Chardonnay, China & Upwardly Curving Wine Sales

Published annually, this bilingual deconstruction of everything related to alcoholic grape juice in China takes readers behind the headline statistics that appear designed to make the world believe that, in a few years time, affluent Chinese consumers will be drinking all the very best wines produced worldwide as well as a vast majority of the average plonk and pretty much all of the cast-off vinegar. We are a little doubtful it will all happen quite so fast, and so, it seems, are Time Out's wine experts.

We can deduce this, because, in addition to listings (and photographs) of the top 90 wines imported into China, maps of China's wine-growing regions, a glossary and guidelines for buying, tasting and storing wine, the handbook features a lively panel discussion. As part of the research, Time Out teamed up with five of China's most noted wine connoisseurs - Simon Tam, Jeannie Cho Lee, Gabriel Suk, Koen Masschelein and Jean Marc Nolant - for a two-day tasting in Beijing to divine the year's best imported wines. The panel also proffered some learned insights into the pressing themes in the Chinese wine industry.

Tam, for instance, says that while Chinese wine production is ramping up, the growth of wine consumption has been influenced by the proliferation of overseas supermarkets across China stocking imported wines. "We are seeing the shift in world wine power... but it will take time," he says, arguing that although the quality of Chinese wine production clearly lags a long way behind leading wine nations, "the demanding nature of Chinese culture means that China will evolve in a different way and will not be hindered by a best wine for under-a-fiver type situation like in the UK."

Cho Lee adds that wine regions in China are still coming to terms with varied climactic conditions, and the impact this can have especially during the maturation season of the grapes. "The effect of this on grape quality is not yet fully understood," she says. "The other problem is that the land is divided up among many small farmers who don't understand quality viticulture, although we will see improvements as the government is leasing larger parcels of land for long periods."

So, to the 10 million dollar question - are the astronomic projections doing the rounds regarding future wine consumption in China really achievable? The answer seems to be both yes and no. Cho Lee argues that red wines will fare better than whites, and that "the current love affair with Bordeaux will expand to other high-quality regions such as Napa, Western Australia and Tuscany."

Nolant says it is important to note that 'bulk' wines represent the majority of wine shipped into China - mostly from Chile, Spain and Australia - and are specifically imported for "being blended and labelled as Chinese - [so] they are not sold as imported wines."