Grape Wall of China

A China Wine Blog: The Scene in the World’s Largest Market

The Battle of Great River Hill: A China wine tasting in rural Beijing

Posted on | June 10, 2013 | No Comments

 great river hill shandong chateau nine peaks cabernet sauvignon 2011 blind tasting in beijing china

By Jim Boyce

Impromptu wine tastings. Open a few bottles, pour them for a handful or two of guests, see which one they like best. No worries about gilded invitations, seating arrangements or tasters worrying days ahead as to whether or not they will look smart. Just a simple “do you like it?” approach.

We had one on Saturday at a restaurant on the rural edge of Beijing. After an orchard visit, we went for lunch and I pulled out two bottles from Great River Hill in Shandong — the Chateau Nine Peaks entry-level Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 and the Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2011.

The entry-level wine did well at this tasting at The Loop in March while the reserve was among the highest-scoring of 103 Chinese wines in this tasting by magazine La Revue du Vin de France in April.

How did they fare with our dozen tasters, including a party official, orchard managers, fellow Grape Waller Ma Huiqin and some post-grad students in the tree sciences program?

We gave everyone two cups (some people used glass, others used paper ones I brought), poured the wines and tasted as we ate a dozen dishes, the centerpiece being fried meat pancakes. The two wines clearly differed in terms of smell and taste. And the attendees clearly had a favorite: the entry-level bottle. They found it fruitier and smoother, with some finding the reserve too tannic and acidic. That entry-level bottle emptied fast, and the reserve soon followed.

All in all, a fun tasting that — taken in consideration of The Loop and RVF tastings — underscores the obvious but often forgotten point that you can often get different results with the same wines.

Note: Great River Hill is talking to several distributors in China and I hope their wine will soon be widely available. The listed retail prices are ~rmb138 for the entry level and ~rmb208 for the reserve.

beijing blind wine tasting cups

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2013 RVF China awards: And the winners for top wine, winery and wine maker are…

Posted on | June 7, 2013 | No Comments

2013 la revue du vin de france rvf china wine tasting in beijing

Entries in the RVF China office for the 2013 wine awards.

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 By Jim Boyce

Ningxia again dominated the annual wine awards held by the China edition of magazine La Revue du Vin de France. The year’s top wine personality, wine maker and winery all hail from this area in north-central China (see below for details). Three out of the top five highest-scoring wines, as determined during a tasting of 103 bottles in April, also hailed from Ningxia. This year’s tasting panel, led by Olivier Poels from RVF headquarters in France, gave the following wines a score of 14 points out of 20 points:

  • Chateau Nine Peaks Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2011, Shandong (rmb208)
  • Domaine Helan Mountain ‘Xiao Feng’ Cabernet-Merlot 2010, Ningxia (rmb980)
  • Grace Vineyard ‘Sonata’  Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Marsellan 2010, Shanxia (rmb390)
  • Helan Qing Xue ‘Jia Bei Lan’ Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Gernischt and Merlot 2010, Ningxia (rmb380)
  • Silver Heights “Emma’s Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon-Cabernet Gernischt 2009, Ningxia (rmb1180, magnum)

Those are all pretty tasty wines though some of the prices are hard to swallow.

Other major 2013 awards from RVF China:

  • Wine region of the year: The eastern Helan Mountain area in Ningxia
  • Wine personality of the year: Hao Ling Hai in Ningxia, who has helped to develop the region’s wine industry
  • Winery of the year: Domaine Helan Mountain in Ningxia, the Pernod Ricard-owned operation in the area
  • Wine maker of the year: Zhang Jing of Helan Qing Xue in Ningxia
  • Most influential winery: Grace Vineyard in Shanxi
  • Best winery design: Treaty Port in Shandong, which is essentially a replica of a Scottish castle
  • Up-and-coming brand: Chateau Nine Peaks of Qingdao Great River Hill Winery in Shandong

Get details on the awards and the top 44 wines in the June issue of RVF China. The magazine’s China website is here.

By the way, I tried a few dozen of the wineries from this year’s contest both in April, a day after the judging, and yesterday at a launch event by RVF China, and will post more about these soon.

See also:

Category: Uncategorized

Q&A: RVF publisher Lin Libo on this year’s crop of Chinese wines

Posted on | June 5, 2013 | No Comments

lin libo publisher la revue du vin de france wine magazine beijing china

By Jim Boyce

The local edition of French magazine La Revue du Vin de France will soon reveal the top bottles from its annual tasting of Chinese wines. I asked publisher Lin Libo a few questions about the entries for 2013 and about Chinese wines in general. I’ll post again when the winners are announced.

How many wines did the judges taste this year? How did the wines compare to last year?

The judges tasted 103 wines from 37 wineries this year. The numbers last year were 97 wines from 33 wineries.

Ningxia dominated the tasting last year and that region seems even stronger now. Are there any bright spots from other wine regions in China?

Ningxia is very strong again due to its terroir, the efforts of the producers, and local government support of the industry. Besides Ningxia, we find this year that a number of interesting wines are from Shandong.

How many faulty wines were there? What were the biggest faults?

There were some problems due to wine-making technology and management (unclean or contaminated wines), storage (wines that did not taste as good as they should have) and cork quality (affecting the speed of evolution).

Some Chinese wine is very expensive, sometimes rmb1000 or more per bottle, and this surprises people outside China. Why do these wines cost so much?

It is said the cost of grape growing in China is more expensive than in many other countries because vines need to be buried in the winter and uncovered in the spring. It makes Chinese wine less competitive in price against its international counterparts.

The Chinese wine market is not a mature one. Many customers are not knowledgeable enough about wine and often link quality with price when making their purchasing decisions.  It seems to them the higher the price, the higher the quality. This reality gives a chance to some producers to overprice their wines as part of a marketing strategy. Overpricing also happens in the case of some imported wines.

Chinese people also have a tradition of sending gifts to their relatives, friends, business partners and so on for some occasions. Wine has become an option as a gift in recent years. In these cases, the package or the label design sometimes becomes another way to overprice the wine.

You have many links to French wine writers, sommeliers and wine makers. How do they react to Chinese wines?

They have paid attention to this emerging wine-producing country and shown an interest in Chinese wines. Some of them are wondering if China will become a new “new world” and I sometimes hear them say they want to visit the wine regions of China. Some of them have already done so.

You have tasted Chinese wines for many years. How do you compare the wines produced now with the wines produced five or ten years ago?

Ten years ago the Chinese wines were mainly from the producers like Changyu, Great Wall or Dynasty. Today we have many more options.

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Q&A with Damien Shee of Torres China: On regional differences, retail expansion, the wine glut & more

Posted on | June 4, 2013 | No Comments

Shee

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By Jim Boyce

Is there a wine glut in China? What distinguishes customers in the north from those elsewhere in the country? And what are the top picks from the portfolio? Those are some questions I asked Damien Shee, north China general manager for Torres, when I recently met him at the company’s retail shop — Everwines — in Beijing.

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What distinguishes north China?

Volume, because in the north people really drink. In terms of style, the preference is mainly red. Sales are not as diverse as elsewhere, with less sparkling, white and rose. Consumers also look for a lot of flavor, for full-bodied reds, so Pinot Noir is not as appreciated yet.

And different cities in the north?

To give an example, in Dalian we see a touch more white wine due to the seafood culture. Dalian, and Fujian province in south China for that matter, are two places you find more white wine. But still, it’s one bottle of white, another bottle of white, and then, boom!, four bottles of red.

What is happening with the Everwines brand?

We now have 15 standalone shops and plan to open five more by the end of the year. [Everwines shops are in Shanghai, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Beijing, Xian, Chendu, Guangzhou, Shenzen, Nanning and Changsha.] We run about half of them and the other half are self-owned. We do audits of the stores to make sure they are running properly. There are also 24 “counter” stores, including in HOLA [home furnishing stores].

Torres distributes for what are arguably China’s two best operations: Silver Heights and Grace. What is the sales focus?

Restaurants and hotels. When you do it at that level, it builds prestige, as compared to when you sell it in a place like Metro. We also sell Silver Heights and Grace Chairman’s Reserve to our private customers. You can find Grace wines in places like the Jenny Lou’s shops, which have an association with premium brands, although we only sell our entry-level wines there.

How do people in China react to these local wines?

There is more interest in Shanghai and Beijing, more than in the south, in places such as Guangzhou that have access to a lot of imported wines due to the proximity to Hong Kong. You have a lot of expatriates who are keen to try Chinese wines. They try Grace and Silver Heights and think, ”Wow, this is good”. Chinese customers are also trying it and saying, “We never knew our wine could be this good”.

There is general consensus that China has too many importers and too much imported wine. What is your take?

There are now four to five thousand importers as everyone jumped in and thought it was a good business. You also had the immigration issue a few years back [with some people importing Australian wine in an effort to qualify for visas]. We are now paying for those sins. Plus, there is the government’s frugality campaign.

It’s a time of correction that the real distributors can ride out. Those in it for money [and without an understanding of wine] or who simply have a relative in a state-owned company that is buying their wine, but can’t now because of the campaign, are going to suffer. Distributors like us don’t have just one channel like that. We have many channels.

Isn’t there a risk that this surplus wine will get dumped on the market, that it might not have been stored properly, and that consumers will be buying cheap but faulty wine?

When they dump, the repercussion will be that general consumers will think wines are not expensive and will get used to buying wines below the real value. That is where the brands will come in. The brands add value.

What are your personal picks from the Torres portfolio: let’s say rmb100 or less, from rmb100 to rmb300, and from rmb300 to rmb1000?

At 100 or less, and avoiding the big brands, I would pick Salentin Portillo Malbec. I mean, for that much money it packs a punch and has everything a Malbec should have.

Between 100 and 300, Torres’ Celeste. This Tempranillo is one of the best values from Ribera del Duero. I’m a cheap guy and this is good value

My last pick is Jean Leon Gran Reserve Cabernet Sauvigon. You are getting bottles from 1994 and 1996 for rmb500 or rmb600. Great value for almost 20-year-old wines like those.

Category: Uncategorized

Decanter World Wine Awards 2013: 20 Chinese wines nab awards, led by Great Wall, Helan Mountain

Posted on | May 22, 2013 | No Comments

By Jim Boyce

Decanter has released the results of its 2013 World Wine Awards and 20 entries of the 49 entries from China received a ranking of “commended” or higher. While the total number of wines receiving awards was higher this year, the pickings were slimmer, with silver the top achievement. The vast majority of awards were taken by Domaine Helan Mountain and Xi Xia Wang in Ningxia and by mega operators Dynasty and COFCO, the latter by its brands Great Wall and Chateau SunGod.

Wine operators in China have been entering the annual Decanter awards for the better part of a decade. The most press came in 2011 when a Ningxia wine — “Jia Bei Lan Dry Red 2009” from Helan Qing Xue — won a “regional trophy“, went on to claim an “international trophy” and caused quite a ruckus — see Decanter’s response to the ruckus. Last year, a wine from Chateau Reifeng-Auzias won a gold medal. (Note: I have tried wine from Reifeng-Auzias twice and found it sub-par.)

It is obvious, but worth mentioning, that the awards do not indicate the best wines in the world, or even in China, but the best wines of those entered and as determined by the judges.

Here are this year’s award winners. This info is re-organized from the Decanter site. See the image below for the official list.

Silver

  • Domaine Helan Mountain Special Reserve Chardonnay 2011, Ningxia
  • Great Wall Terroir 2006, Shandong

Bronze

  • Château Sungod Prime Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Hebei
  • Domaine Helan Mountain Special Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, Ningxia
  • Domaine Helan Mountain Special Reserve Merlot 2010, Ningxia
  • Domaine Helan Mountain Special Reserve Pinot Noir 2010, Ningxia
  • Dynasty Winery Merlot Imperial Noble Cask Collection 2003, Ningxia
  • Dynasty Winery Premier Royal Selection 2008, Tianjin
  • Great Wall Terroir Reserve 2008, Hebei
  • Great Wall Terroir Riesling 2011, Shandong
  • Ningxia Xi Xia King Winery Italian Riesling Dry White Wine 2011, Ningxia

Commended

  • Chateau Hedong Manor Chardonnay 2012, Ningxia
  • Château Sungod Reserve Riesling 2009, Hebei
  • Domaine Helan Mountain Xiao Feng 2010, Ningxia
  • Dynasty Winery You Like NV, Tianjin
  • Great Wall Centenary Old Vine Longyan 2012, Hebei
  • Great Wall Chateau Huaxia, The Chief Winemaker’s Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Hebei
  • Great Wall Chateau Yunmo 2010, Ningxia
  • Ningxia Xi Xia King Winery Chardonnay 2011, Ningxia
  • Xiangdu Les Champs D’Or 2003, Xinjiang

decanter world wine awards 2013 china wineries producers-002

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See also:

Category: Uncategorized

Portfolio tasting in Beijing: Sample 60 wines from 90 Plus for 80 rmb

Posted on | May 21, 2013 | No Comments

葡萄酒节邀请函副 本

Wine shop operator 90 Plus will hold tastings on May 25 and May 26 at Zun Club just off Workers Stadium East Road. The daily rmb80 entrance fee gets you samples of more than 60 wines from 2 PM to 6 PM.  On top of that, those buying bottles can get a 20 percent discount on wines in the 90 Plus portfolio and a 50 percent discount on the more than 100 wines being de-listed by the company as it revises its offerings.

Nicolas Carre of 90 Plus says that some of the de-listed wines will be made available on both says.

“We won’t sell everything on Saturday,” he says. “That mean people who come on Sunday can still get deals.”

zun club entrance by nicolas carre

The entrance, on Workers Stadium East Road, to the complex…

zun club pic from nicolas carre

… with Zun Club.

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Welcome to the club: ASC opens The Wine Residence in Shanghai

Posted on | May 21, 2013 | No Comments

The Chardonnay lion beckons the Cabernet lion.

As per tradition, the Chardonnay lion taunts the Cabernet Sauvignon lion.

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By Jim Boyce

ASC Fine Wines opened the Wine Residence — a 6500-square-meter facility for events, education and storage – in Shanghai last weekend. An ASC press release states that more than 50 senior representatives from the world’s wineries attended the launch, including Christophe Salin of DBR Lafite, Jean-Philippe Delmas of Chateau Haut-Brion and David Dearie of Treasury Wine Estates. It also states that the facility will provide “an exceptional 360 degree wine experience“. I’m not sure what that means but it raises the image, at least in my mind, of guests being spun around in chairs while strategically placed staff members douse them with a steady flow of Laurent-Perrier. Sign me up.

The Wine Residence will have space for classes, tastings, dinners and other events as well as a cellar and wine lockers. Customers will be able to buy wines from the ASC portfolio and Bordeaux Grand Cru and other top wines. Wine will start at rmb200 per bottle. Those interested in membership have two options. Social membership is for those who purchase more than rmb75,000 and includes discounts and other benefits. Full membership is for those who purchase more than rmb150,000 and includes use of the storage space in the cellar.

ASC reports it has offices in 26 cities, a staff of 1100 and brands from 14 countries. It also has major facilities in Beijing and Hong Kong.

s¦Å_Lion Dance to celebrate the launch of the Wine Residence

Cutting the red ribbon at….

Wine Gallery photo generic small

… The Wine Residence in Shanghai.

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WFOE for sale: Shanghai-based importer and distributor Mervin Fine Wines

Posted on | May 21, 2013 | No Comments

By Jim Boyce

The following info is via Melody Mast of Shanghai-based Mervin Fine Wines. Mervin — a fully licensed and foreign-owned company (WFOE) in the wine import and distribution sector — is up for sale. The operation includes an office in Shanghai, a sales team and established distribution channels. Mast says the company has about 200 labels and holds these licenses and registrations:

  • “WFOE business registration in Shanghai (Minhang District) and business/ enterprise certificate
  • “Alcohol license – Allowing Mervin to sell alcohol wholesale
  • “Import license – Allowing Mervin to import goods, alcohol in particular
  • “Food hygiene license – Necessary to do the alcohol business
  • “Tax registration – Allowing Mervin to invoice to companies

Mast says the company has an established client base, both in and out of Shanghai, that buys on a regular basis. For more information, contact Melody Mast at admin (at) mervinfinewines.com.

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WoSA Sommelier Cup: Mainland China semi-final slated for Beijing

Posted on | May 16, 2013 | No Comments

wines of south africa sommelier cup competition beijing china

By Jim Boyce

Full-time sommeliers from mainland China have the chance to go abroad as part of a competition run by Wines of South Africa.

The WOSA Sommelier Cup involves three rounds, starting with an online test in June and then, for those who make the grade, continuing with a semi-final in Beijing on July that involves a blind tasting and role-playing. The winner of that contest will head to South Africa in October to spend five days touring the country’s vineyards and then compete in the Sommelier Cup final against candidates from 10 countries. Here are the key dates:

May 31: Registration for WOSA Sommelier Cup
Jun 07: Online test with multiple choice and essay questions
Jun 15: Semi-finalists announced by this date
Jul 10: Semi-finals in Beijing, with blind tasting and role play
Oct 07: Finalist starts five days of winery tours in South Africa
Oct 12: Final, including theory, blind tasting and role play

Sound good? For more info on the program as well as travel subsidies for the semi-finalists, see this page.

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China wine portfolios: CWS adds Inner Mongolia’s Chateau Hansen

Posted on | May 16, 2013 | No Comments

chateau hansen wuhai inner mongolia cabernet gernischt china (1)

By Jim Boyce

Importer and distributor China Wines and Spirits is now handling wines from Inner Mongolia-based operation Château Hansen. Established in 2005 as the third international arm of the HWS Group, CWS carries wine from about a dozen countries, including Italy, France, Australia, South Africa and India.

Hansen is on the edge of the Gobi desert in Inner Mongolia but close to key wine-making areas in neighboring Ningxia region and Gansu province. Wine maker Bruno Paumard says production has risen from 400,000 bottles to 2 million bottles over the past few years.

CWS will add several wines from Hansen, including two made from locally esteemed grape Cabernet Gernischt and a late-harvest dry wine made from Semillon and Riesling sourced in Gansu province. The wines are already available in Beijing at Grand Hyatt and 1949.

Other China-based importers and distributors with local labels include Torres, which handles Shanxi-based Grace Vineyard and Ningxia-based Silver Heights, and The Wine Republic, which handles Ningxia-based Helan Qing Xue.

In April, CWS officially announced Oliver Halley, owner of its parent company HWS Group, bought Château de Meursault and Château de Marsannay in Burgundy.

chateau hansen wuhai inner mongolia cabernet gernischt china

Category: Bruno Paumard, China Wines and Spirits, Hansen
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Pairing at Pinotage: Cheese and South African wines in Beijing

Posted on | May 14, 2013 | No Comments

cheese with bon courage shiraz dornier pinotage KWV merlot boland south african wines in beijing china

By Jim Boyce

I’m not the biggest fan of wine and food pairing given that many people tend to take it too seriously and that individual tastes differ. But with a group of friends in can be fun and that goes when using beverages from single malts to pale ales and foods from tofu burgers to Sirloin steaks.

The new branch of South African restaurant Pinotage in Beijing now offers fun pairing potential with its new lineup of cheeses. Rather than sticking four slabs of cheese in front of four wines, Pinotage chef Amber Deetlefs has added sweet, savory and other elements in what co-owner Toby Cao calls “a South African way”.

That first one on the left (see photo above) includes goat’s cheese and some interesting textures and tastes via pine nuts, pickled beet roots and a beet root reduction. That beet helped boost the pairing with the Bon Courage Shiraz – in my humble opinion: yours might well differ — and is fun to try against the Dornier Pinotage, the KWV Merlot and the Boland Shiraz-Cabernet. The other cheeses included Gorgonzola with blackcurrants and candied walnuts, Camembert with sage and honey, and Emmental with smoked ham hock and truffle oil.

The cheese sampler is rmb75 and flights of four wines are rmb75 to rmb100. One option is to go with a friend, get two wine sets and split the cheeses. Or, for maximum tasting, get your own cheeses and divide each into four parts so you can try them against each wine, thus giving sixteen pairings. You can get more pairings if, like me, you do stuff like pull off some of the blackcurrants to try on their own against the wines.

For more about Pinotage, see this post about the opening night dinner a few weeks ago. You don’t see a lot of venison Wellington in Beijing.

Flour power: Opera Bombana in Beijing started to make these loaves of bread in 2006    

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Chateau Hansen in China: Bruno Paumard pursues wine in ‘Grand Cru style’

Posted on | May 10, 2013 | No Comments

hansen 1-001

By Jim Boyce

Inner Mongolia operation Chateau Hansen will soon launch a new ‘Red Camel’ wine that wine maker Bruno Paumard says is made in “Grand Cru style“. I tried five Hansen wines yesterday and will write about those and the winery soon, but for now a quick post about this new bottle. Paumard says the wine is 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and production will be limited to a few thousand bottles. We tried a sample, with final bottling to be done in the next month or two. In Paumard’s words:

“Here’s the way we do it. First, the grapes came from one parcel, only planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, from [the neighboring region of] Ningxia. These vines are up to 12 years old. We have two harvests. The first is when the grapes are around 12 degrees and about one-third of the grapes are not harvested. The second is a very late harvest, when the leaves are gone and only the grapes are left and they are very dry. We made four barrels of wine with this second harvest and are keeping it new French oak for 26 months. It is very minimalist. We wait until the wine gives signs it wants to get out of the barrel. The blend is 30 percent from this second harvest and 70 percent from the first harvest.

Paumard says an exclusive contract with the vineyard provides control over the grapes and allows him to keep the site organic. “The farmers are very happy because there is no problem with disease,” he says.

The wine we tried is deep purple. The initial smell is mild faint dark fruit that steadily gains strength and intensity and includes aromas of sweet oak, vanilla and cassis. The wine is juicy and round and after a half hour became a little “chewy”. It had spiciness from mid-palate, nice tannins and a touch menthol at the finish. The wine didn’t fully open during the tasting and it would be interesting to see how it develops over a few hours or when decanted.

Paumard says he will take a half-dozen bottles to the London International Wine Fair later this month.

More of Hansen and Paumard soon.

bruno 2-001

bruno 1-001

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Wine jobs in China: The Loop wine shop in Bejing seeks manager

Posted on | May 8, 2013 | No Comments

By Jim Boyce

Soon-to-open wine shop The Loop in the Sanlitun-Gongti area seeks a manager. The position includes dealing with walk-in and established customers, arranging deliveries, organizing tastings and, no doubt, sampling quite a few bottles. The ideal candidate is able to function in Mandarin and English, has a strong interest in wine, and is available to start work when the shop opens in June. The successful candidate will be paid a salary plus commission. The Loop also seeks a part-time sales assistant.

The Loop will primarily focus on wine retail and hold occasional wine tastings, cooking classes and other events.

If interested in this position, forward your CV to Weiley Lu at luweiley (at) gmail.com

Category: Wine jobs in China

Attn F&B managers in China: ‘Sommelier’ to be an officially recognized profession

Posted on | May 6, 2013 | No Comments

By Jim Boyce

China is on the verge of designating “sommelier” –  “新职业” in Chinese — an official profession, says Tommy Lam, a driving forces behind the initiative. Lam says it has been a three-year project with the Department of Labor to get to this point and he is seeking help from those in the  food, beverage and hotel industry to finish it off. In short, he needs managers of F&B outlets to take about three minutes to fill in this short survey:

sommelier form example

You can download the survey in Word format here. Fill in the sections with red letters. Send it to tommylam (at) awi-edu.com. Then feel good about yourself for helping to make “sommelier” an official profession.

Here is Lam’s letter to the industry:

“Dear Friends in Food and Beverages and Hotel Industry,

“Re: China Sommelier Survey

“China National Sommelier Association is into the final and most important stage of founding.

“”SommelierV侍酒师” will now be included into the new edition of the “Profession Directory of China”. This will definitely give sommeliers in China proper recognition.

“We have developed a three-level accreditation system for the Labor Department, which means there will be a systematic training for floor staff, starting with simple basic beverages services, up to a certified professional sommelier.

“The final piece of work is 200 surveys.

“This survey is to find out the average number of people employed in each food and beverage establishment and hotel, and we will work out a ratio of how many beverages services staff might require one sommelier from the industry.

“A sommelier could become the KEY to your beverage and non-food revenue and the up-keeper of your beverages services standards.

“We need to have your support by filling in the survey form:

“Fill in ONLY page 3. Page 1 and 2 are a brief outlines of a sommelier’s responsibilitues. Email me back within the next week to: tommylam (at) awi-edu.com.

“This survey is in Word document format, so you can easily type in your answer.

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South hemisphere smackdown: Australia vs New Zealand blind tasting in Beijing

Posted on | May 6, 2013 | No Comments

By Jim Boyce

Call it the wine equivalent of Crowded House versus Air Supply, Edmund Hillary versus Steve Irwin, The Conchords versus Dame Edna and Les Patterson, the sheep versus the bilby.

New Zealand and Australia wines will square off in a blind tasting this Saturday at The Big Smoke in Beijing. All of the wines are imported by cool climate specialist The Wine Republic, which includes investment from The Rathbone Group in Australia.

The Aussie side will include representation from Yering Station, Hewitson and Xanadu while the Kiwis are coming at them with a team that includes Kumeu River, Seresin and Greywhacke.

The tasting is 4 PM to 6 PM and costs  rmb150 for 10 sample. At 6 PM, the staff will count the votes and declare New Zealand the winner (okay, maybe that’s just a bit presumptuous).

To book a spot, email Renee at renee (at) thewinerepublic.com.

wine republic at big smoke beijing china

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Best wine experience in Beijing? My three nominees for the Time Out awards

Posted on | May 3, 2013 | No Comments

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Temple Restaurant Beijing

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By Jim Boyce

I sat on the judges panel for the Time Out Beijing food awards this year and one of the categories up for grabs was “best wine experience“. Beijing is tricky as a wine city. A superb range of wine is available here, top restaurants tend to have diverse lists, and it is possible to attend tastings and dinners with visiting wine makers and winery owners at low cost.

On the other hand, prices are high (due to tariffs, economies of scale and other factors), sales have traditionally gone to knee-jerk Bordeaux and Chinese options, and a good wine bar scene is something we still await. Beijing has some good places, from Modo (under renovations) and Pudao Wines with their enomatic machines to hutong hideaways Palatte Vino and Vineyard Cafe to the reliable shops Jenny Lou’s and Jenny Wang’s to some of the city’s fine dining establishments — but the beer, whiskey and cocktail scenes are much healthier.

Anyway, we were asked to nominate venues for best wine experience, which meant restaurants, given food is a key part of that experience. Based on my memory of dinners and tastings past and on visits to about a dozen establishments to recheck the wine lists, these are the notes about  the three nominees I submitted to Time Out. There must have been some agreement at HQ since all three received at least a merit award.

“TEMPLE RESTAURANT BEIJING

“Wine fluidly fits into any experience at Temple, whether in the form of a bottle with dinner or Sunday brunch or a glass in the bar overlooking the venue grounds. And it fits most any budget, from lower-priced bottles such as Pikes White Mullet from Clare Valley in Australia for rmb210 and a Ferraton Pere et Fils from Cotes du Rhone in France at rmb220 to top-end Burgundy and Bordeaux for tens of thousands of rmb. In between are some 700+ wines on a list that leans toward France but not too heavily and includes more than a dozen countries thus making it possible to please most any palate. Temple has stocked some of China’s better wines, more than a dozen, including options from Grace Vineyard (Shanxi), Helan Qing Xue (Ningxia), Sunshine Valley (Gansu) and 1421 (Xinjiang). You can also splash out on Yao Ming Family Reserve for rmb12,5000. Add excellent food and service, placid surroundings, and proximity to the Forbidden City, and this ranks as a top wine experience in the city. And for those simply seeking liquid refreshment, you can order any bottle off the menu at the bar.

“GRILL 79 / ATMOSPHERE

“Beijing’s highest restaurant and bar [on the 79th and 80th floors of China World Summit Wing] also field one of the city’s most diverse wine lists. The main wine guide, at Grill 79, includes more than 600 options. There are 14 wines by the glass, including a Champagne and a rose, and a well-balanced selection from the world’s major wine regions and some minor ones, too. Those upstairs at Atmosphere Bar can enjoy bottles off the same menu, and the same spectacular views of the city, although the bar has its own by-the-glass list. The bottle prices are fair for a venue of this caliber, with Billi Billi Shiraz from Mount Langi Ghiran in Victoria in Australia at rmb340 and Warwick Old Bush Pinotage from Stellenbosch in South Africa at rmb375. The menu includes nice picks from producers like Shaw & Smith in Australia and Springfield Estates in South Africa, plenty of Grand Cru, China favorites Silver Heights and Helan Qing Xue, and seventeen wines in half-bottle format for lighter tipplers. The combination of price, choice, service and setting make for a good wine experience.

“MAISON BOULUD

“Boulud’s wine list comes in two volumes — one for whites and one for reds. There are the obvious French choices and also an impressive Champagne list, with nearly 80 options, including a good selection of vintage bubbly. The California selections are also notable for its who’s who of quality Cabernet blends from Napa Valley as well as other wines, including Cabernet Francs, Zinfindels and Pinot Noirs and bottles from northern neighbors Oregon and Washington. France, Spain and other major regions are well-represented and there are also some fun finds, whether it is in terms of grape varieties, such as Sylvaner, or countries, such as Lebanon’s Chateau Musar. There are 13 wines by the glass, starting at rmb70, and affordable bottles for around rmb300. If you want to splurge, there is a bottle of 2000 Petrus for rmb106,666. Given its historical surroundings, the food and service, and the option of imbibing in the bar, the dining room or a private space, this is a good place for a wine experience.

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Now on to the best Armagnac experience…

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Jancis Robinson Q&A: On China’s wines, Cabernet Gernischt, ‘American Wines’ & more

Posted on | May 1, 2013 | No Comments

Jancis Robinson checks a map of China.

Jancis Robinson checks a map of China.

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By Jim Boyce

English wine writer Jancis Robinson has been visiting China and its wineries for more than a decade, with her most recent trip being to Ningxia last fall to taste ~50 wines and tour the region’s operations. This week I asked her a few questions about China’s wine scene (my highlights).

What is your general impression of the progress in wine quality?

The number of good wines suddenly seemed to increase considerably a couple of years ago and is continuing to do so at a heartening rate.

When you visited Ningxia last fall, what most impressed you and what most caused you apprehension about the wine scene?

I was most impressed by the sheer number of decent wines but was apprehensive about the high yields. I felt the wines could be much better.

Some in Ningxia want to identify the region with Cabernet Gernischt (Carmenere). What do you think of that position?

I don’t think there is much point in specialising in a single variety. This would limit choice. All those countries / regions that at one stage were associated with a single variety are desperately trying to prove how versatile they are. And Carmenere is a difficult grape to love. Too tough and green! It’s also quite difficult to ripen properly — especially at high crop levels.

If you had to pick one wine that you have tried from China to show the potential of the country, what wine would it be?

Silver Heights, Emma’s Reserve 2009 — but I am probably out of date. I dare say there is a new raft of good wine being produced which I have not yet tasted.

The World Atlas of Wine, written with Hugh Johnson, is the most recent of your books translated into Chinese. Are you planning any more translations?

Yes, the book that came out in March by me and Linda Murphy called American Wine will be published in Chinese.

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Also from Grape Wall:

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