China blend | Making Marselan with Tong Lili
Last October, I was lucky enough to make my own Marselan-based wine. And also fortunate to finally taste that blend during our World Marselan Day …
‘Things are totally out of control’ |Q&A with wine ‘antisnob’ Tim Hanni
I first met Tim Hanni when he visited Beijing just after The Wall Street Journal labeled him as the wine “antisnob.” I organized a dinner …
Stats | Aussie wine exports to China fall 43% in March
Australian wine exports to China saw a sharp fall in March, with it still too early to tell the full impact of the coronavirus crisis, …
Raise a glass | Third World Marselan Day is next week
Will Marselan do for China what Malbec did for Argentina, Pinotage for South Africa and Shiraz for Australia? A growing number of people see Marselan …
‘Wine can be McDonald’s, wine can be Michelin’ | Q&A with Wang Shenghan aka Lady Penguin
Wang Shenghan aka Lady Penguin is a powerful force in China’s wine scene, with her energetic videos, strong sales and over two million fans on …
Mama quarantina! Q&A with Veronafiere China’s Simone Incontro
Simone Incontro, the head of Veronafiere for China, returned from Italy in late March. His plane was diverted from Beijing to Tianjin, where he was …
Ben Fu fighters | TWE wins Penfolds trademark case in China
It’s been a newsworthy week for Treasury Wine Estates (TWE). Today, the Australia-based company announced it finally successfully registered the trademark Ben Fu / 奔富, …
A Beijing success story, virus crisis wine trends, 2020 import customs data & more
[This is my newest Grape Wall newsletter, sent last night, April 6. I planned to release this content as a series of blog posts here …
Fair game | Chengdu’s CFDF is back on, slated for late May
Organizers of the China Food & Drinks Fair / Tang Jiu Hui announced today that the event, widely deemed China’s most important wine exhibition, will be …
Champagne Duh-tz? Son of French bubbly brand’s CEO upsets Chinese wine trade
China’s wine trade bubbled over in anger after the son of Champagne Deutz CEO Fabrice Rosset posted comments about the country on Facebook during the …