Grape Wall of China

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

Acker et al auction in Hong Kong: Got a few million to spare?

By Jim Boyce If you enjoy wine and have some spare change, you might want to head to Hong Kong tomorrow for the first Asian auction held by American firm Acker Merrall & Condit (Asia). Says the company in its sizable catalog, “we expect a tremendous turnout for what will be the largest wine auction [...]

‘Global Wine Extravaganza’ – 100 wines for 150 kuai

By Jim Boyce I wrote it before and I will write it again: consumers in Beijing enjoy amazing value when it comes to wine tasting. One recent trend is that of wine distributors offering up good chunk of their portfolios for tasting at minimal cost. Over the past seven months, the city’s imbibers have enjoyed: [...]

Tasting time: Beijing

Upcoming Beijing wine-related events Tuesday, May 27-Thursday, May 29, 9:30 AM-6:30 PM, Hong Kong Exhibition Center Vinexpo Asia-Pacific, international wine and spirits exhibitions for trade professionals. Friday, May 30, 7-8:30 PM, Bento & Berries (Kerry Centre Hotel), free Deutz Champagne tasting, by Top Cellar; RSVP with Cedric at marketing@topcellar.com.cn / 13439-467-514. Friday, May 30, 6:30 [...]

Wine Word – Robert Parker in Beijing

By Jim Boyce Parker makes for a memorable Monday morning (photo: ASC) Making his first visit to mainland China, critic Robert Parker led 50 people on a “trade tasting” of eight wines in Beijing on Monday at ASC, the distribution company that organized his trip to Shanghai and the capital. Parker says he looks for [...]

Peking Parker and the Great Wall of China: The Secret of ‘Big Bob’

By Jim Boyce \ The Robert Parker Dinner – 8:08 PM, May 24, The Great Wall of China, Beijing Watchtowers lit in gold, walkways lit in silver – the Great Wall shone like an ornate necklace draped over a mountain of wrinkled black velvet. Long-silenced iron cannons pointed at the ghosts of invading hordes, white [...]

Red versus white: The grape grapple in China

By Huiqin Ma Chinese consumers buy nearly nine times more red wine than white wine. One common explanation is that the color red denotes good fortune in Chinese culture, thus making wine of that color more popular. I doubt this. After all, Chinese rice wine, Chinese liquor and most Chinese beer are clear or light-colored, [...]

Tasting time: Beijing

Note: I have about 30 posts just or nearly finished in the queue, so expect a slew of posts about the Robert Parker visit, recent tastings, developments in China’s wine scene and more over the new few weeks – JB. Upcoming Beijing wine-related events Thursday, May 22, 7 PM, Summer Palace (China World), RMB2008 “Road [...]

Beijing: Tasting time – The Olympics, Parker, Guigal, Leissner, and more

Upcoming Beijing wine-related events Thursday, May 15, 7:30 PM, Bookworm, RMB180 Australian wine tasting, 6 wines from 3 regions, by The Wine Republic; RSVP at 5869-7050 / events@thewinerepublic.com. (Note: RMB100 of each fee will go to the Red Cross for earthquake relief efforts in Sichuan.) Friday, May 16, 7-8:30 PM, Bento & Berries (Kerry Centre [...]

Wine word – Beijing’s Jenn Hinkle

By Jim Boyce From organizing events to visiting wineries to creating a newsletter, Jenn Hinkle has been a fixture on the local wine scene. Here’s her take on wine and Beijing. How did you get involved in the Beijing wine scene? I moved to Beijing from Seattle, where there was a huge wine culture due [...]

Vive le value: Some French wine picks in Beijing

By Jim Boyce My truest test of which wines are “good value” to me is whether or not I buy them or recommend them to friends and readers. I have done so many times with wines such as Grace Vineyard Chardonnay (RMB60/Torres) and Heartland Shiraz (RMB150 / Palette) – I find the first good for [...]

Translation: 英国葡萄酒大腕Jancis Robinson谈中国葡萄酒

By Ma Huiqin (The translation below first appeared here. The original interview in English is here.) 我的朋友Jim Boyce在3月5日采访了英国的葡萄酒大腕Jancis Robinson 原文见：http://www.grapewallofchina.com/page/3/，我的两个三年级的本科生赵丹和刘茜做了翻译，我对文稿进行远不完美的审阅和校对，我想这样的交流有利于我们跨过语言的障碍，倾听不同的声音。 昨晚，我在北京港澳中心瑞士酒店的Flow休闲吧对来自英国的著名葡萄酒作家简妮丝·罗宾逊（Jancis Robinson）进行了短暂的访谈。罗宾逊女士拥有一个广受欢迎的葡萄酒网站（Web site），她还为《金融时报》每周撰写一篇专栏，负责《牛津葡萄酒词典》的编辑工作，并且和另一位世界知名的葡萄酒作家休·约翰逊合作撰写了《世界葡萄酒大全》一书。 问：在本次访问中国期间，您在葡萄酒领域发现了什么变化吗？ 答：这是我第三次来中国，三次访问分别在2002、2003和今年。我有点失望，因为在我看来中国葡萄酒的品质并没有进一步的提高。酒在风格上仍是波尔多一般葡萄酒的稀释版，而这种类型的酒是目前世界上最难卖的。 上海米氏餐厅Marcus Ford和他的朋友组织了一场有15款红葡萄酒的盲品。我想说的是它们都不是能让我眼前特别一亮的葡萄酒，尽管有三四个还算相当不错。出于我对中国人的工作态度和决心的信任，我曾经希望，这些酒会展示出最近五年来的进步，但结果并非如我所期待。 问：您去过中国的哪些葡萄酒产区，它们是否与您的预想相同？ 答：我2003年去过新天和几个河北的酒厂，昨天去了怡园。当然，西部地区的地形是完全不同的。 从规模上来说——新天有大面积的葡萄园，那些农户的葡萄园看起来不是为农民所有，而是归新天所有，而怡园酒庄周边有农民承包的土地。 问：你对中国葡萄酒和所使用的酿酒葡萄品种的总体印象是什么？ 答：说到葡萄品种，除了赤霞珠和美乐你很难尝到其它的。说实在的，我想不出还有哪个国家像这样拥有如此广大的葡萄栽培面积，却只种植了极少的品种。 最常见的葡萄酒的风格，干瘦干瘦的，红色而单宁感强，是最糟糕的配中国菜的酒。 问：您会给初涉葡萄酒的中国人什么样的建议？ 答：我想说的是不要听信广告，而应该尝试多种不同风格的葡萄酒。根据你所吃的食物，可以尝试一款果香浓郁的白葡萄酒，甚至一款果香饱满的红葡萄酒。不要认为葡萄酒一定得是赤霞珠或者美乐品种。鲁信博士牌雷司令（美夏代理）的亲和性很好。不少业内人士告诉我，如果拿这款酒送人，人们会很喜欢。 笔记：我随身带了2003水晶干白和2005玫瑰蜜各一瓶，这两款酒都是云南红的产品，而且都是用杂交葡萄品种酿制的。鲁宾逊快评如下：玫瑰蜜配菜可能有一点偏甜，但是它在入门级的酒中是非常棒的。水晶干白的香气对我而言实在是太不熟悉了，非欧洲种葡萄的特点非常突出。 有关简妮丝·罗宾逊关于中国的更多信息，请参见‘中国的葡萄栽培与酿酒’The vinification of China和‘我的中国冒险 II’ My Chinese adventures – Part II。《城市周报快递》This City Weekend post包括一个博客空间以及对罗宾逊女士最近在上海国际文学节上讲话的记录。 感谢港澳中心瑞士酒店提供品酒的玻璃杯（顺便提一下，我发现在每周二、三、四下午5:30到7:3在Flow休闲酒吧会有买一增一特别的活动。）访谈结束后，我与酒店的 Dominik Hager 以及Nathan Wang [...]

Wine word: Beijing consumer’s view – Pat Fromm

By Jim Boyce Formerly employed in the U.S. wine sector, Pat Fromm has been an active consumer in the Beijing scene. I asked her about her experiences both here and at home. You worked in the U.S. wine sector before moving to China. What did you do? When alcoholic beverages moved from state-owned to private [...]

Tasting time: Beijing

By Jim Boyce Upcoming Beijing wine-related events Thursday, May 8, 7-9 PM, Med (Block 8), RMB100 Ladies Wine Club, with Italian wines and five-course meal; contact Kristen at lum.kristen@gmail.com. Thursday, May 8, 7-8:30 PM, Amigo (Central Park), free Chilean wine festival, with 16 wines, by Top Cellar; RSVP with Cedric at marketing@topcellar.com.cn / 13439-467-514. Thursday, [...]

Latour lunch: Chateau GM Frederic Engerer

By Jim Boyce I joined six Chinese wine writers on April 26 for lunch with Chateau Latour GM Frederic Engerer. Organized by ASC at the Hyatt’s Made in China restaurant in Beijing, the event saw us try his 1995 and 2001 wines with Chinese dishes, including Beijing duck, and discuss Chateau Latour in particular and [...]

Wine roundup: Terra Mater tasting, Pinot Le Cellar anniversary

By Jim Boyce The Friday night tasting (RMB100) at Sequoia Café in Sanlitun two weeks ago featured Chilean wines from Terra Mater. We worked our way through a Chardonnay, Merlot, Sangiovese and Zinfandel-Shiraz and two Sauvignon Blanc. My favorites were the Terra Mater Sauvignon Blanc 2006 (dry grass and crisp fruits on the nose, and [...]

  • About Grape Wall of China

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    A nonprofit collaborative blog


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    Email: beijingboyce at yahoo.com

  • 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