Hard to believe that only a matter of weeks after coming back from South Korea that I am back in Asia- this time in Hong Kong and then Singapore. No wine judging this time out, this trip is MS driven as the Court continues its courses and ‘brand building’ in Asia. Hong Kong is an amazing city with a growing interest in wine fueled by the elimination of tariff on imported wines this past year. A trip to most any premium wine store will leave you amazed at the availability here.

As I write this blog we are two days into our first-ever sessions in HK and the 70 or so students on this ‘level one’ are engaged (if not slightly overwhelmed due as much to language as content) and sincerely excited. We’ve had lots of good questions and many a sidebar discussion at lunches and at breaks.

As to be expected, the food here has been delish and I’ve been gratified to see the increased interest in pairing wines with traditional Chinese food being made more apparent/visible and available to the dining public. We’ve had fun pairings like Grand Cru Burgundy with Peking duck (as luxurious as it was hedonistically tasty), deep fried baby eels with a sweetened sauce served with a German Auslese (a seamless pairing), ripe Sonoma Zinfandel with smoked goose, and a rich ‘yellow wine’ crab dish served with a decanted high-end sumptuous Chardonnay (Peter Michel if I recall; lucky us).

Alas we won’t be doing as much local ‘street’ food and basic walking as we’ve so little time here, but maybe the one free afternoon I have in Singapore will take care of that. What’s neat to see is that the increase that was witnessed a few weeks back in Seoul, with regards to availability of California wines, is evident here in Hong Kong (and I know will be in S’pore). American exports continue be on the rise. According to some recent status reporting from our associates at the California Wine Institute, brought to my attention by my friend Lew Purdue and his new and very good industry e-letter Wine Industry Insight, California wine in Asia is happening (and this is with current currency exchange issues… for now anyway). In Japan, the bulk wine shipments have skyrocketed 1,035 percent, and in 2008 U.S. bottled table wines have increased in value 6.5 percent over 2007 despite the significant volume decrease. This is great as it equates to the reality that California is selling higher end into Japan. Growth in other markets includes: China, up 34 percent to $22 million and Singapore, my next stop, up 26 percent to $11 million. Nice to know there will be more choice of tasty vino to go with my char kway teow off of Orchard Road!

How cool to find so much California wines in Asia. For those that travel is this what you are finding?