Part 2: Confessions of a Chinese Wine Consultant Continued - ¡°The Vinous Bafflement¡±(1)
Continued from yesterday:
Fast forward to December 2008: there is now more retail here, albeit on a limited scale; and wine clubs of various sizes are sprouting for Beijing¡¯s wealthy (focus Bordeaux). Wine lists are becoming more exciting too with less evidence of wayward persuasion by strong-arm importers. Mercifully, tasting opportunities are more frequent and more inviting with new importers coming on the scene (The Wine Republic), some of whom have done well elsewhere in China or in Hong Kong/Macau (Watson¡¯s, Links Concept). At the same time some of the more distinctive Shanghai importers (like Ruby Red Fine Wines and Globus Fine Wines) are sending their wines to Beijing and the traditional players here (Aussino, ASC, Torres China, Summergate) are shaking up their lists to rival relative newcomers like East Meets West. And so it goes on. The point is the market is becoming more dynamic.(Flickr photo by tsc_traveler)
My earliest memories are all based on shocks, of one sort or another: not culture shocks, so much as, what, ¡°vinous bafflement¡±? I remember being in a well-known Sichuan restaurant chain and seeing a young Chinese couple confidently order a bottle of Argentinean Malbec. This was great! The waiter came back, presented the bottle elegantly, cut the cap and removed the cork without trouble. He then left; so I expected the happy diners would just serve themselves (this was not exactly a white linen affair after all). Nothing happened! for some time. The waiter then returned with an ice bucket and, with some ceremony, coaxed the bottle into ice-water. Thankfully, the food then arrived, so the young Chinese couple out on a date were saved the embarrassment, if embarrassment it was, of broaching when to serve their rapidly chilling Malbec (not a grape known for being short on tannin).
Now I have nothing against chilling certain reds ‡° and the point of this anecdote is not to poke fun at people coming to wine for the first time. It’s just that so much affects how we experience wine whether in terms of cultural expectations (replete with aspirations and blind-spots), not to mention the condition in which wine is sent to China, stored and served here (transport, distribution and storage temperatures always constituting big worries). Our first concern as educators was, therefore, to gauge what an appropriate starting point should be. Clearly, for many, it was best to start with the very basics of the very basics; just as most foreigners would be hard pushed to get to grips with China’s intricate tea culture and myriad cuisines. Then, there was the all-encompassing issue of language, especially for Fongyee who was already familiar with the multiple translations proliferating for the same grape varieties, same wineries, same wine-making processes; and thereby having to battle with the misconceived notions some of these translations inevitably foster.
