Yunnan Red Wine Company vineyard (J. Boyce)

– By Jim Boyce

Are grape wines from southern China’s Yunnan province – considered by some the location of Shangri-La – made from the survivors of vines devastated in France by phylloxera from the mid-1860s to the mid-1890s?

An intriguing question, not only because of its Indiana Jones-type feel (hence the title) and its historical and East-West angles, but also because Yunnan wines – made from grapes known as French Wild, Crystal and Rose Honey – may be among China’s best bets for getting on the world wine map.

The history of vines in Yunnan seems as disjointed as China’s own over the past century. This is what I have gleaned so far, with major credit going to Ma Huiqin, professor at China Agricultural University and walking wine encyclopedia, and Campbell Thompson, who evidently spends even more time reading about wine than he does drinking it (he notes that the science of studying grapevines is called ampelography).

–

From The Wine Report 2008 by Tom Stevenson:

“… Table grapes have been growing here (Yunnan) since Christian friars brought vines from France in the mid-1800s for their early missions…”

–

From a Time magazine article: “China is a newcomer to the wine world, and while much of its produce has yet to make par, there are three wonderfully unusual varietals that show promise – French Wild, Rose Honey and Crystal Dry. Old records show that missionaries originally brought these vines to China’s Yunnan province from France some 200 years ago (an origin confirmed by DNA testing) – and it’s believed that they may be extinct in the home country itself.”

–

Re Vines, Grapes & Wines: The Wine Drinker’s Guide to Grape Varieties (1986; republished 2002). This book mentions there are about 6,000 identified varieties of vitus vinifera, the species of the vine really suitable for fine wine. Of these, approximately 1,000 are used for winemaking today. Neither Chrystal Dry nor Rose Honey are mentioned. (Thanks to Campbell for this research.)

_

From my December interview with Zhang Ning, chief winemaker of Yunnan Red Wine Company, on French Wild grapes.

“The background of this grape is interesting. Our vines come from at least two sources.

“The first source is from Chinese abroad who brought back clones from Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Vietnam, in the 1950s. The vines were introduced from a Chinese refugee farm (Hua Qiao Nong Chang) which was established in the 1960s in Yunnan. We are not sure where the original vines came from.

“The second is from Ci Zhong Church in the Shangri-La region in Yunnan province. We assume these vines came from missionaries.

“We have heard there are four different clones of French Wild, but we only have two types in the vineyard. Most of the information we have is anecdotal and the full story still needs to be told.

–

Finally, and more sobering, Ma says, “I think the vines came around 1880 to 1900, but I need to do more checking.” As for the Time article statement about DNA tests, Ma, a molecular biologist, says, “We need more detailed information to support that conclusion.”

–

According to several sources in Yunnan, dozens of missionary records, written in French, exist in a county library there and may provide clues. I will post more about the “Shangri-La” vines as information becomes available.

– By Jim Boyce

Those fascinated, frustrated or befuddled by pairing wine and Chinese food might be interested in The Wine Antisnob by Katy McLaughlin in the Wall Street Journal. The article looks at Tim Hanni – entrepreneur, recovering alcoholic, one of the first two Americans to become a Master of Wine, and someone who once “‘completely looked down on people’ who drank wine he considered inferior”:

He argues that no one has a palate superior to anyone else’s, and that there’s nothing wrong with liking wines many experts consider tacky, like White Zinfandel. He also thinks traditional tasting notes comparing wine to berries or chocolate are useless in helping most consumers find wines they enjoy.

Instead, he has developed new systems that help customers choose wines based on factors like how they take their coffee and cocktails — and how many taste buds they have.

His maverick approach is transforming the way that many Americans drink wine. Mr. Hanni’s most widely used innovation is the “progressive wine list,” a menu format that organizes wine from lightest to heaviest, rather than grouping Loire Bordeaux and Tuscan Brunellos together.

The article includes a link to the Budometer, a questionnaire on preferences for tea, coffee, beer and so on that aims to determine what wines a particular consumer will like. It’s well worth a click.

Whether or not you end up agreeing with Hanni’s perspectives or not, this is a fantastic read that beautifully ties together his love of food and wine, struggle with alcohol abuse, and efforts to further popularize a beverage often tied to snobbery.

– By Jim Boyce

When it comes to great grape names, Grüner Veltliner ranks up there. It sounds like the name of an ice hockey* player or an airship or a pair of fashion sunglasses. Or a belt of asteroids circling the sun. Frankly, it tastes better than all of these things put together.

Tastings of Grüner Veltliner are as rare as a week of Beijing “blue sky” days, but Cafe Europa in Beijing will have one on January 24, from 7:30 to 8:30 PM. RMB 150 fee gets you a taste of four Austrian wines (two red, two white) and canapes (RSVP: 5869-5663 / josefkiang@yahoo.com).

Here’s what one site has to to say about Grüner Veltliner wines:

Austria’s serious winemakers have discovered that, with lower yields and higher ripeness, Grüner Veltliner can produce stunningly intense and concentrated wines. Even the simple wines, from overcropped vines and underripe fruit, can have very pleasant citrus and grapefruit aromas, with a hint of the variety’s most distinguishing characteristic: the spicy fragrance of freshly ground white pepper.

For more details, see the full article.

By the way, I will soon re-start listing information about upcoming tastings, so keep the info flowing. Details are preferable in text format, so as to reduce the risk of my mistyping information from a pdf.

* I use “ice hockey” not because I hail from a non-hockey playing nation, but due to my sensitivity toward those who live or grew up in lands where “blue line”, “five-minute major” and “holy moly, what a goalie!” were not everyday language.

– By Jim Boyce

Tenacious taster Thompson (J. Fallows)

The mention of Chinese wine often brings smirks, mock gagging, or jokes such as “leaded or unleaded?” Given this, I enjoy getting together for a tasting of the local drop with people who express open-mindedness about it. Last Friday was such a time. Our party:

• Lawrence Osborne, New York-based author of The Accidental Connoisseur
• James Fallows, Beijing-based writer for The Atlantic Monthly and among the few buying, trying and writing about Chinese wine from a consumer standpoint
• Campbell Thompson, Beijing-based wine guy, former marketing director of ASC Fine Wines, and current Master of Wine Marketing student
• Me, consumer

We did our taste test at Dishes of Mao Zedong Hometown restaurant, behind the Hilton. I had hoped to dine at the hotel, but explaining that our patronage would bring revenue and possible coverage did not suffice to get the corkage fee waived for our eight bottles, which I can understand.

So, we headed down the street and, after Thompson explained to restaurant staff our need to open that many bottles, did our tasting in puny glasses amid vapors of meat, garlic and hot peppers. Not ideal tasting conditions, but real-world ones.

The notes are mine and, as often mentioned, I come at this as a consumer. The quotations are not attributed and meant to give some thoughts of others around the table.

Great Wall Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 (the only bottle we bought at the restaurant).

Some fruity though feeble aromas with a hint of cough syrup, and a limp body with a slight berry / cherry flavor; this one came off as fairly close to grape juice.

The table: “Palatable, but not too pleasant”; “The fruits are played out”

Suntime Red NV (RMB 28)

Dull red with a slight orange tinge, with a touch of wood and some (but too weak) black fruit; pretty much no finish (note: I’ve heard good things about Suntime from readers, so I’ll give the higher-priced bottles a try soon.)

The table: “I’m glad it’s not more than 28 kuai.”

Catai Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (~RMB 45)

A light fruit (black cherry) nose; the body had some dark fruit, jamminess and a hint of spice

The table: “Some varietal definition, but a bit thin”

Grace Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 (RMB 60)

The nose had light and pleasant fruit, with the fruit and tannin working well together, though the color made it seem as though it were an older vintage.

The table: “Tastes like a perfectly American wine”; “It’s a step up from Catai”; “They’re trying to achieve something restrained.”

Chateau Bolongbao Grand Vin 2005 (~RMB 195)

There is a lot of wood (sawdust?) on the nose, a bit much for the dark fruit jamminess below; the same with the body

The table: “The wood is weird and heavy,” “like a carpentry shop”, “like pine resin”; “I like this: interesting wood and fruit flavors to savor”; “you could find people who love this and who hate it”

Taillan Rose 2005 (RMB 60)

Orange-pink, with a mushroom-y nose and some fruit (peach? light red fruit?) beneath; similar fruit in the mouth; if you plan to try this one, it’s best to do so now rather than later

“It’s struggling against adversity – it’s an honorable effort”

Huadong Dry White (Riesling) 2002 (RMB 76)

Very ripe, almost fermented, apples on the nose; slightly sour, with some tropical fruit (pineapple?), but lacking adequate acid and finish

“There’s no acidity to it, no core – you can’t make Riesling like that”; “It’s past its time”; “It doesn’t finish clean”

Grace Chardonnay 2006 (RMB 60)

Some toasty aromas on the nose; the body has oak and green apple, though it tastes slightly unripe

“It’s disjointed,” “the acidity is out of balance”, “it doesn’t have any delicacy”

Sino-French Demonstration Vineyard Chardonnay 2005 (sampled provided during a winery visit)

Light, creamy and with some freshness; subtle light fruit in the body, though not much finish

“It doesn’t have that buttery angle,” “it isn’t overly commercial,” “that’s the only wine so far that I think you could pass off as a foreign wine”

On the whole, the Grace Cabernet Sauvignon, Bolongbao, and Sino-French Chardonnay fared best. In any case, as always, it was good fun to work our way through these wines.

Lined up and ready to go (J. Fallows)

Thanks to a large backpack, I trucked the nine bottles home, where I later met Palette Vino’s Stefan Fleischer, and we went through the wines again, this time sans the odor of garlic and hot peppers. I’ll have his evaluation tomorrow.