Wine Sales Surge on Unique Chinese Holiday

Figures suggest that Chinese wines sales reached amazing new heights on 11^th November 2015.

Unique holiday

Back in 1993, a group of students of Nanjing University, China, created a new holiday. They wanted to celebrate the fact that they were all single, so they deemed 11^th November ‘Singles’ Day.’

The festival spread like wildfire throughout the country, and now Singles’ Day is celebrated by people throughout the People’s Republic every year. Many use the day as an excuse to buy themselves a gift; the sheer size of the Chinese population has allowed Singles’ Day to become one of the largest online shopping days in the world. 

Wine consumption

So what do you give yourself on Singles’ Day? Many people choose to buy themselves a bottle of wine. Our favourite tipple has become increasingly popular in China over the past few decades, and now the citizens of the People’s Republic drink more wine than anyone else in the world.

Statistics quoted by the Globe and the Mail indicate that Chinese wine consumption increased 36% from 2010 to 2014. Last year the Chinese drank more bottles than anyone else in the world, and double the amount of their nearest rival – the US.

Record sales

The Drinks Business recently reported that online wine retailers racked up record sales figures on Singles Day 2015. The most popular online retailer in the People’s Republic, the Shanghai-based Yesmywine, took in $4.2 million in two hours – doubling their sales from Singles Day 2014.

The surge wasn’t restricted to Yesmywine, who sold part of their portfolio at major discounts to attract Chinese buyers on Singles Day. Jiuxian.com registered 125,148 buyers – more than any other retailer, and Sichuan1919 was the top seller by value, raking in more than £15 million on Singles Day 2015.

Gift yourself

The moral of the story? When people want to treat themselves they buy a bottle of wine! If you want to see why wine sales surged on Singles’ Day, why don’t you buy the Chateau La Conseillante 2007 from the Ideal Wine Company – a fantastic vintage that’ll knock your socks off! 

Bordeaux’s ‘Guggenheim of Wine’ to Open in 2016

You might want to think about heading to Bordeaux next summer; the Ideal Wine Company recently learned that the region’s new ‘Guggenheim of wine’ museum, will open in 2016.

Bordeaux wine-making

If France is the wine-making capital of the world, Bordeaux is its crowning jewel. Boasting 60 appellations and producing over two million Euros of wine every year, according to The Wine Cellar Insider, Bordeaux is the largest wine maker in France.

Bordeaux vintages have developed a reputation for excellence. The red grapes typically grown in the region, which include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot, are used to produce some of the most spectacular bottles on the planet. You can buy a stunning range of Bordeauxs from the Ideal Wine Company product list.

Guggenheim of wine

At this point the region is practically synonymous with wine, which is why it came as no surprise when we learned that Bordeaux will serve as the home of a new wine museum. The Drinks Business reported that the museum, called the Cité du Vin wine centre, will open on 2^nd June, 2016.

The £58 million wine centre (80% public funded, 20% private funded) was designed by French architects Nicolas Desmazières and Anouk Legendre, from French architecture firm XTU. They created a building that has been nicknamed the ‘Guggenheim of wine,” because it resembles the famously avant-garde Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

Cité du Vin 

The centre has been designed to provide an “immersive, interactive, multi-sensory experience” for roughly 450,000 visitors every year. It will feature 23 rooms that give visitors the chance to go on “a tour of the vineyards of the world.” These rooms will house 85 exhibits, each devoted to a different wine-making country, to explain the history behind the global wine trade.

The museum will also include a wine bar and a wine shop, which will give you the opportunity to sample some of the finest vintages Bordeaux has to offer. Furthermore it will feature a panoramic restaurant on its seventh floor, so you can look out on the beautiful French scenery as you sip your stunning Bordeaux red.

Buy a Bordeaux

This is why we suggested you visit France next year – the Cité du Vin Wine Centre will provide you with a holiday experience you’ll never forget. If you want to see why Bordeaux is synonymous with wine, you might want to purchase the Chateau Haut Brion 1996 from the Ideal Wine Company, today!

California Wine Region to Receive Major Honour

The Ideal Wine Company has learned that a celebrated wine-making area in California is set to be named the ‘Wine Region of the Year’ by Wine Enthusiast.

Recognising excellence

The Wine Star Awards were first launched by the editors of Wine Enthusiast in the year 2000. They include the now-coveted ‘Wine Region of the Year’ Award, which in the past has been won by such noted wine-making areas as the Rhône Valley, Paso Robles and the Colchagua Valley.

Wine Enthusiast says that the purpose of the award "is to recognize not only excellence in wine quality, but also innovation and excitement coupled with the courage to take risks and the skill to succeed." The next Wine Star Awards will be held on 26^th January in New York, and will see Lodi, California named ‘Wine Region of the Year.’

Introducing Lodi

Located in Central Valley, California, Lodi has been a major wine-making region since the 1850s. Its wine-production industry has grown phenomenally in the last 10-15 years and today, Lodi features 110,000 acres of vineyards, more than 750 growers, and over 85 boutique wineries.

Back in the early 20^th Century Lodi promoted itself as the “Tokay capital of the world,” due to its abundance of ‘Flame Tokay grapes.’ However Flame Tokay vines have since been replaced by other varietals, primarily Zinfandel, and Lodi now cultivates over 100 varietals, including award winning Chardonnay, Graciano and Gewürztraminer grapes.

Wine Region of the Year

Camron King, Executive Director of the Lodi Wine Grape Commission, spoke out on the news. He said: “Being named Wine Region of the Year is exciting for Lodi as it recognizes the historic and ongoing commitment by our winegrowers, winemakers and Lodi wine region fans to grow, make, promote and enjoy amazing world-class wines from our region.”

King went on to comment: “Lodi has been supplying wine grapes to wineries for generations and is emerging in its own right as a world-class wine producing region focused on heritage, innovation and our commitment to place and people through our leadership in sustainability. The future for the Lodi wine region is brighter than ever and all of our growers, winemakers and community are thrilled to be honoured with this award and recognition.”

Try California Wine

Lodi’s recognition as the ‘Wine Region of the Year’ highlights the Golden State’s reputation for producing first-class vintages. If you want to see why California wine is so highly regarded, why don’t you buy the Harlan Estate 1998 from the Ideal Wine Company today! 

UK Wine Market Predicted to Grow in 2015

New reports have shown the team here at Ideal Wine Company that the UK wine industry’s successful 2015 is set to continue through to the New Year.

More sunshine

It’s become a slight cliché to say that the UK experiences some of the most miserable weather in the world. Proof is evident that the British Isles don’t experience a lot of sunlight – at least compared to the likes of France, Spain and Italy.

Yet global warming is changing UK weather patterns. According to the Met Office, the South of England, which is developing a roaring wine trade, experienced 178.5 hours of sunlight in September 2015, 25% more than the average.

Rising profits

Meanwhile, evidence indicates that the region experienced a 15% rise in hours of sunlight from the average in October 2015. The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has recently suggested that this is set to have a profound effect on the UK’s wine trade. The industry’s combined revenue will eclipse £100 million or the first time ever by the end of 2015.

Miles Beale, the Association’s chief executive, further revealed that UK’s Wine trade will only become stronger as time goes on. He noted that the country’s wine industry produced 6.3 million bottles of our favourite tipple during 2014. However, it’s projected to make more than double that number –over 12 million bottles – by the close of 2020.

Bailed out

The chief executive commented “We are delighted to hear from our members that late sunshine has given this year’s harvest a boost. English wine makers across the country have increased by 50% the area under vine in the last three years. Based on the latest growth figures, the WSTA’s projections show that English wine is set reach £100 million this year.”

These sentiments were echoed by Mark Driver, the co-owner of the iconic Rathfinny Wine Estate in East Sussex. He noted that July and August were poor conditions for his vineyard, but Rathfinny was “bailed out by this Indian summer.” Driver also suggested that “our yields were slightly higher than expected and the grapes were really clean.”

Buy a Bordeaux

Climate change has driven UK wine production to new heights, but it could damage wine industries in hotter parts of the world, such as Bordeaux. If you want to learn why this would be such a loss, why don’t you buy a Chateau Haut Brion 1996 from the Ideal Wine Company today.