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By Jim Boyce

Free samples. Discounts. Outraged French wine experts. Inebriated shoppers crashing into stuff. Passionate debate over the wine with the bird on the label versus the one with the lizard. If you have been to the opening of a Carrefour wine fair in Shuangjing, you know the drill. If you haven’t, it’s a right of passage, a chance to make new friends and get drunk with old ones.

This year’s fall edition kicks off tonight. And yes, it is in the Shuangjing branch, for those curious if it has been moved due to this fire. (Let’s hope the wines don’t have any “smoky” aromas, ha ha ha ha, sigh.) Things usually kick off around 6 PM and go to midnight. And the event runs through October 14, although the other days are not as much fun. See the catalog here.

Finally, my advice, as always: bring your own glasses. Or buy decent-sized ones in Carrefour itself. Because those provided are barely enough to serve as egg cups — see the one on the right in the pic below.