Arrogant frog à Vinexpo Hong Kong

Le salon Vinexpo est une vitrine extraordinaire pour nos vins ; des milliers d’acheteurs et de consommateurs avertis, en provenance des 4 coins du globe, ne perdent pas cette occasion de venir déguster les vins de producteurs du monde entier. Cette année, Vinexpo a eu lieu à Hong Kong, du 25 au 27 mai, et plus de 12000 professionnels, en majorité de la zone Asie-Pacifique (25 pays) sont venus, soit une hausse de 50% par rapport à 2008 !

Bien sûr, Arrogant Frog a fait la star en drainant une foule d’admirateurs ! De plus, nos vins étant disponibles à Hong Kong (Wellcome) depuis peu, nos fans ont pu venir les découvrir et profiter au passage des commentaires du Humble winemaker en personne ! Arrogant Frog a aussi eu l’occasion de se rapprocher de professionnels de l’Inde, de Thaïlande, de Singapour, des Philippines et de Taiwan. Notre Humble Œnologue méritait bien quelques instants de détente le soir, en savourant un bon vin face à la baie de Hong Kong.

Arrogant frog à Hong Kong

Arrogant Frog Vinexpo HK

Vinexpo is an outstanding showcase for our wines, visited by buyers from every corner of the globe, and is a place for exchange and debate in the heart of the greatest fine wine growing area in the world. At this year’s Vinexpo Asia-Pacific, held in Hong Kong from May 25-27, more than 12000 professionals from over 25 countries in Pacific Asia were in attendance, a 50% increase when compared with 2008!

Of course, Arrogant Frog led the pack in attracting the most attention and clients! And now that our wines are available at Wellcome supermarkets in Hong Kong, our fans were able to enjoy the wines and take advantage of comments from the Humble Winemaker himself! But Arrogant Frog also had the opportunity to get in touch with wine enthusiasts from India, Thailand, Singapore, the Philipines and Taiwan.

After such hectic days, our humble winemaker had some nice time at night, enjoying a good wine and a good view to the Hong Kong Bay.

Arrogant frog in Hong Kong

Let’s do a bit of reading together.

A couple of days ago, I read an article in one of France’s most famous newspaper, and I’m dying to share it with you! The article is called “What does it mean to be French – Qu’est ce qu’être français-“; it is an attempt to summarize the opinion of some of the most renowned French writers.

But SACRE BLEU! This is what the Humble winemaker –Jean-Claude Mas- has been doing with me since I was born, make you discover France and French people! Through my wines and labels, limited editions and blendings, I am conveying a little bit of French way of life, and I’m in some way (and in total modesty) a certain representation of France and French people!

So, let’s start. Here we can read a writer describing the charm of the regions and “the long countryside roads, edged with poppies, where we could stop to visit some Roman churches”.

Another writer describes the “extraordinary patchwork of landscapes”, a “constant wonder”. Of course, there is no doubt that France is the most beautiful country in the world, and my dear South of France a jewel in the “hexagone” (this is how we –French people- geographically and geometrically describe France). Another writer shares the same view: “few territories offer such a historical or geographical diversity. Our language too includes many words from other languages”. “I love French landscapes, the countryside, the trees, the cities, the villages, the mountains…”.

Here, I had great fun reading this writer talking about “art de vivre”; I think he expresses a vision that is the nearest to mine when describing France. I promote our “art de vivre” every time I travel, or in any bottle: drink well (in moderate quantity) and eat well, our best desired secret. “It is when I am abroad that I feel more French than ever. I believe I am a good defender of France. I defend its nonchalance, its spirit, this kind of lightness, frivolity and elegance, the taste for luxury and good eating. But then, when I’m back in France, I spend my time criticizing France, and this is also very French.”…”I love the way we live in France, a kind of softness, we develop an art for conversation, a taste to dress up, which cannot be found anywhere else, except in Italy.”

The following words could be mine, but they aren’t. “I also feel French for its ironical sensibility. Arrogance too, which we inherited from centuries of elitist culture”.

Those are another writer’s words: “The mocking mind of French people makes them often forget to be proud of their country”. He is right in many cases, but I tell you what, I am so proud of my country of my wine! I am so happy to make people discover and learn about French wine in a nice way, with reasonable prices!

The 7th writer, French with foreign origins, tells us that “When a French person is abroad, he is different from the others, but he is so attached to his “Frenchness”. He is really interested in the other culture he is in contact with”. Just ask Jean-Claude Mas, whenever he travels he meets so different cultures, and he just gets passionate telling them about our country and his dear South, and his dear good wines. But anytime he comes back, he will take into account all his experience he brings back from abroad, to make the wines, packaging, limited edition, evolve and make them even closer to what you want to keep you a Frog enthusiast.

Guess what, this article made me feel really good, and I hope you enjoyed taking a break reading my summary. I will finish with that sentence: “The French bullshit (sorry for this word, it is in the article) is to believe that we are the only one in the world to make something good, or the only one to think we don’t do anything good at all!”. But there, I don’t fully agree with the writer. It is true that I was born thanks and in reaction to this French “connerie”, to the myopia of those French wine producers who didn’t care about what the consumers wanted and were still thinking they were doing the best wines in the world; this is why the Humble winemaker dared doing something different and introduced a bit of self-derision in this very serious French world of wine. But I totally disagree to read the last part of the sentence, because I am deeply convinced to make something good and to do the right thing!”.

Article coming from Figaro

ribet red arrogant frog

Arrogant Frog in China

Arrogant Frog in China

A couple of days before heading to Hong-Kong, humble winemaker Jean-Claude Mas was the host of a winemaker’s dinner with our Chinese partners in Xiamen (Fujian Province, South of China).

Arrogant Frog has already been distributed in China for 2 years, and is developing its distribution in mainland China to Beijing, Canton, Chengdu, Shanghai and many other places.

Gan Bei!

Discovering Arrogant Frog

Arrogant Frog in Hong Kong

On November 19, the “Humble Winemaker” (Jean-Claude Mas) hosted Hong Kong’s first “Cooking Class Winemaker Dinner” with Senior Executive Chef Simson Kwan (“Chef Simson”) exclusively for customers of Wellcome. The event took place at Lawry’s the Prime Rib on Thursday 19 November, 2009, with an assistance of 140 guests, including 20 journalists. Wine instructor Mr. Damon Yuen (“Damon”), one of only a few sommeliers in Hong Kong, Macau and China given Certified Sommelier status by the Court of Master Sommelier, helped bridge the interaction between participants and Jean-Claude Mas by providing Cantonese explanations.

Don’t miss Arrogant Frog on the shelves and expect a special limited edition label very soon !

Rugby League - Arrogant Frog

October 31, Australia Vs England : 26 – 16

arrogant frog start mach

sponsoring rugby

Arrogant Frog

Watch the Frog at next games:

UK Vs. Australia, Oct 31 (DW Stadium, Wigan – BBC1)

UK Vs. New Zealand, Nov 7 (Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield – Sky)

Final – Nov 14 (Ellan Rd, Leeds -

More details on www.gillette4nations.co.uk

see arrogant frog

Following J. Halliday (James not Johnny) visit we are proud to see that the Languedoc wines have raised a new status, considering James comments on our wines ! Article from Weekend Australian on Saturday 15/8/2009

tasting note from james halliday about Arrogant frog

If you are going to sell coal to Newcastle, you
need competitively priced, high-quality coal,
matched by exceptional marketing expertise.
Domaines Paul Mas ticked all the boxes and, in the
space of a few years, has become the largest exporter
of estate-branded French wine to Australia.
It’s a fascinating story which has moved at
breakneck speed since Jean-Claude Mas took
ownership and control of the family business
(est.1892) in 1999. While a fourth-generation member
of the family, born in Languedoc, his early adult years
explain one part of his success. He studied in Lyon,
Nancy, and England, and worked in Miami, Paris and
Bordeaux in the sports car business, wine on the side.
A born communicator, he is much more the
product of a cosmopolitan, fast-track world than a son
of the soil of southern France. Given the exponential
growth of his wine business in the past 10 years, he
must also be a gifted financial controller.
A quick take on the numbers shows sales of
10 million bottles in 2008, with 19.4 million euros in
exports to Holland, Japan, Canada, Australia, the UK
and the US (the top 60 per cent). While Mas has a
near-bewildering range of brands focused on
mainstream varieties, the Arrogant Frog range is a
cornerstone, leading annual sales into Australia with
over 100,000 cases selling at $10.99, a bitterly
contested sector of the market. The Paul Mas
varietals (20,000 cases) at $8.99 (exclusively through
Dan Murphy) look as if they should be more
expensive than the Arrogant Frog.
This is precisely what Hardys (pre-Constellation)
sought to achieve with La Baume, and Southcorp
with La Perouse. DESPITE TOP-LEVEL
AUSTRALIAN WINEMAKING EXPERTISE,
A SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENT, AND
HOME TURF DISTRIBUTION AND
MARKETING CLOUT, BOTH FAILED
MISERABLY AND EXITED WITH THEIR
TAILS BETWEEN THEIR LEGS.
I recently travelled to Languedoc to find the
answer (along with a few fellow journalists as the
guest of Domaines Mas). I could see how Jean-Claude
Mas was making such good wines at their price points,
and soon realised the answer lay in his exceptional
marketing skills. Australians are thoroughly
accustomed to black, self-deprecating humour, and
Jean-Claude has taken it to another level.
The labels of Arrogant Frog are descendants of
Ronald Searle, the artist/cartoonist who contributed
much to the wine world in bygone decades. I love
them, and think they are in a class apart from other
little critter labels. Along with countless others,
I also think the Paul Mas and Arrogant Frog wines
offer exceptional value.
For more on Languedoc-Roussillon and more
tasting notes, see www.winecompanion.com.au

Cool Sydney winter weather, the atmosphere is almost perfect, Gazebo a nice bistro Brasserie, a beautiful company, the wines: Arrogant Frog and Château Paul Mas, a “Petanque” field nearby,  one of the best way to celebrate “Bastille day”  as they say here talking about our 14 Juillet.  I never been a fan of fire works and “Bal populaires du 14 Juillet”  and I think that celebrating Bastille day as we did is a very civilized way and probably the best way to celebrate. Who would have guess that the Australian know how to enjoy what us French have best to offer…

The team composed of Michael  Bynon, Lyndey Milan ( enhancing her abilities with some  Clos des Mures) and the humble Winemaker won the Petanque 2009 Trophy. Winsor Dobbin said the Paul Mas chardonnay is remarkable value.

Earlier and for the second year in the Channel 7 Morning Show, Larry and Kylie, celebrated our Bastille day with a “Filet de Cochon à la Moutarde” cooked by the rising French chef star “Manu” and Arrogant Frog Shiraz Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc…

See Arrogant Frog on Australian TV