.On Sept. 9, brands such as Robert Mondavi Winery and Gallo Family Vineyards of the U.S., France’s Lafite and Japan’s Suntory Yamazaki will join winemakers from Italy, Spain, Australia and New Zealand in the first of what’s expected to be annual shopping event on Tmall. Hundreds of brands also will make their China debut during the festival, Alibaba said.“We have worked closely with the industry to introduce a great diversity of high-quality wines and spirits from all over the world to Chinese consumers,” Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said at a press conference announcing the event on Tuesday.Once a trend popular among only China’s wealthy elite, wine has since caught on with the country’s roughly 152 million middle-class consumers. Those in so-called first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, as well as Chinese twentysomethings, are the main demographics driving this growth, according to market researcher Wine Intelligence. The U.K.-based firm estimated that 48 million people in China drank imported wine last year, up 26 percent from 38 million in 2014.Wine Intelligence also noted that e-commerce is bringing greater wine choices to consumers in a country where there are fewer brick-and-mortar wine shops and other outlets than there are in the West.

Online distribution channels, as well as tariff-reducing trade deals with countries like Chile and Australia, have helped increase the consumption  of imported wine to 43.7 million 9-liter cases in 2015, a jump of 37 percent over the year before, Wine Intelligence reported. best beer and wine dealsThe frequency with which consumers are drinking wine has climbed as well, with 35 percent partaking on a weekly basis last year versus 23 percent in 2014.According to Alibaba, Tmall saw the number of active buyers in the wines and spirits category climb five times to 10 million consumers between 2013 and 2015. best european wines 2015Zhang said the company has “built a solid infrastructure for businesses to grow and evolve” through e-commerce.buy nz wine uk

Leading Italian winemaker Gruppo Mezzacorona launched its flagship store on Tmall last June, five years after establishing brick-and-mortar sales channels in the country including restaurants, hotels and supermarkets. Nick He, the winery’s China country manager, said that selling online via Alibaba marketplaces allows Gruppo Mezzacorona to reach parts of China it otherwise couldn’t.“big red wine and food festivalWe believe Tmall will really help us to reach every corner of China, including cities where we have never been,” He said on the sidelines of the press conference. best red box wine 2013He added that where consumers would typically have a smaller selection of wines at physical stores, they have access to most of the company’s wine inventories when they shop online.best type of wine to go with turkey

Gruppo Mezzacorona is planning to live-stream from its wineries in Italy in the run-up to the sale, showing Chinese consumers how grapes are picked and the wine is made. Plus, there will be tips for enjoying the final product as well as an interactive component allowing consumers to ask questions online during the streaming sessions.best boxed wine collegeStarting Sept. 1, Tmall will begin marketing campaigns to generate buzz around the festival, including live auctions of rare and limited labels and live-streamed broadcasts with experts such as Château Valandraud founder Jean-Luc Thunevin and American wine critic James Suckling, who will share insights and tasting tips via the Mobile Taobao and Tmall apps.cold beer and wine store hoursThe campaign will have an offline component as well, with about 5,000 bars and pubs in China offering free tastings and distribution services for consumers in the country.what is the best new zealand white wine

Additional reporting by Susan Wang.The wine lists in Chicago restaurants lag behind cities like New York and San Francisco, but the city has been making huge strides in catching up. One reason Chicago lags behind is that restaurants here are not allowed to consign from private collectors. This is one way New York restaurants have been able to assemble and maintain some of the best wine lists in the world (though New York is considering changing its law). This may be one of the reasons local wine lists lag behind cities like New York and San Francisco. But that isn't the only reason, and Chicago restaurants are finding ways of bridging the gap. I covered a few of these last year, and since then even more great wine lists have been introduced. In fact, within the past month, three different, but equally intriguing wine lists have entered the scene. Each is doing its own part to help our wine scene make up distance on the quality of offerings in other cities around the country.

Wine at Maple & Ash (Instagram) Maple & Ash 8 W Maple St, Chicago, Size: 600 growing to 800 Overview: After eight years in NYC, Belinda Chang returns to Chicago as Director of Wine and Spirits at this posh new gold coast steakhouse. If you're expecting just another steak house wine list, loaded with the same old tired labels, and not much beyond cabernet sauvignon, guess again. Maple & Ash's list digs deep. Looking for a great selection of rieslings to start off? This list has it, and a whole lot more. One thing that you'll need if you're going to explore this list fully is a bankroll. Not that the wines are marked up too high—they're not—but wines of this quality just cost more. That's not to say you can't get a nice wine on a budget here, bottles start at just $28, but you could easily spend several hundred on some very interesting high quality choices. To help with this, Chang has created a 50 under $50 selection. But what's really cool about this list is that it's for ballers.

Close that big business deal, or want to impress your guest with a special wine? This list has it. Highlights: A very nice Champagne list featuring the big houses as well as growers including mature vintages. Killer selections of riesling, Burgundy, and of course Napa cabs. Maple and Ash also has a fantastic Coravin program too. If you see a bottle (still wine only) on the list, they will pour you a single glass through a Coravin for one sixth of the bottle price. So if for some reason you want just one glass of that 1999 Meo-Camuzet Corton, for $152 it's yours. Like I said, baller. The price also gets you killer wine service, including Riedel Sommelier Series stemware. Hidden gems: RACK & RIDDLE Blanc de Blancs North Coast, California NV, $45 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Spatlese 2004, $58 Meo-Camuzet Corton-Perrieres 2011, $133 Chateau Montelena cabernet sauvignon 1985, $325 Photo Credit Anthony Tahllier Swift and Sons 1000 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL 60607 (312) 733-9420

Size: 300 growing to 450 Overview: Wine Director Marcello Cancelli tells us—much like the name of the restaurant being an homage to things of the past—he wanted his list to “highlight certain traditional producers that have been forgotten in this new wave of superstar winemakers.” So you'll find producers like Grgich, Caymus and Chateau Montelena. For those who geek out a bit, the list is organized by AVA. So, you can see if your Napa cabernet sauvignon comes from Rutherford, Oakville, Stag's Leap etc. To keep it from becoming a boring old steakhouse wine list, “What we did is infused it with my own philosophy of what a wine list should be,” says Cancelli. You'll find quite a bit of Burgundy on this list sprinkled with a presence of some great U.S. pinot noir producers. Swift and Sons offers a small selection of wines poured from Coravin in three and six ounce pours. Highlights: A very nice 1/2 bottle selection that has a good range in both price and wines offered.

A Burgundy selection that may not be deep or old, but has good range from quality producers like Roumier and Leroy. Of course, you'll find a great selection of cabernet sauvignons to meet any style you prefer, all are young though. However, “We will be expanding our mature vintages because there's a demand for it,” says Cancelli. Hidden Gems: By the glass, Copain, syrah, Tous Ensemble, Mendocino County 2012, $17 Neely, Hidden Block, pinot noir, Santa Cruz Mountains 2011, $94 Georges Roumier Chambolle-Musigny 2012, $196 Quilceda Creek, cabernet sauvignon, Columbia Valley 2012, $154 Appellation Wine Bar & Restaurant (Facebook) Appellation Wine Bar & Restaurant 5212 N. Clark St. Chicago Size: About 200 selections Overview: When Pastoral opened a location in Andersonville. 2015 Buzz Worthy Somm Mark Wrobel was not only responsible for putting together the retail selection for the shop, but also for the wine program at Appellation Wine Bar, housed within the same space.

The selections here aren't vastly different from other Pastoral locations. “There's a lot of carry over between the other locations and nearly every wine offered at the Broadway location can be found up in Andersonville. We continue to source wines from family run wineries who are producing responsibly and are excited for the opportunity to share more winemaker's stories with our guests,” says Wrobel. And with his list here, he's done exactly that. Pastoral and Appellation in Andersonville feature a wine for just about anybody. Typically lists like this can be watered down to mundane choices. Looking for a classic chardonnay? Try the Stony Hill Napa Valley chardonnay. Try the Massican Annia, a ribolla gialla blend. With the breadth of this list you're sure to find something you'll love. One of the coolest features of this wine list is that, if you're spending time at Appellation, you pay only a $20 markup over the retail cost of the bottle. This makes Appellation one of the most customer-friendly wine pricing structures in town.

“The $20 corkage fee came about as a way to bridge the gap between the retail and restaurant sides of the business. The retail wine selections double as the restaurant's wine list which, had we gone with the traditional restaurant markup formula, would have caused a lot of 'sticker shock' to our guests. They would see firsthand how much more a bottle of wine costs to drink it on premise as opposed to taking it home,” says Wrobel. Highlights: This list runs the gamut, but focuses primarily on small family producers who make wines of character and quality. And you don't have to spend big bucks either, there are a good number of wines here that are in the $40 price range ($20 retail). As prices rise, guests at Appellation actually get a better deal for their wine as that markup remains just $20 per bottle. The list is organized by, well, appellation, beginning with a nice sparkling selection followed by whites and then finally reds. Hidden Gems: Marie Noelle Ledru ‘Extra Brut’ NV Champagne, $85