Meet The Wine Maker - Sandra Tavares de Silva

 

Portugal has some of the most sought after wine growing regions in the world and you will find the ladies of the Douro Valley are leading the charge. We'd like to introduce you to Van Zellers chief oenologist Sandra Tavares de Silva.

Sandra has a university degree in agriculture from ISA (Lisbon University) and a Master in oenology from Italy.

Sandra started her professional career as a trainee at José Maria da Fonseca (producers of Periquita and Lancers, amongst others) and with Cristiano Van Zeller in 1999. She became a full time oenologist at Vale D. Maria in January 2000 and has been the chief oenologist and wine partner since then.

Sandra is one of the star oenologists in Portugal, producing some of the top wines in the country and she shares her wine making passion with her husband, wine maker Jorge Borges (Pintas and others).

For more information on Sandra and the wines of Van Zellers call Dean at +852 9730 0781 or deanaslin@saveurs.com.hk.

Foursquare ........ are you in the game? Updated 13/08

Ok, so you are still trying to get your head around Facebook, Twitter, Linked-in etc etc etc and if you are using these Social Media sites for your business you are probably like every one else and not using them very effectively. In fact most companies have no idea how to use Social Media and treat their pages like they were electronic flyers with todays special and one sided conversations like who I had dinner with last night.

Well let me throw another one in the mix....foursquare! So why would I bring this one up out of all the Social Media applications that are out there? Because never before has Social Media been so directly targeted at our industry.

Here's how it works.... basically it is an electronic on line game where participants register every time they visit a business or a location and in return they can earn points and win awards.

Along the way they can earn badges but most importantly when you have visited the venue the most you become the Mayor of that location. 

This is one of the many elements that makes this really work. Human Nature brings out the competitive streak and when someone knocks you off as mayor the first thing you have to do is go back and regain your status.

So why is this so important for our industry? Restaurants, Cafes and Bars have the most to benefit from this game. The nature of the game rewards repeat business by itself but here is where it gets really good. By registering your business you can start to offer incentives. For example: every check in on foursquare gets a free snack with their first drink or 10%off the meal. 

Mayor programs can be even better: the Mayor gets free coffee until they are replaced or a free entree etc. 

Another benefit is that users can post tips on venues. So they can post a promotion that you are holding or a band or just how good the seafood buffet is. Instant PR

But this is just for kids and your customers wouldn't be interested right? WRONG!

Although I don't have accurate figures on current users and foursquare is in it's infancy, here are some interesting facts about social media:

• There are over 97 million Facebook users in Asia
• Hong Kong has 3.5 million Facebook users
• 34% (1.2 mil) Hong Kong Users are aged 25-34
• 14% (500,000) Hong Kong users are aged 35-44
• The split is 50/50 Male and Female
• World wide the average age of a Facebook user is 38
• World wide the average age of a Twitter user is 39

Personally I don't know anyone under the age of 25 that is using foursquare in Hong Kong.

Admittedly it is early days but social media has a special way of rewarding early adopters but a word of warning! You need to adopt a different approach to social media than your traditional advertising and PR in order to get good return on investment.

If you would like to know more about foursquare or social media send me an email at deanaslin@saveurs.com.hk

You can get more information and register your business here:
http://foursquare.com/businesses/

Thanks to facebakers.com and @noozeeland

Dean Aslin is Marketing Manager at Saveurs and is responsible for the the social media management for the company. Dean has over 20 years experience in Marketing, Sales, Customer Service and Retail.

Update: 13/08/10
For some good and bad examples of promotions goto http://ht.ly/2p3Wu

Special Release

 DOM PERIGNON 1996 

We have been offered a 40 case parcel (OWCx12) of the excellent 1996 Dom Perignon (in green gift box)

This item is very rare in Hong Kong and you will have to act quick if you would like to purchase.

But that's not all! We have also secured this at a price well below the market rate.

1996 Dom Perignon  $1,880 per bottle. 

Original Sealed Gift Box

Available for immediate shipment

No Minimum Quantity.

Tasting Notes:

The 1996 Dom Perignon is superb. Layers of roasted nuts, spices, tar, smoke, acacia blossoms and a light touch of honey emerge from the glass, adding complexity to the fruit. This large-scaled Dom Perignon is currently in a beautiful place where early tertiary notes have begun to appear, yet the wine retains plenty of freshness. This is a terrific Dom Perignon that can be enjoyed today but that also promises much pleasure for the future. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2029

Wine Advocate 95pts

This features floral, candied citrus, pencil shaving and hazelnut aromas and flavors. It's fresh and focused, with a firm structure offset by a mouth filling richness and a lacy texture. 

Wine Spectator 93pts

To Purchase Call your Sales Consultant. 


Contact Details

Rare & Fine Wines

One thing that makes Saveurs a bit different to other wine suppliers is that we keep a large range of rare and special wines. In fact, we actually carry library stock of many of our labels.

We have compiled a list of over 60 Rare and Special wines that we have to make it easier to find them. Of course these wines are very limited so they are allocated on a first come basis and are available as direct sale only.
Here are a few examples for you.


Champagne
1997 Louis Roederer Cristal            IWC90   750ml       2 Available
1998 Moet Chandon Rose                WS90   750ml      2 Available

Spain
1990 Vega Sicilia, Unico (Artist Label)     WS95      1.5l       6 Available
1990 Valduero, Gran Reserva 12 Years    N/R    750ml      6 Available


Rhone Valley
1999 E Guigal La Torque, Cote Rotie                     WA100   750ml      3 Available
2006 Yves Cuilleron, Les Chaillets Vieilles Vignes    WS94   750ml       5 Available

USA
2000 Forman, Cabernet Sauvignon   WA89   750ml         3 Available

Very Rare Vertical - USA
Dalla Valle Maya Proprietary Red    89, 90, 91, 92   4 x 750ml      1 Only

Alsace
2001 Domaine Marcel Deiss, Burlenberg Pinot Noir      WS90   750ml       6 Available
2000 Domaine Marcel Deiss, Altenberg de Bergheim   WA98   750ml       3 Available
2003 Domaine Marcel Deiss, Gewurztraminer               WS91   750ml       7 Available

Burgundy
2002 Antonin Rodet, Mersault 1er Cru Perrieres   WA91   750ml    10 Available

IWC = International Wine Cellar, WS = Wine Spectator, WA = Wine Advocate, N/R = Not Rated

For a copy of the full list or to order any of the items you see here please contact your sales consultant HERE or leave a message.

90 Point Wines Under $500

We are often asked to recommend a good wine that is not too expensive. So we pulled out a selection of over 70 wines on our list that fall in to that category. 

Here is a couple of examples we chose from the list.

Burgundy

D. Jacques Prieur Beaune 1er Cru Les Champs Pimont, 2006         

BH90      750ml    

D. Jacques Prieur Beaune 1er Cru Les Champs Pimont, 2007         

BH91      750ml          

Alsace

D. Marcel Deiss, Gewürztraminer Bergheim, 2005                            

WA90     750ml       

Rhone Valley

D. Les Pallieres, Gigondas, 2003                                                     

WA90      750ml         

D. Courbis, (Les Eygats), Cornas, 1997                                           

WS90      750ml          

Spain

Valduero, Reserva, 2004                                                                  

WA91      750ml         

Australia

RockBare, Barossa Babe Shiraz, 2005                                             

WS90      750ml          

Portugal

Quinta de Roriz, Reserva Douro Tinto, 2004                                    

WA92      750ml   

For the full list contact your sales consultant HERE or leave a message and we will get back to you.