Grape Wall of China

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

In China’s Outback: Australian Lilian Carter on making wine in Xinjiang

~ By Jim Boyce This fall, Lillian Carter started her second China adventure when she headed to Xinjiang winery Wang Zhong, a six-hour drive south of capital city Urumqi, and followed up on the vintages she did at Pernod Ricard winery Helan Mountain in Ningxia in 2008 and 2009.  Carter, who has worked at Oakridge Wines [...]

Ningxia Wine Challenge Q&A: Winemaker Craig Grafton of Helan Mountain

In the lead up to the Ningxia Wine Challenge, we are posting some expert views of this region of China, including from professor Ma Huiqin and winemakers Emma Gao and Lilian Carter. Here is another one, from winemaker Craig Grafton, an Australian who has worked since 2011 for Pernod Ricard in Ningxia at its joint [...]

Ningxia Wine Challenge Q&A: Winemaker Emma Gao on lessons learned, grape sourcing and Cabernet Gernischt

By Jim Boyce Emma Gao is the winemaker at Silver Heights, a family-owned operation that she runs with her father and sister in Ningxia and that has gained a reputation for making some of China’s best wines since the first vintage in 2007. The Chinese edition of La Revue du Vin de France recently named [...]

Ningxia Wine Challenge Q&A: Professor Ma Huiqin on grapes, marketing and more

By Jim Boyce Professor Ma Huiqin of China Agricultural University is not only an expert on wine marketing and grape molecular biology, but also for more than a decade has taught a wine appreciation course at the school. Since finishing her postdoctoral studies at South Africa’s Stellenbosch University, Ma has completed stints at the ESA [...]

Ningxia Wine Challenge Q&A: Lilian Carter on working at Helan Mountain winery

By Jim Boyce To give some perspective to winemakers interested in applying for the Ningxia Wine Challenge, we are featuring some interviews with people involved in the Ningxia wine scene. First up is winemaker Lillian Carter, who worked from August 2008 to December 2009 as winemaker / winery manager for Pernod Ricard at Helan Mountain [...]

China wine word: Opus One CEO David Pearson on fakes, strategies and styles

By Jim Boyce I met David Pearson, CEO of Opus One, and Yvonne Chiong-Mougin, the company’s Asia export manager, in Beijing yesterday to talk about the winery and its position in China. Pearson told me the company’s biggest market in Asia is Japan, with three to four times more volume than China, including Hong Kong, [...]

Grape Wall Q&A: Wine Enthusiast’s Adam Strum on YesMyWine partnership, China mag

By Jim Boyce U.S.-based publisher Wine Enthusiast and China-based online retailer YesMyWine recently agreed to team up on a digital magazine and a wine accessories website (for  more details, see here). I asked Wine Enthusiast Chairman Adam Strum five questions about this deal and about his take on the China wine scene. Here they are [...]

Grape Wall Q&A: Decanter’s Sarah Kemp talks about Asia Wine Awards

By Jim Boyce Decanter announced today that it will launch a new competition, the Asia Wine Awards, on May 29 during Vinexpo Asia-Pacific. I asked Sarah Kemp, publishing director of Decanter, a few quick questions about the contest via email. Here they are (my highlights): Boyce: There is nothing stopping a winery from entering the [...]

Wine Word: Frank Yglesias of California Grapes on wine in China

 ~ By Jim Boyce I recently met with Frank Yglesias of California Grapes International in his office here in Beijing. We talked about issues facing importers, the wines in the CGI portfolio, and his plans to open California wine bar here in May. He agreed to do a longer interview via email. Here it is: What [...]

Wine word: Don St. Pierre Jr., CEO of China-based distributor ASC

China-based wine importer and distributor ASC opened an ambitious project called The Wine Gallery last week (see write-up here). CEO Don St. Pierre Jr. was up from Shanghai for the event and I asked him three questions. 1. ASC opened The Wine Residence in Shanghai several years ago but it has more of a club [...]

China Wine Word: Julia Zhu, sommelier at Hilton Beijing

By Jim Boyce Julia Zhu, sommelier at Beijing Hilton, honed her wine skills in Canada, where she received her certification from the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers and spent three years working at the Hilton Toronto. I asked her about the wine scene in China, her favorite tastings in Beijing, the upcoming Hilton Food & [...]

Alder Yarrow of Vinography: Wine and Chinese food pairings as a ‘scam’, four overdone wine topics, and more

By Jim Boyce – Alder Yarrow of Vinography is often cited as among the most popular wine blogs, if not the most popular wine blog, in the world. I asked him about whether pairing wine with Chinese food is a “scam”, the four most overdone wine topics, the difference between wine bloggers and professional wine [...]

Jeff Gao: Why Chinese buy Bordeaux, wines for beginners, and more

By Jim Boyce – Jeffrey Gao is a BD executive with a global IP networking technology firm, but his passion lies with wine and music (the NBA comes a close third). Born and raised in Beijing, he lived in the United States for 17 years and spent 10 of them in the Bay Area, where [...]

Charles Carrard on wine distribution in China: Shifts, prospects, the “dumping ground” mindset, and more

By Jim Boyce – Charles Carrard is the director of north China for French Wine Paradox, which handles about 500 different wines in China, employs 200 people, and has its headquarters in Hangzhou and branches in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. I talked to him about the swiftly changing wine distribution market, the fastest growing [...]

‘Bad Boy’ Jean-Luc Thuvenin: Man versus mud, making wine in China, and more

By Jim Boyce – Chateau Valandraud‘s Jean-Luc Thuvenin, the first to create controversial “garage” wines (vin de garage) in the 1990s in Bordeaux and later dubbed the “bad boy” by leading wine critic Robert Parker, visited Beijing last Friday and shared two bottles of wine with a group of 15 people at Maxim’s of Paris. [...]

Wine Word: Consumer Brian Yao

By Jim Boyce Wine consumer Brian Yao hails from southern China but has lived in Beijing for about 8 years and has worked in the IT/Telecom industry for about 20 years. He became interested in wine about 18 months ago and talked to me about his favorite events, and places to buy wine, among other [...]

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 [...]

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  • About Grape Wall of China

    beijing-boyce-grape-wall-of-china-logo

    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