During the second half of 2019, leading Chinese liquor baijiu maker Shanxi-headquartered Fenjiu Group participated in an array of activities to promote Chinese liquor culture and enhance Chinese liquor's international influence.
In October, the "2019 Walking Fenjiu Liquor" festival was launched in Xinghua (which means apricot blossom) village－which is known as the birthplace of Fenjiu liquor－in Fenyang, Shanxi province. The liquor culture promotion tour moved to Tianjin in October, Beijing in November and Hainan province in December.
In 2018, the festival traveled to six cities around the country, gaining attention and making the event a rich source of intellectual property in the Chinese liquor industry, according to Fenjiu Group.
As one of the major representatives of Chinese liquor, Fenjiu liquor has a responsibility to promote Chinese liquor's unique culture and obtain international recognition, said Li Qiuxi, chairman of Fenjiu Group.
This year's festival continued its focus on Chinese liquor culture but made some innovations in activities.
"We are committed to utilizing advanced technologies such as virtual reality to improve the interactivity with participants and bring them new experiences," said one of the event's organizers.
During the Tianjin leg, the organizers set up an apricot blossom-themed park where people could gain an understanding of Fenjiu liquor's history and purchase creative products. Attendees could watch the distilling process of Fenjiu liquor while enjoying a traditional Chinese music performance.
Fenjiu Group also participated in the 2019 Spirits Selection by Concours Mondial de Bruxelles in Xinghua village.
The five-day competition gathered 1,748 spirits from 59 countries and regions around the world. A total of 104 judges engaged in blind tasting and appraisal. As a result, 48 products won the contest's highest honor, the Grand Gold Medal. Fenjiu Group's pure and mellow rose Fenjiu liquor was the only top award winner in Shanxi.
Besides evaluation, the international experts visited the Fenjiu Museum and the Fenjiu Taotan Distillery to learn more about Chinese liquor's history and its manufacturing process.
After tasting the Fenjiu liquor brewed on site, Paul Mathew, a bartender from the United Kingdom, said: "The Fenjiu liquor, different from the spirits in Europe, is soft and a little sweet. I especially love the long-lasting aftertaste."
A staff member at the distillery introduced the brewing process of Fenjiu liquor to visitors. The process includes a special fermentation process in underground ceramic tanks. Local sorghum is used as a major ingredient for fermentation and fresh rice chaff as the supplementary materials.
Having learned about the whole process, Baudouin Havaux, president of the 2019 Spirits Selection by CMB, said the Chinese liquor-making techniques were complex and profound.
"I could not have understood the techniques if I hadn't come to China and experienced it myself," he said.
Following the international competition, Xinghua village hosted the third Shanxi World Wine Culture Expo between Sep 19-22.
With the theme of "Cheer for Fenyang, Taste the World", the expo organized 10 major events including a wine tasting party, the Xinghuacun forum and an investment promotion.
Under the Belt and Road Initiative, this year's forum focused on the issues of how to export Chinese liquor culture and how to advance Chinese liquor's internationalization, said Tan Zhongbao, general manager of Fenjiu Group.
"The key to cultural marketing lies in innovation and cooperation. We need to collaborate to make Chinese liquor shine on the world stage."
汾酒致力提升国际影响力
2019年下半年，中国领先的白酒生产商汾酒集团举办了一系列活动，以推广中国白酒文化和增强中国白酒的国际影响力。
10月，2019“行走的汾酒”文化大巡展在汾酒的发源地山西汾阳杏花村举行。这一酒文化推广之旅于10月到达天津，11月到达北京，12月到达海南省。
“行走的汾酒”文化大巡展始于2018年，2018“行走的汾酒”先后达到济南、郑州、杭州、呼和浩特、上海、西安等六个城市，将传承千年的汾酒酿造技艺和博大精深的汾酒历史文化，展现在消费者面前。
汾酒集团董事长李秋喜表示，汾酒是中国白酒的主要代表之一，有责任弘扬中国白酒的独特文化并获得国际认可。今年的文化大巡展继续把重点放在中国酒文化上，但在活动上做了一些创新。
活动的组织者之一说：“我们致力于利用虚拟现实等先进技术来增加与参与者的互动，并为他们带来新的体验。”
在天津之行期间，组织者建立了一个以杏花为主题的公园，人们可以在其中了解汾酒的历史并购买创意产品。观众可以一边欣赏中国传统音乐表演，一边观看汾酒的蒸馏过程。
汾酒集团还参加了杏化村举办的2019比利时布鲁塞尔国际烈性酒大奖赛。为期5天的比赛吸引了来自全球59个国家和地区的1,748款烈酒，共有104名评委进行了盲品和鉴定。结果，有48款产品获得了比赛的最高荣誉大金奖。汾酒集团生产的纯正、醇厚的玫瑰汾酒获得了山西唯一的顶级奖项。
除了进行品评，国际专家还参观了汾酒博物馆和杏花村汾酒作坊，以了解有关中国白酒的历史及其生产工艺等更多信息。
来自英国的侍酒师保罗•马修在现场品尝了汾酒后说：“汾酒与欧洲烈酒不同，它柔和而略带甜味，我特别喜欢这种持久的回味。”
布鲁塞尔国际酒类大赛主席卜度安•哈弗了解了整个过程后说，中国的白酒酿造技术博大精深，如果我没有来中国亲自体验，就不会理解这些技术。”他说。
大赛之后，9月19日至22日，举办了第三届山西（汾阳•杏花村）世界酒文化博览会在杏花村举办。博览会以“举杯汾阳•品味世界”为主题，组织了十场大型活动，包括美酒品鉴会、中国白酒杏花村论坛、中国百强酒商齐聚汾阳等活动。
汾酒集团总经理谭忠豹说，在国家一带一路经济带建设的大背景下，今年的论坛重点讨论了如何输出中国白酒文化以及如何促进中国白酒的国际化。
谭忠豹强调，“文化营销，核心在于文化，关键在于创新，重点在于合作共赢，只要我们团结一致，同舟共济，共谋发展，中国白酒一定会在国际市场大放异彩。”
From：China Daily