Say Grace: Winery marks tenth year

There’s general consensus that the best Chinese wine, both in terms of quality and value, is from Grace Vineyard in Shanxi province. Congratuations to the winery, then, as it celebrates its tenth anniversary today. I’d hoped to attend the festivities, but as with the Shanghai International Wine and Spirits Fair, duty called – such is life. [...]

Books: Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book 2008

I picked up Hugh Johnson‘s Pocket Wine Book 2008 over the weekend. Just in case anyone is interested, the section on China covers one-fifth of a page out of more than 300 pages [my comments are in square brackets]: With nearly 5% of world production, China is the sixth-largest producer and continues to increase by 15% [...]

Media: China fakes Canada on ice wine

Here’s a story to make a wine lover shiver: When a friend complimented Niagara winemaker Allan Schmidt for successfully cracking the icewine market in mainland China, Schmidt dismissed it: He wasn’t selling his wine in China, he said. But the friend persisted. He said he was sure he’d seen Schmidt’s Vineland Estates icewine for sale there. [...]

BB Cued: Merlot or Malbec with Cherry Popsicles?

Note: I’m still finishing my notes from the August 9 lectures at Beijing’s wine workshop (see the first three posts: China Wine 101, Shop ‘Til You Pop and Taste, with Chinese characteristics). I hope to have them up with a week. China Radio International interviewed me earlier this year about – acquaintances in the wine sector gasp with horror! – wine. [...]

Wine Workshop III: Taste, with Chinese characteristics

I attended seven lectures and tasted 14 local wines on August 9, the second day of the International Workshop on the Wine Market in China, held in Beijing. I’ll post notes all week. Here’s a shocker: Chinese people drink wine to get drunk. That statement might trigger eye rolls from more than a few people who [...]

Wine Workshop II: Shop ’til you pop

I attended seven lectures and tasted fourteen local wines on August 9, the second day of the International Workshop on the Wine Market in China, held in Beijing. I’ll post notes all week. Getting wine to China is one thing, getting consumers to pull the cork on a purchase is quite another. Huiqin Ma, associate [...]

Wine workshop I: China wine 101

I attended seven lectures and tasted fourteen local wines on August 9, the second day of the International Workshop on the Wine Market in China, held in Beijing. I’ll post notes all week. The workshop was at China Agricultural University near Beijing’s Fifth Ring Road. It’s the boondocks if you live downtown as I do, but once there – and [...]

Going to market: China wine workshop

I cashed in some annual leave yesterday to attend the International Workshop on the Wine Market in China, held in Beijing, and it was time well spent. Insightful lectures on the buying behaviors of local consumers, lessons for foreign winemakers looking to partner with China distributors, and government policies that impact foreign wines were capped [...]

Riedel: A glass of any other shape

My body has filtered its fair share of wine during the past decade, but it was only a few weeks ago at The Bookworm that I finally attended a Riedel tasting. Riedel makes expensive machine- and hand-made crystal wine glasses in dozens of shapes. The glass for Merlot is different than the glass for Bordeaux, [...]

Wine workshop: Three days in Beijing

Get out your acronym finder as CAU (China Agricultural University), CSV (Chinese Society for Viticulture), CADIA (China Alcoholic Drinks Industry Association) and OIV (International Organization of Vine and Wine) team up for the International Workshop on the Chinese Wine Market and Wine-related Products, August 8 to 10 in Beijing. Day 1 features a visit to [...]

Interview: Eddie Osterland

In 1972, Eddie Osterland became America’s first master sommelier, and is today one of 87 in the United States.* I sat in on his recent wine master class, sponsored by ASC Fine Wines and held the St. Regis Hotel in Beijing, and will have notes on his (sometimes unorthodox) serving methods. For now, here are snippets [...]