We were sitting in the living room of a City Garden apartment in North Point. You gotta love the Hong Kong weather. It was mid-afternoon, the air was thick with summer with the sun right above us. It was the end of July and it’s hard to believe there was a crazy black rainstorm two days prior to the event. We were doing an early happy hour, and as I was pouring I tried to focus my conversation with my friend Andrea. “I’m moving into North Point! I just signed a contract for a new apartment in this area. We will become neighbours in November!” he said to me. “This is my girl friend Anna.”
Andrea is a lucky man. This happens now and then, people come to a meetup event and occasionally discover some new romance. We like Andrea and Anna a lot. The young couple look destined to be with each other as if someone have been pulling strings between them in the sky. Technically they didn’t meet in our tasting event. But here’s one thing we learn about wine tasting with our group: it’s incredibly hard not to have fun in a Tao of Wines event. If you go off plan, miss an event, or hit an emergency – so what? Come join us again next time.
In Hong Kong we don’t have the luxury of tasting wines in a fine chateau with views of stunning vineyards and rolling hills. It doesn’t mean we have to confine ourselves in a hotel ballroom for every wine event – so boring indeed, and yet it’s still happening every day. “You must be crazy,” my friend Chuck said to me. “Who’s going to join you for wine and biking in the country area?”
Chuck was so wrong. These pictures speak loud and clear. If moderate consumption of wine does all kinds of healthy things to your body, then putting exercising together with wine creates an alchemy like a sudden magic – at that instant, it’s so much fun. If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to behave like a teenage boy all over again, please come and join us on our future events. Maybe the next event, that same wine, the same people, won’t be as magical. For all the science and art of each event, the beauty is a creature of the moment, of circumstance, too. That moment on Saturday was enduring and wonderful.
*For more pictures go to http://www.meetup.com/taoofwines/calendar/13167537/ – special thanks to Andrea Paggiaro for capturing the beauty of our moments.
By Bernie Kwok
Let’s turn our attention to South Africa for the moment. Nelson Mandela, the rugby team, and probably Pinotage – they are among the country’s unique contributions in the global culture. And welcome the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the first World Cup tournament that is going to be held in the continent starting June 11. There’s no better time to bring the world’s attention to the African nation. For the next three months Tao of Wines is committed to giving a greater emphasis to South Africa, in particular in the area of football and wine – two of my personal favorites. There has been a growing interest of South Africa wine in the world. There are many well-made wines from South Africa that don’t cost of fortune. And time has proved it: their wine export has continued to defy the global downturn.
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This is based on true story. My friend Lisa is the owner of a reputable wine shop in Central. One day I was there when this guy walked into the store.
“So is this the famous ABC wine store?” he said. “I read your story on the newspaper, and I’ve heard rave reviews of your wines from my friends.”
Lisa smiled. “We do carry many award-winning wines here. Many people love our chardonnay and sauvignon blanc.”
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