Food and Hotel Asia 2008
Singapore

Above: A snapshot of FHA 2008’s vibrancy, courtesy of Ivan Ng in Singapore.

The wine industry in Singapore saw a boost with better turnout and offerings as consumers are spoilt for choice as more importers roll in with better quality wines, but at premium prices.

This bi-annual event, Food and Hotel Asia occupied some 7 halls, with most wine centric exhibitors clustered in Hall 1 and 2 with around 50 or more (we counted) wine related exhibitors presenting their bottling and wares. Wine related exhibitors from the countries of Austria, Brazil, Hungary, and Lebanon, Italy, Germany, France, and Spain had their presence felt. Larger players with bigger budgets and better visual layout included Sopexa, Ibravin, the Italians displayed their charges under the common country pavilion umbrella.

As usual the Australian segment eclipsed in numbers from quality to quantity with the usual turnout by local importers: Magma, Pinnacle, Wine Symphony, Wine Network, Hai Choo, Hock Hua, Top Wines, Italian Wine List with newbie Asia Wine Network joining the fray which counts the hotel industry as its biggest source of revenue, followed by supermarkets and local restaurants.

Quoted earlier on 25.04.2008, Mr. Stephen Tan, Chief Executive of Singapore Exhibition Services, the organizer whom we met for FHA2008, “We are very pleased with the turn-out of exhibitors, buyers, as well as visitors. This certainly reflects the primary status of the show with the industry in the region. Our exhibitors have always seen the value of their presence at FHA and have maintained high visibility this time round. From feedback given by exhibitors, they are very pleased with the quality of visitors at this show. Many of them have found valuable contacts and interested buyers. Negotiations will naturally follow on from this exhibition and contracts confirmed in the next few months,” he said.

Mr. Tan continued, “While FHA as a show has given a good performance, the six specialised events of the exhibition still have great potential for growth as Asia’s food and hospitality markets continue to demonstrate strong growth,” he said. The six specialised events of FHA are FoodAsia, Wine&SpiritsAsia …”

While we had alternate stemware for our wine tasting, Mikasa seemed to be the more commonly used stemware seen at the Verona showcase tutorials and at a number of exhibitor booths. An exhibitor who declined to be named, mentioned they could do more with proper stemware instead of being charged for every single wash, issue or replacement.” they added.

Food & Hotel Asia 2008 claimed some 37,000 visitors, including students, and was held over 4 days, from 22 to 25 April 2008. The event will return to Singapore from 20 to 23 April 2010.

酒 exclusive feature and coverage of this mega-event is summarized and listed in alphabetical order.

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Book Review & Interview:
Asian Food and Wine: Do they make a pair?
Meet The Author: Patricia Guy

Wine Makers:
Agapito Rico (Spain)
Agricoltori del Geografico (Italy)
Castello di Cacchiano (Italy)
Castello Vicchiomaggio (Italy)
Consorzio del Vino Chianti Classico (Italy)
Corte San Benedetto (Italy)
Coteaux du Liban (Lebanon)
De Muller (Spain)
Mena Kaho (Brazil)
Fattoria Casa Sola (Italy)
Il Conventino (Italy)
Pfaffl (Austria)
Tenuta Greppo (Biondi-Santi) (Italy)
Vinhio-Vaglio Serra (Italy)
Wine Tatler (Singapore)
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Photos by Ivan Ng with text by Daniel Lim. Hit us with your best shots; we’ll try our best to listen. Send your inquiries or comments here or via email to jiuwine@gmail.com.