Grape Wall of China

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

A Shovel-full of your finest, please

According to this story, Earth-eating Girl Tilts At Guinness Record, an Inner Mongolian woman has her stomach set on eating dirt for two months: The girl, called Wuqibalaqiqige, became a minor celebrity after the media broadcast stories about her curious eating habits last year… The girl said she feels no need to eat normal food [...]

Put on your Rose-colored glasses at La Baie des Anges

Bacchus Wines is teaming up with Houhai’s La Baie des Anges, co-runner up in the TBJ awards‘ best wine list category, for a Rose competition: Cotes du Rhones Sud versus Cotes de Provence. The event starts at 8 PM (100 kuai). Here’s the lineup: Domaine des Pasquiers – Vin de Pays du Vaucluse 2006 Domaine [...]

Excellence in the Garden of Delights

It seems China World Hotel’s Aria isn’t the only local establishment being recognized by Wine Spectator. Wangfujing-based Garden of Delights – which has one of our city’s more spectacular interior designs – reports that the magazine has awarded it a 2007 Award of Excellence. Look for a Trimbach wine tasting in the Garden next month [...]

Wine Spectator ranks Aria’s wine high

Word has it that China World Hotel bar Aria will be recognized in Wine Spectator magazine’s August issue as having one of the world’s best wine lists. I’ll have more on this in the coming week. The recognition comes on the heels of China-based Don St. Pierre Jr of ASC Fine Wines being included in [...]

Glass act: Bordeaux-style beauties for 10 kuai

All you need is wine… Faced with a wine tasting in my home in two days and a glass collection devastated since that last purchase over a year ago at the long-gone Riverside Cafe, I went on a shopping mission last week. M-Dawg and Pony suggested the Flower Market and I hit pay dirt there. [...]

Winery tour: Taillan in photos

Pictures, pictures, pictures – that’s my friend Kraft-D’s advice for this blog. Last night, I dug up a few dozen from a November 2005 trip to Taillan, a winery just outside Beijing. Sequoia Cafe owner Frank Siegel and the American Community Club co-organized the trip (for full details, see Tying One on at Taillan). General [...]

A taste of Australia

I popped over to The Wine Cellar (Henderson Center, 3F) and met Garry Anderson, who is with both Auswine Alliance and Beijing GLP, which are representing Australian family-owned vineyards. Garry plans to open a few bottles of wine each Thursday afternoon from 4 to 7 for those who want to give them a try. Upcoming [...]

Interview: “The Frank”

Some know him for opening one of Beijing’s first non-hotel bars – the creatively named Frank’s Place (1990). Some know him for his later establishment – John Bull Pub. And yet others know him as the Tuesday night quizmaster. What fewer know is that during the past year, Frank Siegel has built a Beijing wine [...]

Media: “Shanxi takes on wine world”

Thanks to GS for forwarding a South China Morning Post article about China’s Grace Vineyard – Shanxi takes on wine world – by Mark Graham (registration required). I think these two paragraphs sum things up: In less than five years, Grace Vineyard, located in out-of-the-way Shanxi province has not only turned into a profitable venture, it also is [...]

Big draw at Big 9

The first two times I went to Big 9, it was emptier than a bottle of Veuve Cliquot at my friend E-Salt’s house after New Year’s. Imagine my surprise as the place bubbled over with 40-plus people one recent Friday night. Yes, the wine was free, but it was nice to see such a good mix of [...]

Salzburg Showdown: Kracher Vs. Schandl

Oliver Sedlinger, Stefan Fleischer, his friend Vera and I tried some Austrian wines a few weeks ago. (Disclosure: Oliver’s friend makes the Schandl wines tried and Palette Vino, where Stefan works, distributes them.) First was a Schandl Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, the first Austrian red I’ve tasted. It had tobacco, spice and black cherry on the [...]

Fine monkey wine

You can teach monkeys many things, but I doubt that making booze is among them. It’s something they need to discover on their own. (By the way, who wants to bet how long it will be before a local scientist claims that the monkeys in China were doing this at least a thousand years before [...]

On the Loosen

I went to Summergate‘s wine tasting at the Hilton last week and it was a big mistake. I tried four wines from Dr. Loosen – a Pinot Noir and three Rieslings – and talked to the man – Dr. Ernst Loosen – himself. I found the wines interesting and took lots of notes. And I [...]

Frankly tasting: Five new world sparklers

Frank Siegel poured five “new world” sparkling wines at his last Friday night tasting and I popped in to give them a try. While 15 people signed up for the event, some 30-plus came through the doors, which while it’s a good sign that the tasting was popular, such situations can make things hard for Frank in terms of [...]

Barossa Ben, Melbourne’d Meat and Kangaroo Cuts

Poor Perri Kane – an unlucky day for the Australian brand manager at Palette as she found herself sitting across from me at her company’s media tasting for winemaker Ben Glaetzer at China World‘s Aria. Of the dozen-plus people there, I knew the least about wine. Unfortunately, I lack the software that causes most people in this situation to meekly sip vino, laugh [...]

Grace under pressure: Q&A with winery CEO Judy Leissner

Yesterday, I emailed Grace Vineyard President Judy Leissner with five quick queries and the answers were back faster than it takes for a bottle of wine to breath. I’ve been a Grace fan since trying the Cabernet Sauvignon at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Beijing last fall. It fared well in my first blind tasting [...]

Say Grace: The search for seven good Chinese wines (part 1)

Note: I will post the notes from the second blind tasting shortly. Action scene from my at-home blind tasting of Chinese wines (more pics below) I’ve received numerous emails from people who are either: 1) curious about Chinese wine but unsure where to start, or 2) cynical about Chinese wine after a bad experience or [...]

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  • About Grape Wall of China

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  • Grape Wall Contributors


    In alphabetical order (see full list)


    Nicolas Carre
    Sommelier


    Chantal Chi
    Writer


    Yvonne Chiong
    Sommelier, consultant


    Judy Leissner
    Grace Vineyard CEO


    Li Demei
    Wine maker


    Huiqin Ma
    Professor


    Campbell Thompson
    The Wine Republic co-owner


    Frankie Zhao
    Pro-Wine Training & Consultancy owner


    Jim Boyce
    Consumer, blog administrator