– By Jim Boyce

If the recent China Wine Guide by Time Out magazine were a glass of vino, I would describe it as exhibiting typical aromas, possessing a light body, and leaving a bad taste.

I found a copy of the 100-page guide in this month’s issue of Beijing Time Out, available for free in bars, restaurants, and other venues about town.

The wine guide has three sections. The first is “wine for beginners“, which explains how to open a wine bottle, common wine myths, and wine terminology, among other topics.

The second is “a consumer’s guide“, with information about distributors, storing wine, buying accessories*, and so on.

Despite its name, The China Wine Guide is light on China context. It covers topics such as Shanghai and Beijing wine bars and pairing Chinese food with wine, but could have gone much farther. For example, some of the space spent on a lengthy look at Bordeaux wine would have been better used to explain the scene in China, such as wine availability (in gourmet shops, supermarkets, and hypermarkets), counterfeits, tasting events, and so on.

Long story short: more local content would improve the guide.

In any case, these first two sections have a good deal of useful material, especially for newcomers to wine, and are published in both English and Chinese.

Too bad the guide didn’t end there.

Instead, it has a third section that includes the results of a tasting panel organized in Shanghai for the guide. The panel used a “double blind” system and “the [five] judges never saw a bottle of wine during the judging process,” states the guide. Fair enough.

Unfortunately, a fair system only goes so far, especially given the context of this guide.

We are told that a “call for submissions” went “to all wine distributors in China” and that the panel tasted wines from eight of these distributors (note: each distributor represents different brands, thus the source of the competition).

The vast majority of distributors, ranging from major players to smaller outfits, did not participate. For those companies that did participate, we are not told how many wines each provided, which hinders meaningful interpretation of the results.

Then there’s ASC, generally considered the top distributor. Two wines it represents are listed among the guide’s 55 “top wines”. However, according to the company, “ASC declined to submit wines for the tasting.” Given this, how were its wines included? I posed this question to Time Out, but have received no response.

But, why would anyone be wary of participating?

Here’s one reason: The Time Out China Wine Guide is “in association” with one distributor, Summergate Fine Wines & Spirits. The Summergate logo is on the guide’s cover and all but four of its pages. It is the only wine distributor with ads in the guide. Its portfolio director was on the tasting panel along with the wine guide editor of Time Out.

It doesn’t take a public relations degree to realize that a magazine, particularly one with the global reputation of Time Out, providing a single company with such exclusivity and access in a project that involves judging that company’s competitors is bound to raise eyebrows. Fair or not, this perception isn’t improved by the fact that Summergate came out on top in the tasting (see below).

According to ASC, “We didn’t participate because the judging panel did not represent a broad enough strata of wine distributors in China.”

Another distributor, which did participate, was unsatisfied with the end product. “Had we known that the guide would be ‘in association’ with Summergate, as mentioned on the front label, we would have never participated,” according to Jebsen. Which raises the question of why Time Out didn’t seek an alternative to doing the guide “in association” with one distributor. As Jebsen stated, “No one asked us to advertise.”

Add in the small number of distributors involved and the lack of information about how many wines each company provided, and it is quite a reach for the guide to claim it lists “the top wines available for drinking in 2008.”

I find this situation unfortunate for Time Out, for the non-affiliated panelists, and, especially, for consumers.

* The guide lists Riedel, Eisch, and Schot Zwiesel as wine glass options. For something more affordable, try these 10-kuai glasses. I like the tip about asking for a free corkscrew when you’re buying wine from a distributor.

Note: As unfortunate is that the “top wines” listed in the guide were used as the basis of the Beijing Wine Club awards.

Tasting panel results

Below is a list of distributors included in the “top wines” section. The first number indicates how many of the distributor’s wines are listed. The number in brackets indicates how many of its wines ranked first in the four categories – value wines, red wines, white wines and dessert wines. Based on this, over 70 percent of the “top wines” in China hail from only three distributors.

Summergate – 17 (2)

Torres – 15 (1)

Palette – 8 (1)

Jebsen – 5

Pernod Ricard – 3

Gelipu – 3

ASC – 2

Ruby Red – 1

Wine World – 1

– By Jim Boyce

The Beijing Wine Club end of the year anniversary party featured a sampling of six wines and some fellowship. Sadly, it also included a wine awards ceremony that seemed as relevant to the club as a corkscrew is to a screw-cap bottle.

The club’s awards were based on the results of a tasting panel in Shanghai that judged wine from eight distributors in China. The panel was organized for a Time Out wine guide since published. The guide was written by the co-founder of the Beijing Wine Club, lone club member on the Shanghai panel, and the announcer of the awards.

To sum, The Beijing Wine Club awards were chosen in another city and with minimal club member input.

On top of this, a single wine distributor – Summergate – sponsored the Time Out guide. The portfolio director of that distributor sat on a tasting panel of five people that judged wine provided by the company’s competitors.*

Thus, the club endorsed wines picked by a guide on which the club’s co-founder worked and which was sponsored by one wine distributor.

Ugh.

The city’s wine lovers – old and new, local and expatriate – deserve better. They need clubs run by and for members.

Using the Shanghai panel’s results might have been “easy” as compared to organizing a Beijing panel – at least that’s the rationale I received. But if convenience were the key issue, forgoing awards and simply having an anniversary party would have been even easier.

I talked to a dozen people about this situation and they agreed the awards were inappropriate, though most stated, “What can you do, this is China?”

Pointing out anti-consumer behavior is a start. They say the key to understanding wine is education. I think the same holds true for understanding and improving the city’s wine scene.

This episode leaves a bad taste in the mouth, which is unfortunate, since some of the club’s other events – notably the blind tasting and wine quiz in October – gave a good impression. Let’s hope the club’s leaders get back on track and remember what a club is all about – member involvement. As one reader writes, “Next year, let’s have BWC judge the wines, and give BWC awards.”

* I originally thought only one distributor sat on the panel. The portfolio director at Summergate noted that a second was involved, from Wine World.