Beijing Blues: The Rise and Fall of a Wine Festival
Once upon a time in Beijing, sommelier Philip Osenton held 51 wine glasses in one hand. It would have set a Guinness world record had we followed …
The Last Uh-Huh: Quirky Beijing Wine Bar to Close
A quirky wine bar named uh-huh will close this Friday as its initial two-year lease ends. Based near the hutongs—those traditional alleyways of Beijing—uh-huh was opened by Sophie …
Sales Tactics: Crashing Double 11 with 100 Tastings
Today symbolizes China’s biggest annual shopping spree. November 11 is known as Double Eleven or Singles Day—due to the “ones” in the date—but this annual shopping spree / …
Q&8: Buoyed by Success, Camden Hauge Brings More Chinese Wine to New York
It’s one thing to export wine. It’s another to sell enough to need a second shipment. Such repeat business has often proven fleeting for Chinese …
Q&8: Importer KC Wines Doubles Down in China
It seems every week I hear someone say the “natural wines trend” is in decline in China, that sales are tough, that a specialized wine …
Top Flight: Blackswan tops China Wine List of the Year Awards
Beijing restaurant Blackswan took top spot at this year’s China’s Wine List of the Year Awards. Along with the best wine menu in continental China, …
Just Say No: China Daily’s Anti-Alcohol Op-Ed
A teetotaler movement is probably the last thing China’s struggling wine industry needs. Thus, this headline from China Daily will get a chilled reception from the trade: “Liquor drinking …
Same Old, Same Old? The Economist’s China Wine Story
(This article first appeared in the free Grape Wall newsletter. Sign up here.) The Economist‘s recent story “Wine from China is finer than Western snobs …
Puchang Power: China’s Quirky Vineyards
Cabernet Sauvignon is associated with Bordeaux and Pinot Noir with Burgundy, but you can find them side-by-side in the same vineyard—in the middle of a desert—in China. The …
Budget Bottles: China Wines Under RMB100
During the Golden Week holidays, I organized a tasting focused on Chinese wines priced below RMB100 / US$14, a key price point in China. The …