By Jim Boyce

My enthusiasm for the biannual Carrefour Wine Fair — held at the Shuangjing branch — has waned over the years. Fewer wine suppliers in Carrefour, more wine options throughout the city and the sense importers aren’t much interested in the fair but must participate as part of their obligations to the hypermarket have taken a drop of the joie de vivre out of the event. Plus, Carrefour does a half-ass job and doesn’t even provide spittoons.

Even so, if you seek something to do this Friday from 6 PM to midnight, there are worse ways to spend that time than going to the fair’s opening ceremony to drink free wine while listening to a cheesy brand and watching the unintentional comedy of wasted shoppers accidentally driving their carts into tables, shelves and each other.

As usual, I recommend bringing your own glass(es) rather than using the tiny ones provided by Carrefour (see pic below).

For more details, see the Carrefour Wine Fair page. For an idea of what the fair is like, see “‘Prostitute wine’ and other tales”.

And if you can’t make it Friday, you can check out the wines Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 AM to 10 PM.

Trust me on the glasses.