Grape Wall of China

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

Aussie wines in China: Moss Wood, Henschke, Hewitson, and more

Posted on | December 4, 2011 | No Comments

Forget smelling "forest floor". I can see it. (laytons.uk.co)

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By Jim Boyce

Pudao Wines in Beijing held a free tasting of Australian wines on Saturday as writer Jeremy Oliver visited ahead of the launch of the upcoming Chinese-language edition of his Australian Wine Annual. The bottles were supplied by China-based distributors The Wine Republic, Torres and Summergate, with the latter closely tied to Pudao Wines. Alberto Fernandez, GM of Torres China, was on hand and said his company plans to open its first Everwines retail shop in Beijing early next year.

As for the wines, my favorite was Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 2007: intense black fruit and oak, with a smooth body — I wrote “milky” for some reason — that punches above its weight. I also liked the Henschke ‘Innes Vineyard’ Pinot Gris 2008, with stone fruit, tropical fruit, melon and spice smells, though I picked up some diesel that reminded me of a Riesling.

More wines:

  • Yalumba Viognier 2010: highly aromatic; wanted to dab it behind someone’s ears.
  • d’Arenberg “Laughing Magpie” Shiraz-Viognier 2008: I wrote “a lurking spiced licorice intensity mixed with some forest floor.” Hmmm.
  • Grosset Gaia 2006: This one seemed to get dominated by some of the other reds…
  • Hewitson Old Garden Mouverde 2009: Several people picked this as the favorite.
  • Rockford Grenche-Mataro-Shiraz: big and ripe, with something sharp in there — more forest floor? A stick from that floor?
  • De Bortoli Pinot Noir 2007: funky but a bit tired. For some reason, this one made me hum the theme to Mod Squad…
Category: Uncategorized

China wine labels: Does ‘E-mail’ wine deserve save or delete?

Posted on | November 29, 2011 | No Comments

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Forget wine scores out of 20 or 100. Here’s a bottle of “E-mail” Dry Red Wine from Great Wall that you could simply designate as “save” or “delete“. Or stick in the spam box. Then again, if you rate it high, it only seems fair to forward it as a recommendation.

I spotted this bottle at Great Wall in Hebei Province and imagine it dates a few years. Who knows? Maybe there is a Weibo White, a Baidu Bordeaux Blend or an iRhone in the works. And if you want to see a much racier label from China, check this out.

By the way, I’ll have part two of the Great Wall visit up soon. You can see part one here.

Note: You can follow me on Twitter here, Facebook here or Weibo here.

Category: Uncategorized

Australia Wine Annual: Jeremy Oliver releases Chinese-language edition, to host Beijing events

Posted on | November 29, 2011 | No Comments

Writer Jeremy Oliver is doing a series of events to launch the Chinese-language version of his 2012 Australian Wine Annual.

In Beijing, Oliver will be at Pudao Wines on December 3 from 3:30 3 Pm to 6 5 PM for a free tasting of eight Australian wines from d’Arenberg, Yalumba, Grosset, Hewitson, Moss Wood, Rockford, De Bortoli and Henschke.

On December 4, Room Beijing will host a dinner, with chef Brian McKenna putting together the menu and Oliver introducing wines from Yarrabank, Mount Langi, Tyrell, Yering Station, Henschke, Vasse Felix and Noble One. The five-course meal is rmb888 per person. RSVP at grm (at) room-beijing.com.

See also:

Category: Uncategorized

Bidder up: Notes from a Bordeaux-heavy wine auction in Beijing

Posted on | November 28, 2011 | No Comments

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By Jim Boyce

I went to a wine auction in Beijing on Saturday because: a) fellow Grape Wall guy Nicolas Carre invited me, b) the venue, Zun Club near Workers Stadium, is across the street from my apartment, and c) I have not attended such a sale before. This one was organized by magazine Wine World, or at least the company that publishes it, and lasted about three hours. There were about 100 to 120 attendess, although only a small minority made any bids, which were projected on a screen in RMB, Euros and Pounds — the USD function did not seem to be working.

There were one or two bids for many of the 90-plus lots and several people told me prices for longstanding favorite Lafite Rothschild were low. A case of 1982 Lafite went slightly above the minimum of rmb560,000, still higher than the rmb436,000 listed on the Bordeaux Index, though law-abiding continental China residents would face tariffs and duties of nearly 50 percent if they wanted to bring it in — unless they did it two bottles at a time duty-free.

Anyway, I don’t follow wine auctions closely, so I have no idea if big bidders were present or not (or even whether some bids were attempts to build momentum), if the products were attractive enough, etc, so no grand statements about this event. Just wanted to share some winning bids I recorded on Saturday when I wasn’t shooting the breeze with other attendees who forget their duffel bags of cash at home (for exact bids, it’s best to contact the auction company).

A bottle of 1958 Chateau Lafite Rothschild went for rmb18,000 (minimum bid 15,000 / listed market rate 40,000), while three bottles of 1966 Lafite went for rmb17,000, rmb16,000 and rmb15,000 respectively (rmb15,000 / rmb40,000). A 12-bottle case of 1973 Lafite went for 130,000 (115,000 / 200,000). DRC Romanee-Conti 1969, 1974, 1980 and 1982 sold for around the minimum bids of rmb70,000 to rmb80,000 per bottle.

Category: Jim Boyce

Another French connection? Re a Cheval Blanc vineyard in China

Posted on | November 26, 2011 | No Comments

By Jim Boyce

A very famous Bordeaux Château is about to announce a major investment in China.’ This was Li De Mei’s tantalising sign-off at the end of perhaps the most relevant of many presentations given at a recent get-together of international wine luminaries in Hong Kong, WineFuture. Could this be connected to the rumour that Pierre Lurton, director of LVMH’s Châteaux Cheval Blanc and d’Yquem, has been overseeing vine plantings near the Tibetan border? I certainly spotted Cheval’s public relations person at the conference.

- Jancis Robinson, “Wine Advances in China” (November 19)

Several people have asked me about the above post by wine writer Jancis Robinson (click on the link for more of her China notes from the recent WineFuture conference in Hong Kong). To be honest, I don’t have any contacts at Cheval Blanc, nor have I made any scouting trips to the Tibetan border, but I can share the scuttlebutt I have heard from local and foreign acquaintances in the wine business here.

Word is the Cheval Blanc operation will be in Yunnan Province, near the border with Tibet, and make it relative neighbors with the Shangri-La operation already producing better-than-average wine. The mix of soil, terrain and temperature make it promising for wine though the amount of land is quite limited compared to what is available in regions such as Ningxia and Xinjiang. One major benefit: unlike in those places, the vines need not be buried in the winter to protect them from the cold. I’m told the Cheval Blanc operation will be a blend of existing and new plantings.

First Lafite, then Moet-Chandon, now (I hear) Cheval Blanc? Who’s next? (Frankly, I

Finally, in re to Wine Future, here is my long-distance take:

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Note: You can follow me on Twitter here, Facebook here or Weibo here.

Category: Uncategorized

China winery photo essay: Great Wall in Hebei Province

Posted on | November 24, 2011 | 1 Comment

By Jim Boyce

Great Wall is part of COFCO, a Fortune Global 500 company, and produces over 100 million bottles of wine per year. COFCO also buys wineries overseas, with relatively recent purchases in Chile and France, sponsors major events, including the Beijing Olympics and Shanghai World Expo, and is involved in everything from wine clubs to importing wine to local brands Chateau SunGod and Chateau Junding.

I  joined wine maker and professor Li Demei on a trip to the Great Wall operation in Hebei Province, just outside Beijing, a few years ago. Below are eight photos from the journey and of the vineyard. I have two more Great Wall posts coming: one about the cellar and the other about the production facilities.

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No, there's not a second lesser-known wall called “Gret”. It's just a typo. The real thing is straight ahead.

If you are going to be stuck in traffic, you might as well be looking at one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

We had a hearty lunch before heading to the vineyard.

We had a hearty lunch before heading to the vineyard.

Grapes share the land with crops such as corn.

The right canopy has been trimmed, the left one has not, to see the effects.

The rows are far enough apart that a tractor can drive through.

This indicates how high soil must be piled on the vine to protect it during winter.

Inspecting Dragon's Eye grapes...

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More Great Wall posts are coming soon…

Category: Uncategorized

North by Northwest China Wine Challenge: The Winners

Posted on | November 14, 2011 | 2 Comments

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Fourteen judges gathered in the Hilton Beijing last Saturday to try two dozen Chinese wines from the north and northwestern regions of the nation. To the best of my knowledge, the wines were made solely with grapes grown in China. The operations included Grace Vineyard and Chateau Rongzi from Shanxi, Jade Valley from Shaanxi, Helan Qing Xue, Silver Heights and Domaine Helan Mountain from Ningxia, Hansen from Inner Mongolia, Sunshine Valley from Gansu, and 1421 from Xinjiang.

The challenge had four categories. The first three categories were Chardonnay under RMB150, Cabernet under RMB150, and Bordeaux varieties from RMB150 to about RMB300, since these are the white wines and red wines most commonly made and consumed in China. The last category was “open” and included more expensive wines or wines made with other varieties, including Muscat, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Gernischt. Nicolas Carre, a sommelier and wine consultant based in Beijing, arranged the tasting order.

I invited people from the wine industry, the food and beverage industry and the media to be judges, with the idea of discovering which wines each group preferred. (See here for a list of judges.) The wines were tasted “blind”. I asked the judges to score each wine in one of four categories: “I love it”, “I like it”, “I don’t like it” or “I hate it”. Judges were also asked to list their “top three” wines for each flight. (Note: I did not judge the wines, nor did I include Carre’s scores, as we both knew which wines were being tasted.)

To decide the winners, I gave four points for each “love it”, three points for each “like it”, and so on, and added the scores to find a wine industry pick, a food and beverage industry pick and a media pick. I combined the rankings of those three categories to decide the overall pick. If wines tied, I favored the wine with the most “like its” and “love its”.

I will write a wrap-up post for this contest, one that will cover the challenges of organizing an event like this, some ideas for improving it, and the key people that made it possible in the first place, but for now… the winners.

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Flight 1: Chardonnay under RMB150 / 5 wines

Overall Winner

GRACE VINEYARD CHARDONNAY 2009

 

Wine Industry Pick
1421 Admiral’s Reserve Chardonnay 2010 (Xinjiang)
“Nice tropical fruit aroma; citrus, pineapple, mineral… simple and clean”, “lots of green apple”

This wine narrowly edged the entry-level 1421 Chardonnay 2010. These two wines picked up the most top-three picks from wine industry judges, with Admiral’s Reserve getting the most number-one picks and Grace Chardonnay 2009 receiving one.

F&B Industry Pick
1421 Chardonnay 2010 (Xinjiang)
“Light balanced flavor with citrus tones”, “nice color, good flavor”, “clear, light, acidic, juicy, with a good mid-palate.”

This wine showed the most consistency: it placed in the top three for every food and beverage industry judge although no one picked it as a favorite. Instead, Helan Mountain Chardonnay 2008 received three first-place votes and Grace Premium Chardonnay 2009 received one.

Media Pick
Grace Vineyard Chardonnay 2009 (Shanxi)
“More oaky aroma, more ‘rustic’. I like that”, “Love the smell”, “Scent of truffle”

This wine made the top-three list of every media judge and was picked by two as the favorite, while three people picked Helan Mountain Chardonnay 2008 as the favorite. (Overall, Helan Mountain Chardonnay made six “top three” lists and placed first every time. Those who did like it ranked it highly.)

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Flight 2: Cabernet under RMB150 / 6 wines

Overall Winner

HELAN MOUNTAIN ‘CLASSIC’ CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2008

 

Wine Industry Pick
Helan Mountain ‘Classic’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (Ningxia)
“Balanced blue fruit”, “Red / black fruit with a classic Cabernet Sauvignon aroma… with aging potential”, “Blackberries, cassis, toasty, dark chocolate… dry vegetal green pepper.”

Helan Mountain Classic Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 not only received the highest score but also was included on every “top three” and scored two-first place votes. Helan Mountain Dry 2008 also made every “top three”, while Grace Cabernet-Merlot 2009 and Admiral’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 each picked up a first-place vote.

F&B Industry Pick
Grace Vineyard Cabernet-Merlot 2009 (Shanxi)
“Jammy and light”, “Red pepper and tobacco; tannins persist for a while but elegant [with a] good body”, “warm and fuzzy: great balance”

This flight saw a three-way tie for first, with Grace Vineyard Cabernet-Merlot 2009 taking the title since it had the most “likes”, followed by Helan Mountain ‘Classic’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 and Helan Mountain Dry Red 2008 with equal scores. The Grace Cabernet-Merlot also picked up two first place votes, with Helan Mountain ‘Classic’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 and Grace Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 picking up one each.

Media Pick
Helan Mountain ‘Classic’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (Ningxia)
“Nice deep garnet color. More delicate bouquet”, “Heavy on the tannins but not much beyond. Bit of cherry? Not bad though”

Both this wine and the Helan Mountain Dry Red 2008 made every top-three list, with each taking a first place. The Grace Cabernet-Merlot 2009 and Hansen Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 also scored a first place vote. (Note: While Helan Mountain Dry Red did not win any category outright, it performed well, especially given that I bought this one on sale for RMB29.8 at Jenny Lou’s the night before this event. All other wines were provided by the wineries or their distributors.)

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Flight 3: Bordeaux varietals, rmb150 to ~rmb300 / 6 wines

Overall Winner

HELAN QING XUE ‘JIA BEI LAN’ 2009

 

Wine Industry Pick
Helan Qing Xue ‘Jia Bei Lan’ Cabernet Dry Red 2009 (Ningxia)
“High extraction of color and intensity… plummy, minty, eucalyptus, dates”, “Classic style. Good presentation of grape’s character”, “Rich fruit, rich tannin”

While Jia Bei Lan had the highest score, Grace Vineyard ‘Deep Blue’ 2009 and Silver Heights ‘The Summit’ 2009 placed in the most “top threes”. Deep Blue received the most first-place votes.

F&B Industry Pick
Grace Vineyard ‘Deep Blue’ 2009 (Shanxi)
“Good nose with some toasty flavors”, “Tannins have more grip and structure, so overall more balanced with better aging potential. Nice”, “Smooth and very fruity”

Deep Blue scored consistently well with the F&B judges, and made the most top-three lists, but no one picked it as the favorite. Instead, two judges picked Jade Valley Cabernet Franc 2008 while one each picked the Helan Qing Xue and Silver Heights wines.

Media Pick
Helan Qing Xue ‘Jia Bei Lan’ Dry Red 2009 (Ningxia)
“Rich ruby color… I really liked this one”, “Pleasant light sweet smell. Nice and smooth: easy drinking”, “Great garnet color. Would have thought the bouquet more powerful. Nice full flavor that doesn’t deteriorate on the palate”

This was the closest competition, with a three-way tie among Helan Qing Xue, Grace Vineyard and Silver Heights, with the first one taking the title based on most “likes”. It also made every “top three list”, with two first-place votes. Grace Vineyard ‘Deep Blue ‘ scored two first place votes, with Silver Heights ‘The Summit’ getting one.

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Flight 4: Open category / 8 wines

Overall Winner

GRACE VINEYARD CHAIRMAN’S RESERVE 2009

 

Wine Industry Pick
Grace Vineyard Chairman’s Reserve 2009 (Shanxi)
“Elegant aromas. Black / red fruit, nice balance, chocolate, cocoa, long length”, “Clean delicate fruit and milky oak”, “guava-ish, licorice, spiced fruit… balanced, elegant, lovely fruit”

Three judges picked the Chairman’s Reserve as the favorite, with Grace ‘Tasya’s Reserve’ Merlot 2008 the only other wine to get a first-place vote.

F&B Industry Pick
Hansen Cabernet Grenischt 2010 (Inner Mongolia)
“Good body, good balance, easy to drink”, “spicy, intense, soft tannins, white pepper”, “sweet and mellow: starts with a hint of rhubarb”

Grace Vineyard Chairman’s Reserve 2009 (Shanxi)
“Good body, intense in the mouth. Flavors like cinnamon, red pepper, plum”, “tannic, young… shows promise, but not this vintage, well-balanced though”

Both of these made three “top three” lists and garnered a first-place vote. Grace Vineyard ‘Tasya’s Reserve’ Merlot 2009 had two-first-place votes.

Media Pick
Grace Vineyard Chairman’s Reserve 2009 (Shanxi)
“Very nice pleasant finish”

Grace Vineyard Tasya’s Reserve Merlot 2009 (Shanxi)
“Good scent: mysterious”, “A bit thin at first but opens up quickly”, “floral scent: light and pleasant”

These two wines finished in a dead tie and each received two first-place votes. The only other wine picking up a first-place vote was Sunshine Valley Pinot Noir 2009.

This flight was more for fun given the wide range of wines in it. The Chairman’s Reserve did best though, as far as I know, it is also the most expensive at about RMB480. We also had one white wine in this flight — Grace Vineyard ‘Symphony’ Muscat 2009 — and it generally received good scores.

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Many of the races were tight and on another day and with other judges we might see different results. And while there seemed to be some synergy between the wine industry and media judges, the food and beverage judges tended to have more divergent picks. Most important, in my opinion, is the high number of “love its” and “like its”, which suggest to me that Chinese wines, made solely with Chinese grapes, are gaining more appeal.

As noted, I will have a wrap-up post that covers analysis of the results, the challenges of doing a contest like this, how North by Northwest differs from other wine contests and ways to improve it, the prices of the wines and where they can be bought, and — last but certainly not least — the people who helped make this event possible.

For those interested in our other contests, see the results of the 2011 Grape Wall Challenge at Modo, where Chinese consumers judged wines that retail for less than RMB100 (the results from 2010 are here and from 2009 are here).

Note: If any winery would like to meet to check the scores, please email me at beijingboyce (at) yahoo.com. You can also follow me on Twitter here, Facebook here or Weibo here.

Category: Jim Boyce, North by Northwest 2011

North by Northwest Challenge: The Judges

Posted on | November 13, 2011 | No Comments

Fourteen judges tasted 24 wines during the North by Northwest China Wine Challenge held yesterday morning at the Hilton Beijing. The wines hailed from Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia, and, at least for me, demonstrated the increasing dynamism of the domestic wine scene. The process of adding scores, deciphering handwriting and triple-checking everything is under way with the aim of releasing the results tomorrow.

This event was more public than Grape Wall Challenge held Tuesday at Modo, with some journalists on hand as observers and people occasionally popping into the room to watch the action — if sniffing, sipping and scribbling can be described as action. Several people asked who the judges were, so I have listed them below. We had three groups of judges — wine industry, food and beverage industry, and media — and will list which wines each group liked.

Here are the judges (in alphabetical order):

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Wine industry panel

Nicolas Carre, sommelier and wine consultant
Fiona Sun, senior editor, China edition of La Revue du Vin
Ch’ng Poh Tiong, editor, The Wine Review in Singapore
Frankie Zhao, owner, Pro-Wine Consultancy
Julia Zhu, wine director, Hilton Beijing

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F&B industry panel

Paul Mathew, bar consultant and contributor to Drinks magazine
Joel Shuchat, tea trader and chef / manager at Orchid Hotel
Geraldo Thomazini, chef and manager of Alameda Brazilian restaurant
Jun Trinh, chef and host of Who Stole My Kitchen

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Media panel

Marsha Cooke, Asia bureau chief, CBS News
Steve Han, founder of soon-to-launch wine info site TasteV
Terril Yue Jones, senior correspondent, Reuters
Rui Leow, writer, Global Times
Iain Shaw, editor, The Beijinger

Results, photos and an event wrap-up to come…

Category: Jim Boyce, North by Northwest 2011

Grape Wall Challenge III: Best white wines under RMB100

Posted on | November 11, 2011 | No Comments

I already covered the top five red wines from the third annual Grape Wall Challenge, held on Tuesday in Modo restaurant in Beijing. Now it is time for the white wines. As noted before, the Grape Wall Challenge features consumers as judges and focuses on bottles that retail for under rmb100.

Judges were asked to try each wine and put it in one of four categories: “love it”, “like it”, “don’t like it” or “hate it”. We awarded four points for “love it”, three points for “like it”, and so on. Judges had space to leave comments and list their “top three” wines.

The consumer judges on the white wine panel ranged from a social media expert to a master’s student to a food blogger to marketing professionals. A handful of mainstream media judges also gave it a shot, including from China Daily, City Weekend, New Western Cuisine and The Wall Street Journal. As with the red wine session, one wine was disqualified as it turned out to be over the rmb100 point (wine number 10 for those judges who were present).

The five white wines with the highest scores (and select comments from the judges)…

1

Warrane Sticky Beak Chardonnay 2010 (Australia)

(China Wine and Spirits, rmb87)

“perfectly sweet for me”

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2

Barremont Chardonnay 2010 (France)

(Mercuris, rmb89)

“love the strong grape flavor afterward”

Trivento Torrontes 2010 (Argentina)

(Summergate, rmb95)

“rose smell”, “smooth”, “like a butterfly passing a rose garden”

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4

Kleinze Zalze Chenin Blanc 2010 (South Africa)

(Torres China, rmb99)

“fragrant and balanced”, “tastes smooth”

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5

LoTengo Torrontes 2010 (Argentina)

(ASC, rmb88)

“fruit and cheese”, “soy sauce”

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In terms of media judges, Pierre Chanier Sauvignon Blanc 2009 from France (East Meets West, rmb97) and Two Oceans from South Africa (ASC, rmb80) fared well. And for “top three” finishes, Trivento and  Kleine Zalze made three lists, while Sticky Beak and Santa Ana Torrontes from Argentina (Aussino, rmb77) made multiple lists. Argentina did well with its Torrontes wines in this one…

I’ll have a final wrap-up post, which will include some challenges of doing The Challenge, some trends revealed in the past three contests, and more,  in case this is of use. I’ll also post a list of places to buy the winning wines, though that will have to wait until I get North by Northwest done tomorrow.

Category: Grape Wall Challenge 2011, Uncategorized

Grape Wall Challenge III: Best red wines under RMB100

Posted on | November 10, 2011 | 1 Comment

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The third annual Grape Wall Challenge, held on Tuesday in Beijing, saw Chinese consumers sniff, sip and score nearly 40 wines — split between red and white — that retail for less than rmb100 per bottle. This year’s Grape Wall Challenge was at Modo restaurant in Sanlitun Village (3F), which provided staff support and lunch for everyone. Hilton Beijing gave each judge a ticket to this Saturday’s Vinopolitan, which will have over 1000 different wines.

The purpose of the Grape Wall Challenge is to judge wines under rmb100, since these are what most people can afford, and to build consumer confidence, since many consider wine to be an intimidating topic. About a dozen journalists also tried their hands at judging. I’ll post a contest wrap-up later, including how to improve it. For now, I have listed the winners from the red wine session below and am working on the white wine session post.

Scoring: Judges tasted each wine and put it in one of four categories: “love it”, “like it”, “don’t like it” or “hate it”. We awarded four points for “love it”, three points for “like it”, and so on. Judges also had space to leave comments and to list their “top three” wines. (Thanks to Iain Shaw, Miao Wong and Steve Han for help with scoring.)

Judges: The consumers ranged from a DJ company GM to a bar manager to an IT specialist to several people in sales and marketing. The media included Beijing Today, The Robb Report, Global Times, The Beijinger and Tatler.

Headache: The retail price submitted by the distributor of the highest scoring wine turned out to be a promotional price. The regular price is over rmb100. I have disqualified that wine. Thus, if judges wonder why Wine Number Six is not listed below, that is the reason. I’m sorry about this and in future will have to return to checking every single entry.

Now, for the consumer picks (I have included some comments from all judges)…

1

Claude Chonion Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (France)

(Aussino, rmb99)

“love the smell”, “fruity”, “smells like grass”

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2 (tie)

Nederburg Winemaker’s Reserve Pinotage 2009 (South Africa)

(ASC Fine Wines, ~rmb90)

“fruity smell, mild taste”, “deceptively sweet but will stab you in the face — that’s good”

Santa Carolina Premio 2010 (Chile)

(Aussino, rmb65)

“very mild but OK”, “nice texture, smooth-bodied”

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4 (tie)

Argento Malbec 2010 (Argentina)

(Mercuris, rmb98)

“smooth”

De Bortoli Family Selection Shiraz-Cabernet (Australia)

(Torres China, rmb73)

“elegant”, “weird, in a good way”

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Scoring well with the media judges were the Salentein Malbec 2010 from Argentina (Torres China, rmb83), Warrane Sticky Beak Shiraz 2008 from Australia (China Wine and Spirits, rmb87), Long Country Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 from Chile (East Meets West, rmb57) and that Nederburg Pinotage. I didn’t have a chance to try all of the wines but, of those I did, I  liked the Salentein, the Nederburg, and the Roux Pere et Fils Cotes du Rhone (East Meets West, rmb99), and thought that Long Country Cabernet Sauvignon, for those who like some funk, to be good value at rmb57.

I will soon post the white wine winners, a list of retail outlets at which to buy the wines, and a wrap-up of this year’s event.

Category: Grape Wall Challenge 2011, Uncategorized

Grape Wall Challenge III results delayed: Because…

Posted on | November 9, 2011 | 1 Comment

… one of the wines that scored very high turns out to have a regular price that is not under rmb100. It looks like there might have been a mix-up by the distributor between the regular price and a ~rmb75 special deal it is running at Jenny Lou’s. Please bear with me until tomorrow while I sort things out.

In the meantime, file this as Reason 528 why organizing an event like this can be stressful, right between Reason 527: Having A Judge Back Out 20 Minutes Before the Contest and  Reason 529: Hey, Did We Just Mistakenly Pour Wine Number Seven in Glass Number Eight? No? Whew!

In the meantime, a photo from yesterday’s white wine session…

Category: Uncategorized

Wine Future Hong Kong 2011: Top 20 Tweets from Day Three

Posted on | November 8, 2011 | 2 Comments

What exactly do you wine types mean by "education"?

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Wine Future Hong Kong 2011 ended today and — based on reading a few thousand tweets from afar — pretty much turned out to be the insular love-in I expected. Oh, well. Anyway, while the world’s wine elite were in Hong Kong talking about Chinese consumers, we were in Beijing doing our annual Grape Wall Challenge with those same buyers. I’ll post the results tomorrow. In the meantime, here are my “20 top tweets” from The Final Day of Wine Future.

  • @artwine77 RT @PanchoCampoMW: Parker tasting required 20.000 glasses by Lucaris, 45 sommeliers, 72 bottles of each wine, 1000 spitoons…spectacular numbers. [Ludacris was there? I love his stuff.]
  • @Arto_KoskeloRT @winekorea88: Wow! More wineries in China (904) than New Zealand (672). Potential there. [Does filling up bottles with imported bulk wine qualify a place as a winery? If so, raise that number to 905 because I'm about to start an operation in my kitchen.]
  • @charles_perez RT @vinternet: “@PhHUGON: If u want to approach chinese market u first want to get to understand the culture#wfhk11 spend time in the country” [And by understand the culture, I think he means hold the next Wine Future in Macau.]
  • @vinalytics “we are now all worried by the news that the Chinese have discovered Burgundy, because the quantities are so tiny.” Jancis Robinson [Likewise, I'm hoping small-batch Bourbon doesn't catch on here. Or pet rhinos.]
  • @thewinehub: #WFHK11 is over… I never got 2 know HK (airport>hotel>airport), but I had a wonderful time seeing old friends & making new ones. #thankful [Trust me, you can still get away with calling yourself a China expert.]
  • @droujoudb RT @richardsiddle: Chinese palate: sweetness for beginners; sourness for women, tannins for educated drinkers, bitterness only a few, oak not a prob ##WFHK11 [And all of them for wushu master: nose and tongue division.]
  • @TimothyFeather RT @richardsiddle: Pinot Noir tipped as long term winner in China; suits palate, works with food and has heritage of Burgundy #WFHK11 says Ian Ford, Summergate [Plus it goes well with Beijing duck. All plummy 'n' stuff.]
  • @gloriachangRT @winebuzzhk: #WFHK11 education most important in China for the next 2 years > guess especially for not-French wines [Actually, it is second most important. Getting consumers to avoid education and simply try more wines beats it by a nose.]
  • @internet “@PhHUGON: Chinese advice : don’t try to satisfy so-called chinese palate, make good products, patience and respect #wfhk11 thx Yang Lu” [Exactly. I just saw a Lamborghini go by. It was not designed specifically for Chinese tastes. Same goes with the Volkswagen Passat behind it. That Honda Forbidden City Roadster with chuanr holder that came next, though? We might have an exception to the rule.]
  • @WineMonologues “@DebraMeiburgMW: Chinese not crazy abt oak – too chemical & medicinal. DiMei #WFHK11” [Mainly because we get those flavors from the tap water and that makes them all so common.]
  • @philkightley @WineBusProf @winehero #WFHK11 reconfirms wine is impenetrable to the ave consumer as message led by anglo elite.  [Which just means consumers need to be above average. Pass the DRC.]
  • @richardsiddle RT @thewinehub: “@cisfotografie: “You make wine the western way, you sell it the Chinese way” #wfhk11” #wine #marketing [And when the Chinese buy your winery, you make it the way they want.]
  • @tw_top_food RT @JancisRobinson: White wines in China? Confirmed by sommelier Yang Lu. Lafite hardly mentioned! [Also confirmed with this new-fangled thing called the Internet. And an older one called a visit to the supermarket.]

Agh! I fell short again, with only 13 tweets. Such is life. Anyway, thanks for all the laughs #wfhk11. And the memories. I won’t forget the memories….

Category: Uncategorized

Wine Future Hong Kong 2011: Top 20 Tweets from Day Two

Posted on | November 7, 2011 | No Comments

Did Francis Ford Coppola direct this? (Pic: J Suckling)

~

I spent most of today scurrying about Beijing in preparation for The Grape Wall Challenge tomorrow, all while the Jancis truthers ran amok in Hong Kong. But that didn’t stop me, one hour ago, from ordering a pint, sitting down, and skimming through Wine Future tweets that used the hash tag #wfhk11. (By the way, for extraordinary tweets, like the above one of a monster Robert Parker apparently falling asleep on Robinson, please use #WTFhk11.) Unfortunately, I could only go back seven hours, so this is the best wrap I could do for today. Look for a final list of top tweets tomorrow.

  • lesliefeeney RT @Arto_Koskelo: Pinotnoirishness is a quality found also among people = an elegant personality with a bad temper and an impeccable eye for drama. [Basically Lindsay Lohan without the elegant personality?]
  • @ilkka_siren Chinese wines so far sounds like wines from North Carolina. [Because they both remind you of Tar Heels? Ha ha ha ha, weee, ha ha ha ha. Hey, wait a minute. I actually like some Chinese wines.]
  • teamdb “I’ve probably told more people in the last 6 months that they shouldn’t come to China than they should” Jaime Araujo, Terravina [I heard some Chinese people say the same thing about Asia wine experts. Kidding, just kidding...]
  • peterpanwine RT @Arto_Koskelo: The giant Parker is sniffing Jancis’s right arm pit if I’m not totally mistaken. [I hope he chose spit over swallow for that one.]
  • Arto_Koskelo Austria is full of small scale unknown future superstars if such a category even exists;) [That category does exist. See the parallel case of Saskatchewan maple syrup producers.]
  • @ClarendonHills RT @jamesbusbytrav: 1st wine out of the traps @JancisRobinson tasting #WFHK11 Brazilian fizz. Smells like canned Parmesan. Champenoise can sleep easily tonight ["out of the traps". Writing that down for future hipster wine tasting notes.]
  • RT @DebraMeiburgMW: Chester Osborne just stripped to his underwear on stage at #WFHK11 (d’Arenberg) [That's nothing. Dave Powell of Torbreck actually shows his ass.]
  • @thomasjullien “@PhHUGON: What technics to market china? Terravina answering…she doesn’t have a clue has she? #wfhk11”– haha nasty and true [Get more here for just under 1000 euros.]
  • @richardsiddle Felicity Carter at #WFHK11 says if want to sell your wine ask yourself if my wine was a person what would they look like. Go from there. [The wine I drank last night was Nick Nolte after a week of heavy of drinking, two pack a day smoking and an apparent inability to find a shower. There's only one way to go from there.]
  • @Jaq_Stedman RT @richardsiddle: Robert Joseph with more ideas in 5 mins on how to talk to consumers than heard all conf [I once interviewed Joseph by email, it got lost in transmission, I met him in person in Beijing, and he recited the questions and answers from memory -- the story is here. Then he rode away on a unicorn made of truffles.]

Argh, that’s only 1o tweets, but it’s nearly midnight, this place is about to close, and I have to get up early tomorrow. I will try to do better next time…

Category: Uncategorized

Wine Future Hong Kong 2011: Top 20 Tweets from Day One

Posted on | November 6, 2011 | 2 Comments

We're not joking around, tweeple! (BTW, I'd pair that with a GSM blend.)

~

By Jim Boyce

A “who’s who” of writers, wine makers et al were on hand as Wine Future Hong Kong 2011 started today. Whether you think the right people are panelists or there should be more local representation, whether you expect the event to be informative and transformational or an ivory tower love-in, expect plenty of coverage. Mere mortals can follow from afar, including via Twitter and Weibo, as I did from a cafe in Beijing. Here are what I consider to be 20 top tweets, using the tag #wfhk11, all accompanied by an inane comment from me. I’ll post another list tomorrow. (You can follow me on Twitter here and here and on Weibo here.)

  • @Nowandthen @winehero Mobile technology has given rise to the birth of the professional shopper: the consumer who knows the price of everything. [Now if we can only develop that technology so it will barter for us.]
  • CloverHillWines “every time you open a bottle of wine, cheap or expensive, always respect what’s in the bottle.” [And by "respect", I think he means finish it.]
  • PhHUGON “in asia people know 2 words about wine bordeaux and Parker” @PanchoCampoMW [And Champagne. Now, how many Chinese words does the average Wine Future panelist know? Or Korean or Japanese or Thai?]
  • Gabriella Opaz @rebeccagibb #WFHK11 New Media Panel: “Ironically, it was all old media types talking about new media rather than new media experts.” [How dare you! James Suckling has over 11,000 Twitter followers!]
  • @rebeccagibb: A rather disappointing start to #WFHK11. Am hoping for better tomorrow. Find out what I thought http://www.rebeccagibb.com [C'mon, you guys. Stop disappointing Rebecca!]
  • @richardsiddle V strange watching [movie director] Francis Ford Coppola on stage at #WFHK11. I bet he wishes he could say “cut” to some of the speakers. Me included. [I also bet he's thinking about whose bed is going to get the horse's head tonight. @rebeccagibb?]
  • @thewinehub: “if you don’t like journalists, don’t invest in a winery” Jose Ortega [Better yet, also invest in a magazine.]
  • @bigpinots: “[the]consumer is king!” Richard Siddle << shows what my dad knows; he always said Elvis was! [OK, @bigpinots, if you are not going to be serious, we might have to ask you to leave...]
  • @ilkka_siren: wld B interesting 2 know if thr’s anything new since last Wine Future & has somethng bn accomplished? [Hong Kong is now a wine "hub". Does that count?]
  • @grapewallchina [my] prediction: biggest #wfhk11 impact will be 100s of attendees soon portraying selves as Asia / China wine experts. [Yes, I included my own tweet. How arrogant...]
  • F. Coppola  ‘New World’ term not appropriate. Italy was new world for the Greeks. [Also, what is China, given its ancient history of making wine?]
  • @PhHUGON: Many have been laughing at french & their terroir stories. New world countries are all coming to it now. [I guess we have to find a new reason at laugh at the French. How about this?]
  • winekorea88: Solid points by @winehero Need to connect with consumer so they see wine as their world, not old or new world. [Or, and I'm just throwing this out there, Wayne's World.]
  • charles_perez: @simontam’s view is about Christie’s customers, #China’s main market as some commun line but #chinese expert will be better ! XIEXIE [Wait, are you saying the average Chinese consumer doesn't patronize Christie's?]
  • WINEMAKER_35RT @thewinehub: if you don’t have love for #wine you can turn your investment to something else, another commodite… @PanchoCampoMW [Yes, and if you don't love soy bean futures, don't invest in them, either]
  • @NikByrne: 26 billion litres of wine produced in 2010. Average price of each bottle sold in UK in 2010 was $2 (before tax and duties) [I wonder what the average for China is after factoring in this stuff.]

Oops, that’s only 16, not 20. I’ll try and do better tomorrow….

Category: Uncategorized

Customs vs customers: How much wine entering China actually gets drunk?

Posted on | November 5, 2011 | 1 Comment

Lots of buyers but this event only happens twice a year.

~

By Jim Boyce

We have seen more than a decade of media stories about the phenomenal wine import growth in China. But rare are those that address whether the amounts of wine recorded by China Customs jibe with the amount of wine purchased — let alone drunk — by consumers. For example, bottled wine imports increased by 60 percent in the first half of 2011. Can we reasonably assume consumption will rise that much in the near future? Here are a few things to consider:

  • The number of importers has grown dramatically in the past ten years and there are now at least several thousand. How many, especially those smaller operations new to the business, have been able to find distribution channels for their wine?
  • Along those lines, several major distributors tell me they believe quite a bit of imported wine ends up indefinitely in warehouses. How much? It is impossible to say but I have heard estimates of 10 percent or more.
  • The number of outlets that sell wine has also grown rapidly, whether that means shops, supermarkets, bars, clubs, restaurants or hotels. How much wine that enters China goes to stock those places? And how much of that stock gets moved? This is but one anecdote but it seems some people are having trouble moving wine in Zhengzhou.
  • Along those lines, I have visited dozens of wine shops in Beijing over the past couple of years: at least half of the time I am the only customer and rarely do I find more than a handful of people. I have also witnessed few people buy wine at supermarkets or hypermarkets unless it is linked to some event, such as a wine fair or as gift-giving for holidays.
  • Gift-giving issue brings up another issue:  How much wine is imported, how much wine is purchased and how much wine is drunk. Again, this is anecdotal but I have several friends with growing stockpiles of wine at home, due to gift-giving, who are unlikely to ever open those bottles.

I do not doubt that wine consumption is rising in China. Wine has certainly become more popular during social events, such as business meetings and weddings, and I do see more people drinking wine in bars and restaurants. I simply want to provide some drink for thought for those who assume imports equal purchases because there are compelling reasons to think there might be a gap between the amount of wine going through Customs and the amount of wine ending up in customer hands — and mouths.

Category: Uncategorized

Bunches: What does this one vine say about China’s wine industry?

Posted on | November 5, 2011 | 1 Comment

~

By Jim Boyce

During a tour of some wine operations in Ningxia two years ago, Isak Pretorius of the Australian Wine Research Institute was surprised to find 43 grape bunches on this one vine. We saw plenty of heavily loaded vines during that trip, vines that elsewhere might only have a fraction as many grapes, and the natural reaction was to wonder why — in fact, it is a question I have heard many times over the years

Is it because winery managers and wine makers in China are unaware that reducing yield might result in better grapes?* Unlikely. A much more plausible scenario is that in the battle between quality and quantity, the latter usually wins, whether due to management goals tied to high production numbers (including a focus on bulk wine), situations where grapes are bought from farmers based on weight, or a market reality that sees factors than other than taste determine many wine purchases — brand, price, and so on. This should be of interest to anyone concerned that China might become a competitor in global wine markets because it suggests that policy changes, including yield reductions, could quickly result in quality gains.

* By the way, this assumes that lower yields produce better wines, although there are divergent views on the degree to which this is true. And yields are, of course, only one factor that might influence grape quality.

Category: Uncategorized

The North by Northwest Challenge: In Search of China’s Best Wines

Posted on | November 2, 2011 | No Comments

Destination NNW

North by Northwest: In Search of China’s Best Wines

Hilton Beijing, November 12, 2011

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The North by Northwest Challenge will be held at the Hilton Beijing on November 12 to taste some of the best wines made in China. The event will feature wines made solely with Chinese grapes and, as the title suggests, that hail from the promising regions of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu and Xinjiang. North by Northwest will be held four days after the affiliated 2011 Grape Wall of China Challenge at Modo restaurant, which will see Chinese consumers judge wines that retail for under rmb100, and coincide with the 14th Hilton Beijing Food & Wine Experience.

The wines tasted in the North by Northwest Challenge will come from Grace Vineyard in Shanxi (distributor: Torres), Sunshine Valley in Gansu (Globus) and Domaine Helan Mountain (Pernod Ricard), Silver Heights (Torres) and Jia Bei Lan, all in Ningxia, with more wineries to be announced soon. I will post a full list before the event. Most of the wines will be Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon since these are, respectively, the most widely produced and consumed white wines and wines red in China.

The judges for North by Northwest will be divided into three groups. One group will include people employed in the wine industry, including Hilton Beijing sommelier Julia Zhu, Beijing-based wine consultant Nicolas Carre, and, flying in from Singapore for the event, Ch’ng Poh Tiong, editor of The Wine Review. The second group will include people who work in the food and beverage industry, though not solely with wine, while the third group will include members of the local and international media in order to give them a firsthand taste of being a judge.

Many of the wines featured in the North by Northwest Challenge will be available to attendees of the Food & Wine Experience, which means those with tickets can judge for themselves.

The following categories and prizes will be included in the North by Northwest Challenge:

Chardonnay under rmb150
Overall: First, Second and Third
Wine Industry Pick
F&B Industry Pick
Media Pick

Cabernet Sauvignon under rmb150
Overall: First, Second and Third
Wine Industry Pick
F&B Industry Pick
Media Pick

Cabernet Sauvignon or Bordeaux blend over rmb150
Overall: First, Second and Third
Wine Industry Pick
F&B Industry Pick
Media Pick

A fourth flight will feature other grape varieties, including a Merlot, a Muscat, and a Pinot Noir, to show the range of wines being produced in the north by northwest of the country.

I will be working with Simon Amos, Emile Otte, Julie Zhu and Sandy Yang at the Hilton Beijing on this project over the next ten days and will post more about the contest, the wines and the judges. I can be contacted at beijingboyce (at) yahoo.com.

Category: North by Northwest 2011, Uncategorized
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  • Grape Wall Contributors


    In alphabetical order (see full list)


    Nicolas Carre
    Sommelier


    Chantal Chi
    Writer


    Yvonne Chiong
    Sommelier, consultant


    Judy Leissner
    Grace Vineyard CEO


    Alain Leroux
    Wine maker, consultant


    Li Demei
    Wine maker


    Huiqin Ma
    Professor


    Campbell Thompson
    The Wine Republic co-owner


    Brian Yao
    Consumer


    Frankie Zhao
    Pro-Wine Training & Consultancy owner


    Jim Boyce
    Consumer, blog administrator