make balanced wines through precise viticulture and winemaking methods.
3. The 2018 will make very good to outstanding years if wineries manage to reduce grape yields and reduce effects of scattered rains before and during harvests.
4. The 2015 is the greatest vintage ever for Brunello in James’ opinion. He started going to Montalcino in 1983 and has tasted just about every great vintage in the last century: “With the current state of vineyards, viticulture and winemaking, the producers of Montalcino made the best vintage ever in 2015. We will see how 2016 compares, which should be fantastic as well.”
5. Volcano wines or wines from vineyards grown on volcanos are more and more in fashion. Some of the best examples are wines from Sicily’s Etna and Campania’s Vesuvio.
6. Amphora wines are wonderful wines to explore and experience the world of new wood wines.
7. Whites from Alto Adige and Friuli have a purity and focus that few wines in the world exhibit and emphasize the inherent quality of grape types, particularly the often maligned pinot grigio.
8. Franciacorta such as Bellavista continues to make the most exciting sparkling wines in Italy and compare to the best of the world while outstanding quality dry prosecco is hard to find but worth the search.
James spoke for about a 10 to 20 minutes at each masterclass and highlighted these points and others. The overall impression from tasters was that Italy was making some excellent quality wines at the moment and worth selling, buying and drinking.
The next masterclass session of a similar nature will be the Great Wines of the World Hong Kong 2020, which begins on November 16 at James Suckling Wine Central and carries on for almost a month with more than 35 masterclasses and tasting sessions as well as a large program of wines by the glass, with all the wines available until mid-December. Follow the event on James’s social media and at JamesSuckling.com.
– JamesSuckling.com staff
