Having opened in September 2006, La Baie des Anges is a wine bar in Houhai, owned by two brothers from Nice. Here they report on their busy first year in business.

 "At the beginning, we wanted to promote wine to the Chinese. In the end, most of our clients turned out to be expats." Although unable to achieve his original goal, Olivier Six does not regret leaving his native province of Var to open La Baie des Anges, a wine bar situated in the touristic district of Houhai. After some initial stalling, the establishment founded by the 28 year old former banker and his brother Benjamin, formerly a computer scientist, has become, barely a year after opening, a meeting place for epicureans and wine lovers alike.

After some initial stalling, the establishment founded by the 28 year old former banker and his brother Benjamin, formerly a computer scientist, has become, barely a year after opening, a meeting place for epicureans and wine lovers alike.

It's unclear whether the unpretentious exterior, the warm and intimate atmosphere, the filtered lighting, the large brown leather sofas, the welcoming red wood bar, or the sound of soothing French music, which is so pleasing to customers.

Perhaps it is also the passion that the two brothers have had since childhood for wine, the sort of passion reserved only for "the little people" in viniculture, and not for mass producers.

La Baie des Anges' success also seems to come from the brothers' gift for optimism and the ability to move on from past mistakes. "When we opened the bar, we really thought that it was in a good location. We did market studies, and visited lots of other bars in the area, but in the end the location was too out-of-the-way," remembers Olivier Six. The jumble of other bars in the vicinity, the cold winter that followed La Baie des Anges' inauguration, the persistent comparison with the wine bars of luxury hotels, all made the beginning more difficult, even after the grand Beaujolais night.

"When our neighbours at Hutong Pizza told us that it had taken them three years to establish themselves, it was a shock for us", recollects Olivier Six. The two owners could not afford to wait so long, and so Benjamin and Olivier Six decided to organize parties and events to attract clientele during the quieter weekdays: themed parties, concerts, barbeques, DJs, and wine tasting.

Du Bordeaux et du coca

On the day of the reportage, the two brothers were bringing about the final touches to their new wine menu which was launched on October 15th, which included the addition of around twenty new wines. There is now a selection of over sixty wines, classified by their taste, along with specials from the house like Tariquet, a white wine launched locally, and Gaillac. The 33 RMB glass of Sauvignon and the 25 RMB glass of wine from Pays of Hérault are still on the list. The food menu which includes cold cuts, cheese platters, tartines (toasted open sandwiches), salads and pans bagnats (sandwiches from Nice) are now joined by specialty pizzas and foie gras (225 RMB for 130g with toast and salad).

La Baie des Anges is starting to be well-known among websites and Chinese wine magazines including "Wine in China" (owned by "Food and Wine" Magazine). This has helped to attract more Chinese customers who ask for help when trying to be a little more adventurous in their wine drinking.

"Chinese people usually arrive pretty early in the evening. They always order the same wines or those they have seen in magazines," Olivier Six explains. "Once, some Chinese customers came in and ordered three or four bottles of Bordeaux and three bottles of coke," he smiles. "We told them to taste the wine first explaining to them the nuances of the wine. They gave up on the coke."