Words & Photography by Aurélien Foucault
Looking at the Off-Side
The scope of Vinexpo Asia is of such importance that many ‘off’ events are organised by the sidelines, thus offering a more controlled and intimate setting.
The Pinnacle of The Douro Valley
I had the chance to be invited to a side-event taking place at the adjacent Park Hyatt – a walk-around tasting to experience ‘the pinnacle of the Douro Valley’ with a rare selection of vintage ports, presented jointly between The Fladgate Partnership, AXA Millésimes, and Symington Family Estates, each celebrating their exceptional 2024 vintage alongside reference vintages from 2003, 2007, and 1995 that gave visitors a concrete sense of where these wines are capable of going.
For Symington Family Estates, 2024 was their first classic vintage declaration in seven years. From 2018 to 2023, erratic rainfall and prolonged heatwaves produced what the family describe as exceptional wines, but not classic ones. 2024 changed that: a return to old-style Douro conditions, with flowering and veraison arriving on historically typical dates, moderate temperatures, cool nights, and the perfect sequential ripening of both Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca that defines a true classic vintage. Seven expressions were declared across the principal Symington houses – Dow’s, Graham’s, Warre’s, Cockburn’s, and single estate Quinta do Vesúvio – alongside two micro-terroir releases, Graham’s The Stone Terraces and Capela da Quinta do Vesúvio.
A small additional quantity was also made under Smith Woodhouse and Quinta de Roriz.
To place the 2024 in context, Hugo Mesquita, Associate Director, treated us to a taste of their 1995 Vintage Port – an opportunity to taste what patience and a great vintage look like three decades on, and an experience hard to forget.
Sino Vantage Asia Tasting
On the day before Vinexpo, I joined a tasting organised by Hong Kong-based importer Hervé Leroux of Sino Vantage Asia who brought together the winemakers he represents as they were coming to the city for Vinexpo. This was a great opportunity to see again one of my favourite estates from the Ventoux, the exceptional Château Pesquié, represented by their export manager Sedad Ramić. Tasting them again, I must say the love was still strong. I am especially crazy about their whites, deep with a sensual body and such length and complexity that you find it hard to let them go. They are sadly no longer distributed in Vietnam after the demise of their previous importers, and I certainly hope they’ll soon find someone who can get them the attention they deserve.
I also got to discover the Chablis wines of Céline and Frédéric Gueguen, whose Côtes Saline 2023 and Chablis AOC 2022 were simply wonderful.
In a completely different style and more affordable range, I really enjoyed the work of the family behind Moulin de Gassac, who offer an unbeatable Chardonnay 2023 as well as some excellent high-end reds under the Atelier Guibert label.
On the Italian side, I was gobsmacked by the stupendous Langhe wines of Marchesi di Gresy, notably by their Langhe DOC Sauvignon 2022 and their Gresy Chardonnay 2023.
Beyond Wines…
Besides wines, with the Sake pavilion, the Korean pavilion and the Be Spirits section, Vinexpo 2026 was also the occasion to revel in the variety on offer and here are a few of those I wanted to share.
Cheong Myeong Ju
I got to try for the first time a Korean drink from Dohan Brewery called Cheong Myeong Ju, as presented by Doyeon Kim. This is not Soju, not Makgeolli, not Shochu: it occupies its own register entirely, and is made through natural fermentation using Nuruk, a yeast culture produced in-house by Master Han Yeong Seok. The two kinds I tried were both excellent and very unusual and I would love to know more about the process. Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment if you are familiar with it and can add some information.
Sanko Masamune Sake
I also fell under the charm of the smiling gentleman with a cowboy hat: Keisuke Miyata, of Sanko Masamune Sake and Shochu brewery, who presented two very different Sake expressions – that were both of tremendous quality. As Sake’s popularity continues to grow among fine-dining circles in South-East Asia, I would recommend importers to give Sanko Masamune serious attention.
Pegasus Distillerie
Here’s one booth I did not originally plan to stop at. Pegasus Distillerie had all the signals that put me off in terms of image. I am not a fan of the “Nightclub / Cool folks” drinks. Maybe because it reminds me, I’m not one of the cool kids anymore (was I ever?) so when I saw the look of this bottle of vodka, my expectations were low. But then I saw the hard work and consistency of the branding behind Pegasus Distillerie, with that glowing rocket ready to illuminate the nightclub tables, and the uniforms of their representants – I understood there was a strong vision and decided to give it a go. And ladies and gentlemen, believe me when I say this vodka was just fantastic.
I lived in Russia long enough to have an in-depth vision of the vodka range, and this one blew my socks off. Try it when you can – it has been distilled 6 times and is really worth a couple shots.
Myrlèmon
Steve Grace, master distiller, and Kirra Daley, of Beachtree Distilling Co. in Australia, were presenting their colourful award-winning spirit Myrlèmon – a liqueur from wild Australian lemon myrtle, a fruitless tree which is actually closer to eucalyptus than lemon trees but produces a fantastic citrus-forward flavour with real freshness and strong identity. This is the kind of drink that earns its audience through the glass rather than the label, and any afternoon spent with it over plenty of ice, after a long day, would be a good use of your time if you ask me.
What Comes Next
Vinexposium closed the edition with a significant announcement, as CEO Rodolphe Lameyse concluded: “The market is calling for greater stability. From 2027, our ambition is to establish Vinexpo Asia as an annual event in a single Asian hub, in line with the needs of our clients and the long-term development of the industry.”
Which city will be selected has not yet been confirmed and is everyone’s guess. I’m betting on Hong Kong because of its proximity to the Mainland and its (slightly) lower cost compared to Singapore.
All in all, Vinexpo Asia 2026 was a resounding success and even though everyone will always have something to say and some participants haven’t had the results they expected – I believe we can all agree that the event still wears the crown as the celebratory High Mass of wine and spirits in Asia, managing to most efficiently unite the West and the East, and that this is an unmissable time of year for the industry.
This is Part 3 of a three-part dispatch from Vinexpo Asia 2026 in Hong Kong. Part 1 covers the show’s record numbers and the producers I discovered on the main floor, from Etna to Tasmania. Part 2 covers the UNSIGNED pavilion of natural and low-intervention producers, plus a first taste of Tunisian wine.