Chinas most important wine paper, the Revue du Vin de France, awarded the Cuvée Le Cèdre 2006 Cahors from Pascal and Jean-Marc Verhaeghe as „best wine in the world".

„ Already in the January issue of the Chinese Revue du Vin de France, the most important wine paper of the country, the cuvee Le Cèdre 2006 has been elected “best Malbec wine distributed in China”, Pascal Verhaeghe gladly explains . “We are ahead of the Argentineans, and we are very proud of that.”

But as happiness rarely comes alone! The same wine has been elected “best wine in the world” amongst hundreds of white and red wines after another tasting organized by the same newspaper.

“ A complex and very harmonious wine, with great length and extraordinary ageing potential.”

Last year in June we have celebrated the second year of existence of a Santa Duc store in Nanjing, China. When it opened in 2008, we had the opportunity to visit the country, the town and the wine shop in 2009, and present our wines to journalists and wine enthusiasts in Nanjing.

Our impressions and souvenirs? A very warm welcome for our wines and our selves, and sincere interest in wine, as well as in French and European wine culture, the health aspects of wine, and its opulent universe of taste and flavours.

Meanwhile, we slowly succumbed to the flavours of the REAL Chinese cuisine we discovered in the “Central Kingdom” – delicious and savoury dishes perfectly harmonizing with our Rhone-wines.

From july 20^th to july 25^th the wines from the rhone valley will be presented at the pavilion of the Rhone Alpes Region at the world expo in Shanghai.

Every day, basic wine tastings are organized for wine lovers, while wine professionals can assist to expert tastings to discover taste and characteristics from both norther and southern rhone wines.
The tastings, organized by Inter Rhone, will be held in english (and translated into chinese) by two lecturers from the french Wine University of Suze-la-Rousse.
During the day, Côtes du Rhone and Rhone Valley wines can also be discovered in the wine bar of the pavilion.

Rhône-Alpes Pavilion : seeking happiness

An efficient energy and sustainable homeland in the urban environment

The case is based on INEED, a building selected in Valence in the Rhône-Alpes region of France, which showcases economic innovations and a sustainable environment, and is widely reputed for its high quality of work/life balance.

The building’s designers incorporated state of the art energy-efficient utilities and environment-friendly materials to reduce energy consumption and improve indoor air quality, making it a standard of eco-building in the Rhône-Alpes region.

Urban Case Highlights

The 4-story Rhône-Alpes Pavilion introduces a series of split-level designs that carry the visual perspective in a vertical direction. Visitors can walk freely and access all floors in the pavilion. In addition to the exhibition area, there will be a business center, a gastronomic restaurant and a famous French culinary school (Paul Bocuse) in the building. The pavilion will be decorated differently throughout the day in order to vary its image and in the evening special illumination systems will be used to create numerous lighting effects.

The pavilion will be built with innovative natural building materials made from recyclable calcined clay to keep energy consumption to a minimum while providing a comfortable environment in terms of temperature, humidity, light and sound effects. Updated information on energy use of the building will also be publicized during the exposition.

A planted rooftop functions to purify the air, regulate temperature, add coolness in summer, and ensure quick drainage during rainstorms. The tap water in the pavilion is drinkable. Here, visitors can enjoy clean and pure water and air and get away from urban noise.

At the front entrance there will be a mud wall made from blended soils from both France and China. A group of rose experts in the Rhône-Alpes region have also designed a rose garden to be planted in front of the pavilion. Visitors will experience the romantic feeling of France through the delicate fragrance.

The theme of Expo 2010 is “Better City, Better Life,representing the common wish of the whole humankind for a better living in future urban environments”.

This theme represents a central concern of the international community for future policy making, urban strategies and sustainable development. In 1800, 2% of the global population lived in cities. In 1950, the figure raised to 29%, in 2000, almost half the world population moved into cities, and by 2010, as estimated by the United Nations, the urban population will account for 55% of the total human population.

The quest for a better life has run through the urban history of mankind. Through different sub-themes, Expo 2010 will create blueprints for future cities and harmonious urban life styles, providing an extraordinary educational and entertaining platform for visitors of all nations:

●Blending of diverse cultures in the city

●Economic prosperity in the city

●Innovations of science and technology in the city

●Remodelling of communities in the city

●Interactions between urban and rural areas

The emblem, depicting the image of three people-you, me, him/her holding hands together, symbolizes the big family of mankind.

The name of the mascot of World Expo 2010 Shanghai China is Haibao, which means the treasure of the sea. The name of Haibao is easy to remember, echoes with the color of its body and is a typical lucky name in Chinese tradition. Haibao is the good well ambassador of Shanghai Expo.