#37 Lionel Le Gal – Insights on China's wine industry, blind tastings & a golden tip for setting up shop in China

Senior wine consultant, Lionel Le Gal, was born in Paris and first arrived in Shanghai in 2001 as a student at the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade, learning Chinese, trade, sales and marketing. Armed with this new knowledge, he quickly joined the French Wine Paradox team as a part-time wine promoter. Since then he has spent most of his career dealing with the On Trade wine business for key importers such as Torres China and ASC Fine Wines, working primarily in China and Vietnam. Most recently he teamed up with Italian sommelier Michele (Mikele) Muraro under a new venture called The Wine Guy. Lionel is married and has been in Shanghai for the last 7 years. Today Lionel is on a mission: to share some insights on the Chinese wine trade and also debunk some popular myths!