22 November 2024 / Borbála Kalmár
The Daejeon International Wine Expo took place in South Korea 1-3 November, with Hungary as guest of honour. Over the three days, the wines of more than 20 Hungarian wineries were on show in Daejeon, not far from Seoul, while consumers had the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of Hungarian wines through several other ancillary activities, as we discussed in more detail in our recent interview with the two main organisers of the event. After their return home and a few days of rest and acclimatisation, we asked three exhibitors about their first impressions.
“They are incredibly knowledgeable about wine!”
Antoinette Crab-Maria, or Babette as she is primarily known to those familiar with the Hungarian wine scene, started her wine export business four years ago under the name Borett. Her range includes ten small organic wineries, or wineries working with this philosophy; she represented eight of them in Korea. She spent a month in and around Seoul before the Daejeon International Wine Expo. She was not there on holiday, rather to promote Hungarian wines, so she also explored the everyday life of Koreans regarding wine - we asked her about her experiences.
“You might not think so, but South Koreans have an incredible alcohol culture. Virtually no social event is complete without a drink: it's quite common to see gels to absorb alcohol in shops. Of course, they also have their own drinks: a rice spirit, soju and makgeolli, which is rice wine.
The kind of wine that we are used to is not yet part of their everyday lives; by this I mean that it is not found in typical small local eateries, but it is found in many places. The big Korean brands, which are well known in Hungary, have huge, mall-like showrooms and brand stores, which also boast wine shops with a large range.
Antoinette Crab-Maria
I visited a lot of wine bars during my stay in Korea, and I also saw that the better restaurants have serious wine lists, with wines from most of the world's major wine-producing countries. In my experience, Champagne and Burgundy are the strongest draws, but generally, there are several different very dominant trends. A well-considered national campaign, heavily based on social media - a particularly important communication channel here - can boost demand for the wines of the country being promoted. Of course, this poses many challenges for sommeliers, as pairing wines with spicy Korean dishes with their unique flavours is not necessarily easy.
I also think it's important to mention that local professionals are incredibly knowledgeable about wine. For example, I did a blind tasting with a bottle of Tabunello from 2HA Vineyard and Winery, and 80% of people present guessed that it was a 100% Sangiovese wine - and I think few people would think of this grape variety when they think of Hungarian wines. And besides their knowledge, their work ethic is completely different from what we are used to in Hungary. I see that if they have something in mind and have a goal, they will go all out to achieve it.”
We received a lot of attention as guest of honour
Like Borett, the Fine Wines Association brings together several wineries. They represent well-known, medium-sized Hungarian estates, such as Péter Vida in Szekszárd or the Tóth Ferenc Winery in Eger. Five wineries from the export company's portfolio were on show at the Korean expo. The stand was represented this time by Koppány Nádassy, Export Manager of Etyeki Kúria, so we asked him about his first impressions.
“I think the whole event was very well organised, and the Hungarian stand, with its now familiar visuals, boasted very good visibility. Only Georgia had a stand of our size; however, given that we were guest of honour, there was a constant presence of dealers, distributors and importers. There were a lot of visitors to the stand over the three days - and I mean both from the professional and the consumer audiences.
Koppány Nádassy
Although I think that wine culture in Korea is still in its infancy, there is already a very strong interest in wine. Spanish, French and Italian wines are very well known - and this is often reflected in the range of wines on offer in the shops. At the same time, they have not committed themselves to any one country and are indeed very open to Hungarian wines. All in all, I think we have found a really serious market in South Korea, and thanks to the over 20 selected wineries present, we were able to give a pretty good overview of Hungarian wine production.
It was clear that Tokaj's reputation had preceded us, as most of the visitors to the stand were aware that Tokaj is historically a sweet wine region. Fortunately, we also managed to show them the lovely, dry side of Tokaj wines. But in terms of knowledge about Hungary’s other wine regions, it also became clear that we still have a lot to teach South Korea. However, there are exceptions, for example, there was a young guy who came to me saying that he wanted to taste a Cserszegi Fűszeres. I asked him why he had thought of that, and it turned out that since he knew we were going to be the guest of honour, he had done a bit of research on Hungarian wines. I had a quick look around the stand, unfortunately we didn't have any Cserszegi Fűszeres, so I showed the Vida Kadarka, which he was very happy with and said that would have been his next choice. Of course, this was a very specific case, but clearly there are a lot of young people who are interested in wine.”
Valér Bock
It was nice to see the sparkling eyes
Valér Bock, no stranger to South Korea, represented his own family winery (Bock Winery).
“Back home, my now somewhat calmer thoughts are very positive. We've been to Korea before as a family, so I have a previous connection, my daughter is totally mad about Korea. The fair was definitely a good opportunity for us to present ourselves, not to mention the fact that the stand was fantastic: beautifully designed, well equipped and with a separate area for negotiations where we could sit down and talk to potential buyers.
As we are already present in the Asian market - two Asian ladies who were part of the Master of Wine group who recently visited Szekszárd said they had tasted our wines - we were also targeted by people who had worked with our wines; but it was not only professionals who knew the name Bock. On average, people tasted at least two different wines with us, and it was great to see their eyes light up: you could just tell they liked what was in the glass. If I had to summarise, the biggest successes were definitely the 2018 Villányi Franc Esszencia, the 2011 Acapella and the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Selection; but the Merlot and the Libra also gained fans.
Back in Hungary, after initial correspondence and follow-ups, we believe that there are three companies with whom we have already started to talk more seriously about concrete issues. I really hope something will come of it: we would like to go back and would be very happy if Bock wines could continue to be available in Asia with an even greater shelf presence.”
