私は年前に北京に来て以来、私は私のASCファインワインより良いサービスを提供している企業を考えることはできません。 Okay, the first time I called them, some 12 months ago, I ended up in a horrible game of phone tag . But since then, they've been spot on. A few examples:
- Their delivery people are on time , almost down to the minute;
- They have some very creative specials , especially the mixed dozens;
- Their wine tasting events are well-run and informative;
- When I showed up one Saturday to buy some wine glasses for a wedding the next day, Simon Liang , who happened to be in the office during off hours, took me to the warehouse (an awe-inspiring, temperature-controlled, air hanger-like structure filled with pyramids of wine) way out on Fifth Ring Road to pick them up.
I think ASC outdid itself a few weeks ago at a media briefing . It packed the following into a couple of hours: a presentation on China's wine industry (40-50 percent growth expected over the next five years); a tasting of the company's new Laurent-Perrier Champagne (thought I didn't see it listed on ASC's website today); a trial of the new Riedel “O” series of glasses , sans stem and base (which mean each glass had to be filled with wine); a lesson in sniffology, as we tried an aroma kit, Le Nez du Vin (The Nose of Wine), which contains 52 bottles of various scents and is used to train your snout to detect aromas in wine (at RMB3000, it's not cheap); and a food and wine pairing , where we tried various eats (chicken, lemon, ginger, dried tomato, and so on) with different wines, to see which ones best matched. The event was well-organized, educational and intoxicating. Note 1: Who would want wine glasses with no stems or bases? Restaurants: since it would reduce breakage and since seated diners are unlikely to hold their glasses for long (which is the main concern, since that could warm the wine). Note 2: Note 2: ASC Champagne whiz Olivier says: don't swirl your bubbly or it you'll decrease its effervescence .
(From Beijing Boyce III, first emailed on November 3, 2005)