Grape Wall of China

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

Decanter magazine and Jia Bei Lan 2009: Was it really Chinese wine?

Posted on | October 30, 2011 | 5 Comments

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By Jim Boyce

How do we know? How do we really know it was Chinese wine? That is a question many people, particularly outside China, have asked since Jia Bei Lan 2009 became the first Chinese wine to receive an “international trophy” at the Decanter World Wine Awards. The award immediately had people asking questions — or perhaps making accusations is a better way to put it — about the wine, including the idea that perhaps it was French wine stuck in a Chinese bottle. Those questions continue nearly two months later.

I appreciate skepticism. China does face issues in terms of quality control, counterfeiting and the bottling of imported bulk wine under domestic labels. But I have also seen “skepticism” used as a cover for a deep disdain of anything related to Chinese wine — or to China itself. A true skeptic needs to be able to accept that both of these statements might be true: 1) China’s wine industry faces many problems and 2) some people in China make quality wine.

Part of the issue is a lack of context. For many outside China, the name of the region, Ningxia, the winery, Helan Qing Xue, the wine, Jia Bei Lan, the chief consultant, Li Demei, and the wine maker, Zhang Jing, no doubt came out of the blue. I believe this lack of context has led some to make snap judgments. I can’t provide a definitive response to these judgments but I do aim to add context.

  • Wine consultant Li Demei might be little-known outside China but he is well-known and well-respected here. He studied at the University of Bordeaux, spent time at Chateau Palmer, consulted on other wine operations, notably the Sino-French Demonstration Vineyard outside Beijing, and is currently helping several wineries in Xinjijang. He teaches at Beijing University of Agriculture, is a member of alcohol industry groups, is active as a wine judge and on social media site Weibo, and regularly travels abroad for wine-related reasons. He has a great deal invested in China’s wine industry.
  • Ningxia has a history, albeit a relatively recent one, of making better wine. Other notable operations range from tiny family-owned Silver Heights, which has being doing well-regarded Bordeaux-style blends since 2007, to Pernod Ricard-invested Domaine Helan Mountain, which is making much larger quantities of clean and pleasant wine. Highly regarded Grace Vineyard, based in Shanxi, has a vineyard in Ningxia, while Moet Chandon plans to make sparkling wine in the area.
  • The wine Jia Bei Lan also has a history. I have tried JBL wines, whether in Beijing or in Ningxia, about ten times over two years, including the Bordeaux-style blends from 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009, the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Chardonnay from 2009, and an experimental rose. Each vintage has a personality as well as  a complexity that pushes the bounds for Chinese wines.
  • Plenty of other people, beside the Decanter judges, have tried this wine. I have seen dozens of industry folks try them, from visitors such as Jeanie Cho-Lee (writer), James Suckling (writer) and Dave Powell (Torbreck wine maker) to those based here such as Ma Huiqin (professor), Campbell Thompson (of importer Wine Republic), Nicolas Carre (sommelier), Frankie Zhao (consultant), Arcy Yin (Food and Wine editor), Bob Miao (Michelin guide), Michel Lu (barrel supplier) and David Henderson (Dragon’s Hollow wines).

Does this prove that what the Decanter judges tasted was really Chinese wine? No. But it does show that Jia Bei Lan did not come out of the blue but is from a winery with a history in arguably the country’s most promising wine region and made with help from one of its best consultants. If this is all a hoax, then it is among the best of all time. So, perhaps it is better to forget the award. The context in which Jia Bei Lan arose — and the wines I have tried — is exciting enough.

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Note: This post on Polish Wine Guide offers an interesting take on the response to the Jia Bei Lan award.

Category: Uncategorized

China Wine Press: Scottish castles, Australian winery sales, Japanese manga

Posted on | October 30, 2011 | No Comments

All the wine world’s a stage and China keeps getting bigger roles. China Wine Press looks at media coverage of that drama, with each item preceded by an inane comment from me, just to keep things real. By J. Boyce

(China Daily forgot to ask what wine goes with haggis.)

Ellie Buchdahl of China Daily reports on the only, as far as I know, Scottish castle in China that doubles as a base for a winery. It is called Treaty Port and founder Chris Ruffle notes that start-up was no walk in a glen:

“If any part of the process was ever easy,” Ruffle admits, “you knew you were doing it wrong.” Even after he and his wife Tiffany managed to negotiate a deal for the land with officials, local villagers were not over-keen on this new “laird”, and staged a protest outside the farmhouse.

Grapes were stolen and vines torched. Even now, strips of peanut farm cut through vines where a farmer still stands his ground.

“It’s very short-sighted,” says Ruffle. “It’s because we’re here that they’ve got the road and electricity. We follow a policy of organic growing, and it’s already having an effect – you notice more birds now than when we first moved in. But the farmers still use pesticides and leave rubbish, and there’s not a lot we can do about that.”

See A Laird in China

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(This is just a warm-up for someone to buy Penfold’s — or maybe even Barossa Valley.)

Here is a detailed article by Nichola Saminather of Bloomberg on Chinese investment in Australia’s wine industry. (Quite a different tone compared to this story two years ago about Chinese buying Australian wine in order to secure visas.) Mate, the times they are a-changin’:

In the Hunter Valley, where grapes were first planted in the 1820s, Chinese investors have bought six wineries in the past three months and three more sales are in the works, said Cain Beckett, director of the region’s biggest winery broker Jurd’s Real Estate. The Chinese influx is helping revive values of the Semillon and Shiraz-growing region’s 126 vineyards, which had slumped as much as 20 percent since May 2008, he said.

… Winston Wines Pty, based in Xiamen, China, bought its first Australian winery in July and two others since then in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales. Bigger Chinese firms including Dynasty Fine Wines Group Ltd. (828) and Bright Food Group Co. are studying acquisitions around the world and in Australia to sate the newfound taste for wine from China’s million millionaires.

I expect Saminather will be kept busy covering this story as it gets bigger.

See “China’s Enophiles Revive Australian Vineyards”

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(So it’s possible to reach the Chinese wine market via… Japan?)

Chris Nuttall-Smith of The Globe and Mail writes about the powerful Japanese manga series Drops of God:

Although the series has sold about eight million copies in Japan since it first appeared in 2004 (there are now dozens of volumes in print), its impact on the wine trade has arguably been more pronounced in South Korea and China, where the wine culture is less developed, said Ed Chavez, a Japanese manga expert, who works for the series’ American publisher. “In Japan, Western culture and food were old hat when it came out,” he said.

This manga series has been covered many times before, but if you haven’t heard of it, this isn’t a bad primer.

See “Sex, lies and vintages: Wine gets the manga treatment“

Category: Uncategorized

Grape Wall Challenge 2011: Nine distributors confirmed so far

Posted on | October 21, 2011 | No Comments

Eight Nine wine importers / distributors have confirmed they will participate in the Grape Wall of China Challenge 2011. This year’s challenge, the third annual, is slated for November 8 at Modo in Beijing. It will see Chinese consumers judge wines that retail for less than rmb100.

Each distributor may submit up to four wines (see details here). There is space for about 50 bottles in total. Interested distributors are asked to confirm participation by October 28. Those who have joined so far (in alphabetical order):

A list of participating distributors will be kept at the top right of the blog and updated as more join.

Category: Grape Wall Challenge 2011

Uncorked: Pudao Wines opens in Beijing, features Decanter awards line-up

Posted on | October 20, 2011 | No Comments

By Jim Boyce

Pudao Wines is marking its official opening on the north side of The Office Park in Beijing with a line-up of 23 wines that received recognition at Decanter magazine’s World Wine Awards and will be rotated into the enomatic machines over the next few weeks. There are 16 wines available at the moment, including Jia Bei Lan 2009 from Helan Qing Xue in Ningxia, the first Chinese wine to win an “international trophy“. I just called Pudao Wines and was told a sample of Jia Bei Lan is rmb20, while a bottle costs rmb380. Look also for wines from Casillero del Diablo (Chile) to Trimbach (France) to Heinrich (Austria) as well as Chinese wines Grace Vineyard Tasya’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 and Domaine Helan Mountain Chardonnay 2008, both of which won “silver” this year. Sample pours start at rmb7. This is the second branch of Pudao Wines, with the first being in Shanghai, and stocks primarily wines distributed by Summergate though it does have some bottles from about a half-dozen other distributors.

Category: Uncategorized

From Xinjiang to Liaoning: Five years of Decanter awards for Chinese wines

Posted on | October 20, 2011 | No Comments

By Jim Boyce

Jia Bei Lan Cabernet Red 2009, from Ningxia-based operation Helan Qing Xue, has been a hot topic since it became the first Chinese wine to win an “international trophy” at the Decanter World Wine Awards. I’ll leave for another post what this means in terms of such magazines acting as “gate keepers“, whether judges at such contests reflect the tastes of consumers, and so on.

For now, a note that Helan Qing Xue is only one of several operations in China that have received recognition at the Decanter awards over the years. I have no idea how many wines that enter the contest get a ranking of “commended” or higher, but I would guess the percentage is high, which means operations that seek such status would do well simply to participate in this — and presumably other — contests. Here are China producers that have received Decanter accolades over the past five years.

2011

International trophy
Helan Qing Xue Jia Bei Lan 2009 (Ningxia)

Silver
Changyu Vidal Ice Wine 2008 (Liaoning)
Domaine Helan Mountain Classic Chardonnay 2008 (Ningxia)
Grace Vineyard Tasya’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (Shanxi)
Helan Qing Xue Jia Bei Lan 2008 (Ningxia)

Bronze
Domaine Helan Mountain Premium Collection Riesling 2008 (Ningxia)
Grace Vineyard Deep Blue 2008 (Shanxi)
Great Wall 3 Star Cabernet Sauvignon NV

Commended
Château Sungod Prime Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 (Hebei)
Domaine Helan Mountain Special Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (Ningxia)
Great Wall Terroir Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Red 2006 (Hebei)

2010

Bronze
Great Wall Long Yan NV (Hebei)

Commended
Chateau Sungod Reserve 2005 (Hebei)
Domaine Helan Mountain Classic Chardonnay 2008 (Ningxia)
Domaine Helan Mountain Premium Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (Ningxia)
Great Wall Huaxia Vineyard Cru T Cabernet Sauvignon NV (Hebei)

2008

Bronze
Grace Vineyard Deep Blue 2005 (Shanxi)

Commended
Grace Vineyard Tasya’s Recerve Chardonnay 2005 (Shanxi)
Grace Vineyard Tasya’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 (Shanxi)

2007

Bronze
Xia Great Wall Cabernet Sauvignon Vineyard H NV (Hebei)

Commended
Grace Vineyard Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (Shanxi)
Xia Great Wall Cabernet Sauvignon Vineyard S NV (Hebei)

Category: Uncategorized

Wine-derwall: 35 different Chinese wine bottles

Posted on | October 18, 2011 | No Comments


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A magazine asked me for a “wine” shot so I grabbed about three dozen Chinese bottles in my apartment, a.k.a. Chateau Double-B, arranged them on bookshelves, then clicked away. Needless to say from the photo quality above, the job required a professional. But I thought I’d share that one because if you are interested in Chinese wines you might have seen, tried or heard of some of the labels, such as Grace Vineyard, Bolongbao, Catai, Huadong, Xi Xia King, Yunnan Hong, Dragon Seal, Bodega Langes, Suntime and Champs D’or. There are also a few wines I’m not sure (if?) I’ll drink again, including that Yeli Spumante and Domaine Franco-Chinois Marsellan. As for the Taillan Malbec 2003, I do have full bottle, though I don’t imagine it was made with an eye to aging.

Category: Uncategorized

Grape Wall Challenge 2011: Call For Wine

Posted on | October 14, 2011 | No Comments

Call for Wine

Grape Wall of China Challenge 2011

November 8, Modo, Beijing

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The third annual Grape Wall of China Challenge will be held at restaurant Modo in Beijing on November 8. This post is a call for interested distributors to submit wines.

The goal of the challenge, or GWC, is to find good inexpensive wines as decided by Chinese consumers. This year, the winning wines will go in Modo’s enomatic machines.

(See here for more information on why we hold the GWC.)

Distributors may submit a maximum of two white and two red wines. Each wine must have a regular retail price of less than RMB100 and be made with a different grape or blend of grapes (for example, only one Cabernet Sauvignon). Distributors may submit a maximum of two wines from one country. We hope these rules encourage more grape varieties and nations of origin in the GWC.

To put the rules another away:

  • If you submit 1 wine, you have the options of a) 1 red or b) 1 white, from 1 country.
  • If you submit 2 wines, you have the options of a) 2 red, b) 2 white or c) 1 red and 1 white, from either 1 or 2 countries.
  • If you submit 3 wines, you have the option of a) 2 red and 1 whites or b) 2 white and 1 reds, from either 2 or 3 countries.
  • If you submit 4 wines, you must enter 2 reds and 2 whites, from either 3 or 4 countries.

We ask interested distributors to submit a list of wines, including the retail price of each and where it may be bought, to Nicolas Carre (frenchsommelier@gmail.com) and Jim Boyce (grapewallofchina@gmail.com) by October 28. Distributors must provide two bottles of each wine entered. We ask that these be shipped to us by November 4. There is no entry fee. Finally, we reserve the right to exclude any wine, whether it is due to an inability to confirm price or other reasons.

For more information on past Grape Wall of China Challenges, click here for the 2009 event and here for the 2010 event.

Category: Grape Wall Challenge 2011

Rare China wine dinners: 1968 Beerenauslese and 2010 Erguotou

Posted on | October 14, 2011 | No Comments

Beerenauslese and Erguotou, cap and cork...

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Call me cocky but I’m claiming a recent wine dinner I attended was the first to include a 1968 Austrian Beerenauslese, an organic Israeli Petit Syrah and, according to the date stamp on its screw cap, a 2010 Chinese Erguotou. I tried this trio of beverages with three fellow Grape Wallers: the feast was organized by Ma Huiqin, for a visitor from Chile, with Li Demei and Frankie Zhao also in attendance. Here is the beverage breakdown.

Austrian Stift Klosterneuberg Beerenauslese 1968: I bought this during a Wine Austria tasting because I couldn’t resist the price, rmb600, which is slightly less than a bottle of non-vintage Moet Chandon in a Beijing club. It turned out to be a bargain. The smells included honey, ripe apricot and a touch of spice, while the body was slightly and included honey and a light, bordering on tart, baked apple taste. Zhao called the fruit “pronounced” and said he sensed some minerality.

Israeli Petit Syrah: I didn’t get the name of this wine but it was young, with plenty of fruit, and had an intense raisin smell. It was also oxidized. (For those wondering how we ended up with this bottle: Ma has a lot of links with the wine industry in Israel).

Chinese Hong Xing (Red Star) Erguotao 2010: This is a twice-distilled grain spirit and packs a kung fu kick at 56 percent alcohol. No baked apple smells but, as Li noted, it did have some yeasty aromas. Both Li and Zhao said they enjoyed it and I can say it is much better to sip than to pound via the ganbei method. A 100 ml bottle retails shy of rmb4 – that translates to less a U.S. dollar or Euro.

I’m guessing I won’t see that lineup at a dinner again…

Category: Jim Boyce

Carrefour Fall Wine Fair in Beijing: Free samples + BYOG

Posted on | October 12, 2011 | No Comments

Hopefully your focus is better than this by night's end.

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The fall edition of the biannual Beijing ritual known as the Carrefour Wine Fair is slated for October 14 to October 16 in the Shuangjing branch. The Friday night opening tends to be fun, with not only the chance to try free samples from among hundreds of wines (see catalog here) but also a 20 percent discount on imported bottles. As usual, I recommend you bring your own glass (BYOG) as the ones provided by Carrefour are small.

A few posts about past fairs:

Category: Uncategorized

Jia Bei Lan wine in Beijing: One bottle, 22 tasters

Posted on | October 11, 2011 | 1 Comment

Lin Zhang and Liu Jingwen like it

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Lots of people have asked about Jia Bei Lan Cabernet Dry Red 2009 since it won a Decanter award a few weeks ago. As far as I know, there is no stock in Beijing, save a couple of bottles brought back last week after a trip I took to Helan Qing Xue, the producer of Jia Bei Lan, with Li Demei, the chief consultant there.

I gave one bottle to Modo for its enomatic machine (I’ll provide an update when it actually goes in). I opened the other and took it on a tour of Beijing that saw 22 people get samples. That included chefs, bartenders and/or managers at Aperitivo, Union, Let’s Burger, Flamme, Agua, Naojo and Migas, and consumers, including two guys from CCTV, a major whiskey fan, and Mr Hao and Ms Hao.

In general, the wine received a good reception, with some being surprised it hailed from China. Most found it smooth, with plenty of fruit, though a few thought it had too much “red pepper” or “green pepper” smell (the latter is common in many of the Ningxia wines I have tried). And one person found the finish too acidic. Overall, though, a good response.

Nicolas Carre checks the color

Category: Uncategorized

It’s on! Hong Kong Wine Future 2011 vs Grape Wall of China Challenge 2011

Posted on | October 10, 2011 | No Comments

The 2010 Grape Wall of China Challenge

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By Jim Boyce

On November 8, many of the wine world’s biggest names — Robert Parker, Jancis Robinson, Miguel Torres, Michel Rolland, and dozens more — will be in Hong Kong for the finale of  Wine Future 2011.

On the same day, a dozen Chinese consumers — people whose names you probably haven’t heard — will be in Beijing blind-tasting wines that retail for less than rmb100, as part of the third annual Grape Wall of China Challenge.

Which event is more important? Hey, the Grape Wall Challenge might lack the star power of Wine Future, but it does have practical aims, namely, to give consumers confidence and to find out what they enjoy!

Anyway, this year the GWC will be held in Sanlitun Village in Modo, the sibling of restaurant Mosto, and the first place to install card-based enomatic machines — last September — in Beijing. The GWC will bring together Chinese consumers to ‘blind’ taste imported wines that retail for under rmb100. We organize the event for several reasons.

  • There is no shortage of wine recommendations from “experts“, that is, people working in the industry. The GWC aims to get an idea of what casual wine drinkers enjoy.
  • There is plenty of coverage of top wines but not much about cheaper ones, although they account for most buys. The GWC hopes to find good but inexpensive bottles.
  • Many people are intimidated by wine, whether it is on a restaurant menu or a supermarket shelf. The GWC wants to give consumers confidence and underscore that wine preferences are personal and judging wine is no mystery.
  • The event  is fun.

A feature of this year’s Grape Wall Challenge: the winning wines will go into Modo’s enomatic machines.

I’ll post more details, including how distributors can participate, on Wednesday. See here for details about GWC 2010 at Maison Boulud and here for details about GWC 2009 at Maxim’s Solana.

Category: Grape Wall Challenge 2011

Wine in China: Torres now handling Uruguay brand Pisano

Posted on | October 7, 2011 | No Comments

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Torres China recently added Uruguay brand  Pisano to its wine portfolio. At the company’s recent Taste of the Nations event in Beijing, which includes ~150 wines from 13 countries, Torres listed five Pisano wines in its booklet. They included one white, Rio de los Pajaros Reserve Torrontes 2011 (rmb199), and four reds, Rio de los Pajaros Reserve TSV 2009 (a Tannat, Syrah and Viognier blend at rmb199), Rio de los Pajaros Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (rmb199), RPF Petit Verdot 2007 (rmb286) and RPF Tannat 2008 (rmb286). The people I talked to said they enjoyed these wines and I especially liked the two reserve reds, which includes that Tannat et al blend.

Category: Uncategorized

DRC in the PRC: Rare Burgundy is top drop at Hong Kong auctions

Posted on | October 4, 2011 | No Comments

Sold! At rmb80 per millilitre... (Photo: Sotheby's Wine)

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By Jim Boyce

Given the number of billionaire wine aficionados who read this blog, I feel a post on the Hong Kong auction scene is long overdue. Two recent sales show Burgundy’s Domaine de la Romanée Conti to increasingly be the new darling while traditional sweetheart Chateau Lafite still performs well, particularly when it came to large-format bottles.

From Spectrum, which reports that its two-day auction — held October 1 and 2 — pulled in nearly USD6 million.

The star of the two-day auction was rare Burgundy, with Domaine de la Romanée-Conti leading in the auction’s top lot sales. A total of 80 lots of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti estimated at US$830,000 (HK$6,461,467) sold for US$1,084,821 (HK$8,445,223). A lot consisting of three magnums of 1985 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée Conti, sold for US$89,625 (HK$698,000) against a pre-sale estimate of US$50,000 (HK$390,000).

Meanwhile, at the same sale, 12 bottles of 1961 Château Mouton Rothschild went for a mere US$32,863 / HK$256,000.

And from Sotheby’s Wine, which reports that its two-day auction — held October 1 and 2 — raised USD13 million:

Serena Sutcliffe, M.W., International Head of Sotheby’s Wine, said: “Sotheby’s Wine Department’s philosophy of selling great collections has proved to be a strong attraction for wine lovers worldwide, and Asians particularly appreciate the care taken in sourcing wines of impeccable origin and condition. Classic examples today were the top-flight châteaux from The Bordeaux Winebank Collection and the Lafite direct-from-the-cellars sold by family members, both inspiring complete client confidence. Wines from Domaine de la Romanée Conti continue on their upward trend as connoisseurs recognise their rarity and unique quality.”

The top price? A case of 12 bottles of 1988 Romanée Conti went for USD116,346 (HKD907,500). For those of us living in Beijing, that works out to just over rmb80 per millilitre…

Category: Jim Boyce

End of debate: Jamie Goode cuts blog post about Chinese wine

Posted on | October 2, 2011 | No Comments

By Jim Boyce

British wine writer Jamie Goode has deleted a blog post that concerned 1) Decanter magazine giving Jia Bei Lan Cabernet Red 2009 an “international trophy“, a first for a Chinese wine, and 2) a less than flattering evaluation of that same vintage by Victoria Moore in The Telegraph.

I enjoyed Moore’s article (read it here), especially the details re wine consultant Li Demei (a contributor to this blog) and wine maker Zhang Jing. And while comments on Goode’s post were not always positive, they were illuminating and useful (you can still read them: they are cached here.)

Goode gave three reasons for deleting the post. A comment from Richard Morris neatly revealed how weak they seem:

[Goode] “There were some excellent comments, but I feel we have had the discussion, and short of actually tasting the wine there is no more to say for now.”

[Morris] So why not delete all old posts?

“It got messy, and it upset people. I have no wish to upset people.”

A wine blog is always going to upset someone and so it should.

“Also, I am a Panel Chair for the International Wine Challenge, a competitor to the DWWA. So it’s probably best for me not to comment on this matter any further.”

So don’t. But why stop others?

I agree. Goode bills himself as a “journalist”, not as a PR person, and journalists sometimes upset people. And while Goode did make some suggestive comments re Decanter and its awards, that was but one of numerous issues being debated. Frankly, if I had to choose one, I would read Goode’s blog over Decanter. And the removal of this post is far more disappointing than any of the comments left on it. We need more debate,  not less, on the topic of wine and China.

Category: Jim Boyce

China winery visit: Six photos from Helan Qing Xue in Ningxia

Posted on | September 30, 2011 | No Comments

By Jim Boyce

I accompanied Li Demei and Ch’ng Poh Tiong this week on a winery tour of Xinjiang and Ningxia, which included stops at Tuoling Winery close to Turpan in the former region and at Helan Qing Xue, Xi Xia King and Helan Mountain  not far from the capital, Yinchuan, in the latter region.

Some people might have heard of Helan Qing Xue as one of its wines, Jia Bei Lan Cabernet 2009, recently won an “international trophy” at this year’s Decanter World Wine Awards, a first for a Chinese wine, though it has received good responses here in China for some time. Li is chief wine consultant for the winery, as well as for Tuoling, while Ch’ng is editor of The Wine Review and Decanter’s tasting panel chair for the Middle East, Far East and Asia region. (See this interview I did with Ch’ng three years ago.)

I’ll have more on the tasting, which covered six wines, but for now a few photos from the winery.

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Almost ready to harvest at Helan Qing Xue

Hand-labeling bottles of Jia Bei Lan Cabernet 2009

Photo of a photo of Jiang Zemin's visit in 2000

Rong Jian, head of the Ningxia Grape Industry Association, in the cellar

Wine maker Zhang Jing is storing this until her baby girl eventually marries

Six wines, from 2005 and 2009, in the tasting

Category: Uncategorized

Finding Jiabeilan: Award-winning Chinese wine yet to sign with distributor

Posted on | September 22, 2011 | No Comments

Ever since English magazine Decanter validated* Chinese wine Jiabeilan by giving it an “international trophy“– the first for a wine from this country — at its World Wine Awards, I have received a steady stream of text messages, emails and phone calls not only about where to buy a bottle but also about how to get distribution rights. So I called Li Demei, who is chief wine consultant at Helan Qing Xue, which makes this wine, and a contributor to this blog. He said the Ningxia provincial restaurant in Beijing normally has Jiabeilan, though it does not currently have the 2009 vintage that won the award, and that the winery has yet to make a distribution deal.

I’ve tried Jiabeilan several times: the 2006 during a visit to Yinchuan, the 2008 last year in Beijing, and the 2009 a few weeks ago, also in Beijing. They struck me as being better than the majority of Chinese wine I’ve tasted. I don’t find that shocking given other operations have also made decent wine in Ningxia (Silver Heights, distributed by Torres China, and Helan Mountain, distributed by Pernod Ricard) and in neighboring Shanxi (Grace Vineyard, also distributed by Torres). I note this because there has been some controversey over Jiabeilan’s win, and Decanter’s awards in general, notably at this blog (see: A trophy winner from China? Really? )

Anyway, I’m heading to Ningxia this weekend and will try to buy some bottles of Jiabeilan and make them available to readers of this blog.

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* Perhaps “validated” is an unfair word. But there are far too many people in the industry here who only consider what happens with the China wine scene to have value vis-a-vis foreign experts, publications and institutions, most notably English ones. There might be justification for this, at times, but it often smacks of what I call “Cabernet colonialism”.

Category: Uncategorized

Wine-wine situation in Beijing: Torres and Tri-Nations tasting on Saturday

Posted on | September 21, 2011 | No Comments

There will be plenty of popping and pouring on Saturday afternoon as two major wine tastings are on the schedule.

Torres China will hold its fifth annual Taste of the Nations from 2 PM to 5 PM at Xu Xian Restaurant on Workers Stadium grounds. Tickets are rmb228 and include  free flow of 150 wines from a dozen countries, including two of the best brands in China — Grace Vineyard from Shanxi Province and Silver Heights from the Ningxia Autonomous Region.

This ranks among my favorite annual events both because Torres cracks open some of its better stuff (I tend toward the Australian table given it stocks a dozen-plus brands, including Henschke, Bass Philip and Grosset) and because it is well organized and includes handouts with plenty of info on the wines. Note: Tickets are rmb208 in advance. Contact Maggie Wang at 5165-5519, extension 284 / maggie.wang (at) everwines.com.

Also on Saturday is the second annual Tri-Nations Wine Expo from 1 PM to 5 PM at Scarlett Blue in Solana. Tickets are rmb250 and get you access to 100 wines from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The wines are imported and distributed by Australian outfit Gelipu. Tickets are rmb150 if you email Garry Anderson at AustralianWineClub (at) gmail.com by close of business tomorrow.

Category: 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