by Werner Els

It has been quite a busy couple of days for Haskell Vineyards and Dombeya Wines, taking part in two wine shows in four different Asian countries from the end of October to the beginning of November.

Our distributors, Singapore Straits Wine Company, held their annual Wine Fiesta that covered Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia, Manila – Philippines and Singapore.
Even though that these markets are flooded with French and Australian wines, there are however a small, but growing interest and demand for South African wines.
So armed with a range of Dombeya wines we set in to make an impact in the Asia market.
The high humidity played in our favour as the Sauvignon Blanc was just the thing to beat the heat and the Samara was also a favourite for the wine drinkers looking for a full bodied, structured red wine.

After Singapore, it was time to set off to Hong Kong for the International Wine Fair and Spirits Fair. This fair has proven to be a bit more challenging as hundreds of wine producers from around the world congregated in two large halls of the Hong Kong Convention Centre to showcase their produce and liaise with importers. Even though it was considered a small event; it was a definite eye opener as to how many wine producers there are in the world… and they all want to have a spot in the sun.
Joining up with WOSA (Wine of South Africa) we presented an array of Dombeya and Haskell wines, including the new Haskell Anvil Chardonnay and Haskell II red blend.
Generally South Africa received very positive results and the Haskell IV and Pillars was the most popular.

In the end, it was a success trip and we are looking forward visiting the East again soon.