The Hong Kong Trade Development Council, together with a panel of Asia's most respected wine experts and one of the world's most prestigious wine and spirit competitions, has announced it will host the world's first truly Asian wine competition as part of the 2009 Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair.
 
The Hong Kong International Wine and Spirit Competition will see a top class panel of Asia's most esteemed wine judges - including organiser and Asia's first Master of Wine, Debra Meiburg - assemble during the last week of October 2009 to acknowledge the world's best wines.

Categories will be judged by country, region, variety and style, and trophies awarded will reflect the unique sensibilities of the Asian palate. The competition will also include the Best Wine from China category, the first trophy of its kind anywhere in the world.

Competition organisers Simon Tam, Debra Meiburg and Allen Gibbons, along with the HKTDC, aim to provide the ultimate platform for wine producers to inform the Chinese market about their wines.

"The Asian market (excluding Japan) is forecast to grow at an extraordinary 10 to 20 per cent per annum over the next five years, which equates to a consumption value of US$17 billion by 2012, estimated to rise to US$27 billion by 2017. With China named as the top consumer among these Asian countries the opportunity here is enormous and we want to give producers the ideal platform to enter this market," said Allen Gibbons, Executive Director of the International Wine and Spirit Competition in London.

The competition is also proud to announce that Dr Tony Jordan will be the first Chairman of Judges for the 2009 competition. "I have known Tony for many years and judged with him on numerous occasions. To have someone of his stature as our first Chairman of Judges not only shows the stature of the competition we are building but also shows the wine world's recognition of this new and exciting market," Debra Meiburg commented.

The competition results will serve as a definitive guide for the contemporary Chinese wine consumer. Additionally, price point categories for the most popular styles of wines will offer wine consumers a comprehensive directory of the world's best wines for all occasions and situations.

To cater to the Chinese (and more broadly, Asian) people's insatiable appetite for eating out, the competition will also include food and wine pairing categories. Judges will award trophies to the top wines to pair with popular traditional Chinese dishes, including braised abalone, roast pork, dim sum and more.

Judging of the food and wine pairing categories will be led by competition organiser Simon Tam, director of the International Wine Centre and the world's foremost expert on pairing wine with Chinese food.

"The wine industry is flourishing in Greater China but the Chinese palate is attuned to different flavours than those in the West, which is how much popular food and wine pairing is geared. This category is bound to receive widespread attention from consumers among whom demand for intelligent Chinese food and wine pairing advice is at an all-time high," said Simon Tam.

The HKTDC has been instrumental in creating a favourable environment for the wine industry initiating the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair, among other measures.

Results of the judging process will be announced during the opening night of the 2009 Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair, which will be held from 4 to 6 November, 2009.