Rewriting Wine 101: California Sips of Summer Wine Month

Hong Kong wine scene is certainly busy in summer. Following Spectacular South Africa in April, French GourMay in May and Riesling Weeks in June, now it’s the turn for California’s Sips of Summer Wine Month.

The highlight of the campaign is the Sips of Summer pop-up exhibition that features the significant events in the history of California wines, starting from 1849 to now. The first phase is ‘The Gold Rush’ where over 300,000 people went to California to try their luck on gold that also led to an increase in economic activities including a wine industry boom.

The second and third phases are ‘Prohibition‘ in 1920 and ‘Post-Prohibition‘ from 1930s to 1970s when the wine industry took a dive and revived again. The ‘Judgement of Paris’ era detailed the blind tasting of US against French wines in Paris where Californian wines were ranked the best in both white and red wine categories, establishing California as a world-class wine producing region.

‘Golden State of Mind’ focuses on today’s winegrowers and how they embrace innovation and sustainability.

Apart from history, Sips of Summer also brings visitors a taste of California’s iconic summer concerts ‘Music in the Vineyard’. During weekends, there will be live performances by artists Mansonvibes, Higgo Raj, and Luna is a Bep. There are limited seats only and rsvp is necessary. Even if you miss these live performances, you can still enjoy a special piece of music produced by Hong Kong composer Veronica Lee (Veegay). The piece, dedicated to the pop-up store, was inspired by California summers and wines, and will be played in-store.

A wine pop-up event is not completed without tasting. There will be various themed tastings led by wine professionals including sommelier Reeze Choi, ViuTV’s Cecilia Wong and wine educator Corinne Mui. Food columnist Walter Kei will also prepare a selection of delectable Cantonese bites to pair with the California wines.