A history lesson from Hungary helps widen knowledge

When introducing wine from the Tokaj region of Hungary, David Varga-Sabjan always starts with a history lesson.

He tells his audience that Tokaj wine has been made for 500 years and over the centuries it has been favored by European kings, emperors and great artists.

"Today, more and more customers choose a certain wine because of its history and the winemaker responsible for the product," said Varga-Sabjan, who heads the Hungarian Federation of Winecraftsmen's China office. "I am sure that once anyone hears about the history of Tokaj wines, they will start planning a visit to the area."

At a recent dinner in Beijing, he presented eight bottles of Tokaj wine to Chinese wine industry insiders and enthusiasts. A Hungarian state-certified course aimed at introducing Chinese wine drinkers to Tokaj wines was also announced.

Zhu Yong, a principal at consultancy Roland Berger China, said more overseas brands and wine masters are arriving in China, as they view the great potential of the country's market.

"More wine-producing areas are promoting their unique products and offering specific education to industry insiders and wine lovers, to educate the Chinese market about wine and to attract buyers," he said.

The Tokaj Wine Region of Hungary is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Varga-Sabjan said that in recent years, wines from the area have reached a growing number of Chinese buyers. However, without understanding the rich culture and long history behind these products, many people do not know how to enjoy the wine properly, or how to pair it with food.

The wine course, which will be staged by the Dragon Phoenix Wine Consulting School in Beijing, with support from the Hungarian state-owned Grand Tokaj winery, will offer training for Chinese wine experts and enthusiasts.

Gergely Goreczky, CEO of Grand Tokaj, said it will be the first Hungarian wine course to be backed by the Tokaj Wine Region Assembly. It will start early next year and it is planned to expand the course to other major Chinese cities.

Xu Wei, founder of the Xiaopi Wine School in Shanghai, said that with consumption upgrading, Chinese consumers are not only buying wine, but are also attracted by its cultural elements.

He said the school is working with brands and industry associations from the Bordeaux wine region in France, to offer instruction related to wine produced in the province.

"We have held nearly 30 training conferences in 20 cities across China," he said.

Participants were offered the chance to taste different types of Bordeaux wine and ask questions related to the region.

This year, French wine producer Domaine Baron de Rothschild de Lafite designed a course with Xu's training school to introduce Chinese audiences to wine from the producer's eight vineyards, which proved highly popular, he said.

Fongyee Walker, who founded the Dragon Phoenix Wine Consulting School in Beijing in 2007, said that each time she visits a wine-producing region, she thinks about developing a course on that specific area, as more Chinese consumers are looking for detailed knowledge about wine from a particular locality.

Consumers are also becoming increasingly interested in wines produced domestically, such as those from Shandong province, and the Ningxia Hui and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions, she said.

Despite consumers' desire to broaden their knowledge of wine, it is important that they treat different producing regions with an open mind. She has noticed that sometimes instructors and their pupils jump to conclusions in pronouncing that one type of wine is better than another.