Fine wine news

When wine critic Robert Parker leads a tasting event of 20 wines in Hong Kong in November, it could "shift the way that Bordeaux is traded in Asia".

This is according to Master of Wine Pancho Campo, the organiser of Winefuture, which takes place on November 6th-8th.

He claims that Mr Parker has a heavy influence on the region and by choosing 20 chateaux that are only of first growth 'potential', it could change the face of the wine industry in Asia.

“Robert Parker has chosen 20 Chateaux he believes have first growth potential, although they aren’t first growths," he noted.

Indeed, the wine expert's 'Magical 20' Bordeaux wines to watch include Cos D'Estournel, Pontet Canet and Pichon Lalande and are all from the 2009 vintage.

Mr Campo suggested that the wine industry itself must change and adapt when targeting the Asian market.

"The more I work in Asia, the more I realise it's a very challenging area of the world," he told Wine Business International.

"They trade differently; they have a different way of doing things. I see a lot of wineries going there thinking they're going to find gold and after a couple of years they come back to me and say they're really struggling."

Another change that must be made, he said, is the way wine is traded.

"We have to create events that are much sexier and more attractive to consumers," he claimed, rather than hold the same trade fairs every year and rate each wine.

This thought echoes that of wine columnist Eric Asimov, who has called on the world's wine critics to stop writing tasting notes for one year as they are "short on genuine insight".

Mr Campo also recommended that wine traders must "drastically" change the way they communicate with customers and "change the message".