Shanghai – 15th  October 2009, increased demand from the Chinese market has resulted in more wine and spirits companies than ever before joining the 13th edition of FHC China from 18-20 November 2009 at Shanghai New International Expo Centre. The surge in the market for wines, starting from early 2008 has prompted the show organiser to create a focused event, Wine & Spirits China 2009, alongside FHC. Wine & Spirits China 2009, provides a concentration of companies for this sector in one area of the exhibition hall. Supporting this specialist exhibition is a full programme of seminars, competitions and tutorials for sommeliers and wine professionals.

“The increased participation of wine companies at this year’s show is not such a surprise when you consider China's demand for wine has grown at an exponential rate over the past decade” says Brendan Jennings, General Manager of show organiser China International Exhibitions. Today, China is the 9th largest wine market by volume and forecast to growth by 36% over the next 3 years, reaching a consumption level of 1 billion bottles by 2012. In the first 5 months of 2008 China imported 84.89 million litres of wine, an increase of 10.3% y-o-y. In values terms the potential of the market is even more dramatic. Imports are forecast to reach US$870 million by 2017, up almost fivefold from US$ 184 million in 2007.

Over 150 wine companies and their Chinese importers will join Wine & Spirits China 2009 from , Argentina; Australia; Austria; Brazil; Chile; Germany; France; Italy; Japan; New Zealand;  Portugal;  Spain; South Africa;  UK and Ukraine. Exclusive events for wine buyers visiting Wine & Spirits China include a China Sommeliers Wine Challenge; VIP Wine Tasting Room and Sommelier Tutorials.  18th November has been designated as Gold Card Wine Day where 20 wine importers and

distributors will  gather in the wine and spirits area of the exhibition and offer tasting and networking opportunities for the wine professional.

The China Sommeliers Wine Challenges at Wine & Spirits China is jointly organised by Asia Wine Institute; Asia Business Group and China International Exhibitions.  Tommy Lam, Wine MBA, Bordeaux Ecole de Management, France; Court of Master Sommeliers Asia Accreditation Organiser; President of Hong Kong, Macao and Singapore Chapters of USA Society of Wine Educators and President of Asia Wine Institute will act as Chairman of Judges at the China  Sommeliers Wine Challenge. Mr. Lam is on a mission to raise the image of the sommelier profession in China. “Wine sommeliers are the essential link between guest and wine producers, whose knowledge and professionalism can help increase customer satisfaction and ultimately wine sales in a restaurant”. “The profession of sommelier is not yet understood in China”. “My goal is to help raise the image and standard of Chinese sommeliers through the China  Sommeliers Wine Challenge and wine tutorials I will hold at Wine & Spirits China 2009,” said Mr. Lam.

Supporting Tommy Lam on the judging panel of the China Sommeliers Wine Challenge are top sommelier professionals from China and guest sommeliers from overseas including:

Han Qu, China National Sommelier Champion 2009, Intercontinental Shenzhen
Vivian Tian, China National Sommelier Runner Up 2009, Kee Club Shanghai
Elyse Lambert, Pan American Sommelier Champion, Canada
Andreas Roseberg, President of Argentina Sommeliers Association
 
The China Sommeliers Wine Challenge will comprise a blind tasting by judges of some 200 wines from Wine and Spirits China 2009 exhibitors. Awards of Gold, Silver, Bronze and Merit will be made on 18th November 2009.  “These awards will provide Wine and Spirits China exhibitors an instant marketing tool relevant to the China market during and long after the exhibition” commented Brendan Jennings. He added “all wines entered in the challenge will be available in the VIP Wine tasting room in the exhibition hall for exclusive tasting by wine buyers from supermarkets, hotels and restaurants”.

Sommelier tutorials at Wine & Spirits China, another new addition to the show, are expected to attract considerable interest from the growing number of sommeliers in China, Subjects covered by the tutorials are:

How to become a certified sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers.
Introduction to basic sommelier skills.
Increase your restaurant wine sales.

Wine & Spirits China is just one specialist industry event taking place within the broader FHC China 2009 exhibition. Other sector focused shows this year include, Meat China 2009 and Tea & Coffee China 2009. Both events providing a concentration of products, suppliers and events for industry professionals in one convenient location of the exhibition.