California Grapes among those planning wine bars in Beijing’s Sanlitun

Posted on | March 5, 2012 | No Comments

Frank Yglesias of wine importer and distributor California Grapes International says the company will soon open a California wine bar and retail space in Sanlitun Soho . The Miami native says he just signed a three-year lease for 135 square meters of space and plans to have it up and running by May 1 .

The Sanlitun-Workers Stadium area has seen several major outlets open that are each backed by a single importer, including The Wine Gallery by ASC in Sanlitun North, a three-floor establishment by Aussino in Regentdale Center, Enoterra by Enoterra Trading in Nali Patio and a soon-to-open Everwines shop by Torres China . Operations such as Enoteca , Changyu AFIP , Zun Club , with involvement from Great Wall wines maker COFOC, are also in the area. And look for more to join them. Last week, someone — also from Miami! — told me he is planning one closer to Tuanjeihu Station and at least one other person is contemplating a California wine bar. Whew!

As for Yglesias, he says his company will have 300 different wines from California and plans free tastings for F&B managers early each week, “decompression” tastings on Fridays, and events to allow customers to “discover Californian wines.” Brands listed in the California Grapes catalog include Alpen Cellars , Andrew Lane , Bumgarner , Igneous , Keller Estate and Russian Hill .

I’ll soon have a longer write-up with Ygliesias, covering everything from import challenges to how to increase retail sales, in the next few days.

http://www.grapewallofchina.com/2012/03/05/ca...-sanlitun/