Meet Yu Chen, the hotel sommelier who is also a passionate sommelier. He often looks forward to enhancing his wine knowledge and tasting skills. He shares his insights about the festival wines in China. Chinese Baijiu is the preferred one during Chinese New Year, also because it is spring around the corner. Although, plenty chose GCC wines from Bordeaux instead of Chinese Baijiu. His favorite wines are Domaine Philippe Charlopin – Parizot and Chambolle Musigny 2015. Bordeaux Grand cru classe is one buying trend in China. However, consumers do consume Bourgogne wines, nature wines, and biodynamic wines.

Adding on to the trends, he talks about ‘Wine by the Glass’ program which is in demand and plenty of hotels are trying to include in their menus. Further, he shares some tips to increase on-premise wine sale. He tries to understand the customer’s demand by communicating with the customer, gives a special recommendation to the customer and suggests a professional wine pairing. This could really help the wine sales inside the restaurant. Besides these, using your professional knowledge to build trust with customers enhances on-premise wine sale. Another thing on the list is to change your wine programs at least once in 3 months. The wine list will change based on the season/chef’s special menu and also customers’ demands.

Lastly, sustainability is important in wine too, these days. He talks about how sustainable wines could be the next and most important trend in the wine industry. More and more owners are starting their vineyards in a sustainable way even if they are not certified sustainable vineyard. As per Yu, famous sustainable wines are Ashton Estate Pinot Noir and Sonoma Coast, USA.