Cited for speeding: Is China seeing a slowdown in bottled wine imports?
By Jim Boyce Has China’s high-speed growth in bottled wine imports hit a road bump? First-quarter data from China Customs and talks with four industry players suggest we are seeing a slowdown. I just wrote about this for Meininger’s Wine Bu...
Raising the glass: Inner Mongolia winery Hansen fights fakes via bottle design
Chateau Hansen is based in Inner Mongolia and is among the nation’s more interesting wineries to watch. I met wine maker Bruno Paumard recently with fellow Grape Wall’er Nicolas Carre and he said Hansen has about 250 hectares of grapes (60...
Three wine bars for Beijing’s Sanlitun: Everwines, Veloce, California Grapes Int’l
By Jim Boyce Look for plenty of cork popping and screw top twisting in Beijing this summer as at least three wine bars are in the works. The first full Beijing shop by Everwines, a brand of wine importer and distributor Torres, should be fully open in ...
Eastern exposure: Bar Neuf, Imperial Horse and eight Ningxia wineries in Nanjing
Earlier this week, I helped organize a wine contest in Nanjing that included entries from eight operations in Ningxia. I’ll have more details soon, including the results, but first a quick post about the “after taste” — and abo...
Breakage in Beijing: Can Osenton shatter the world record for holding wine glasses?
After a wine tasting at Revue du Vin yesterday, Philip Osenton casually mentioned he can hold a lot of glasses in one hand. How many? Ten? Fifteen? Turns out that’s child’s play for Osenton. He claimed a personal record of 29. A half-hour l...
Duck, duck… goose egg? China’s food and wine pairing study stirs pot
A group of wine professors in Beijing has finished a two-year study that might have major implications for the world wine trade. The group’s mission: to eat, drink and find good Chinese food and wine pairings. With thousands of meals under its co...
Grape Wall Q&A: Wine Enthusiast’s Adam Strum on YesMyWine partnership, China mag
By Jim Boyce U.S.-based publisher Wine Enthusiast and China-based online retailer YesMyWine recently agreed to team up on a digital magazine and a wine accessories website (for more details, see here). I asked Wine Enthusiast Chairman Adam Strum five...
Grape Wall Q&A: Decanter’s Sarah Kemp talks about Asia Wine Awards
By Jim Boyce Decanter announced today that it will launch a new competition, the Asia Wine Awards, on May 29 during Vinexpo Asia-Pacific. I asked Sarah Kemp, publishing director of Decanter, a few quick questions about the contest via email. Here they ...
Decanter to launch Asia Wine Awards; Spurrier, Lee to co-chair
London-based Decanter, known for its annual World Wine Awards, announced today that it will hold a sibling competition this year called the Asia Wine Awards. The competition will be launched on May 29 at Vinexpo Asia-Pacific and co-chaired by Stephen S...
Beyond bottles: China wine distributor ASC has logo knocked off
If you buy wine in China and check the back labels of bottles, you have likely seen the above logo of ASC Fine Wines, given the company ranks among the top importers and distributors in the country. The logo has a stalk of bamboo and a rough approximat...
Wine Enthusiast, YesMyWine to partner in China for digital magazine, accessories site
By Jim Boyce Wine Enthusiast Companies, publisher of Wine Enthusiast magazine, is teaming up with Chinese online wine retailer YesMyWine for a two-phase project that includes a digital Chinese-language magazine and a wine accessories website. The follo...
Wine Word: Frank Yglesias of California Grapes on wine in China
~ By Jim Boyce I recently met with Frank Yglesias of California Grapes International in his office here in Beijing. We talked about issues facing importers, the wines in the CGI portfolio, and his plans to open California wine bar here … Conti...
