Grape Wall of China

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

The Plimpton effect: Joining the pros for 340 wines in 3 days

By Jim Boyce – The book Paper Lion recounts the experience of George Plimpton who tried out for the Detroit Lions football team. The climax comes after three weeks of training when Plimpton is sent into a practice game to quarterback five plays. He fails miserably – he drops the ball on one play, overthrows [...]

Wine Word: Patricio de la Fuente Saez on 1831 Y’Quem, 1917 shipwreck Champagne, and more

By Jim Boyce On Monday, I posted the first part of an interview with Patricio de la Fuente Saez, managing director of Links Concept, about the company’s business strategy, the wine sector’s prospects for 2009, and more. Much more fun is this second part of the interview, which covers the best tastings he has attended [...]

Grape Press: Aussie wine in China, Hong Kong auctions, ‘Food & Wine Year”

A few China wine-related items from the Net… – China among few bright spots for Aussie wine exporters While the Australian wine sector faces a crisis, including its first major decline in export volume and value in years, Hong Kong and mainland China rank among the few positive markets: Rare bright spots included China, which [...]

Wine Word: ‘Wine is Beautful’ blogger Rebecca Leung

By Jim Boyce Hong Kong-based Rebecca Leung is author of the Wine is Beautiful blog, has written about wine for numerous print publications, hosts an online wine program, has judged at numerous tastings, and most recently was selected to take part in the Landmark Australia tutorial. I asked her about how she started in wine, [...]

Wine Word: Patricio de la Fuente Saez of Links Concept

By Jim Boyce In late November, I met Patricio de la Fuente Saez, managing director of Links Concept, which expanded its China presence by opening Shanghai and Beijing offices in 2008. I later interviewed him about how he got into the business, the strategy of moving into second-tier cities in China before entering Shanghai and [...]

Off the Bund: Marcus Ford to spearhead new wine bar

Note: The shop will focus on retail, rather than be a wine bar, though there will be tastings and some space to enjoy a purchase. Shanghai residents can expect a new wine bar in the French Concession come spring. Marcus Ford, after a decade of service at M on the Bund, is leaving to become [...]

Grape Wall of China: Back at the press

By Jim Boyce Posts have been few and far between of late. Blame it on my two-week holiday in Canada, the crush of projects I faced upon returning to Beijing that ate into my limited blogging time, and the hacking of this site that made it impossible for me to get access. (Thanks to IT [...]

Wine weekend Beijing: Two tasty events to test your palate

The best way to learn about wine is to taste, taste, and taste some more. Here are two events this weekend that will let you do that with minimal cost: 1. Palette Wines will hold a tasting of 50 different wines on Saturday, January 17, from 2-9 PM, at its new shop near Dongsi Shitao. [...]

  • 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