Happy World Marselan Day 世界马瑟兰日!

Marselan is made in more than two dozen countries. Grab a bottle and give it try.!

More here: marselanday.com.

#wine #winetasting #winelife
#worldmarselanday #世界马瑟兰日 #grapewallofchina #china

What a day!

Our annual Marselan Festival at Merchants Wine Bar in Beijing.

50 Marselan wines from across China and the world. Good wine, good people, good music, good weather, good vibes.

See the video for highlights of one of the best Saturdays I've had in a long time.

Thanks to The Merchants, Wine to Asia, the supporting wineries and the consumers who helped us celebrate World Marselan Day, officially April 27.

marselanday.com

#marselan #worldmarselanday #世界马瑟兰日 #grapewallofchina #葡萄围城

Still feels weird to be inside a crowded room. Today I joined the Beijing stop of ASC Fine Wine's China tour.

Nice to check out part of the ASC portfolio, including Louis Jadot, Norton, Robert Mondavi, Robert Weil, Muga, Cono Sur and Casa Silva -- I went back for a second pour of their Pinot Noir.

Just ten weeks ago, restaurants and bars in Beijing were not able to accept patrons, events were being canceled left, right and center, travel was risky, and we had to do regular COVID testing / scan QR codes to get into venues. It feels like 10 months, not 10 weeks...

#wine #winetasting #winebusiness #winelife #beijingwine #grapewallofchina

Feedback loop. I joined some franchise owners at China wine store chain CHEERS yesterday as they got briefed on Bordeaux wines and, in turn, opined on which ones they believe their customers would prefer and at what price. Lots of insights into how people view consumers.

And a quite diverse group of owners: some have been involved over a dozen years, some are quite new; some have one franchise while others have multiple branches; and so on.
And their shops are found all over Beijing, a city of 20 million-plus people with different tastes, spending power, traffic patterns et al depending on where the shop is located.

#wine #winetasting #wineshop #china #beijing #grapewallofchina

15 years ago, I tried 9 Chinese wines with 3 fellow tasters in Beijing.

A "where are they now?" post about a much different era of Chinese wine and about what happened to the tasters and wineries since that day in 2008.

Note: We did the tasting at "Dishes of Mao Zedong Hometown" restaurant, behind the Hilton Beijing, with wines from Grace, Catai, Bolongbao, GreatWall, Domaine Franco-Chinois and more.

Snarkiest comment: "I’m glad it’s not more than 28 kuai.” About US$3 at the time.

Also, the producers of the two best wines in the tasting are currently in the top tier of Chinese wineries now.

https://www.grapewallofchina.com/2023/02/20/flashback-chinese-wines-15-years-ago/

#wine #winebusiness #winetasting #china #beijing
#beijingboyce #grapewallofchina

More skin-contact white wines made in China, this time by Canaan winery just outside of Beijing.

- The Riesling has 1 month of skin contact in amphora, then 6 months of aging in old oak.

- The white blend, with Muscat, Chenin Blanc, Ehrenfelser, Müller-Thurgau and more, has 6 weeks of skin contact in stainless steel.

Both wines are fresh and floral, with that Riesling having ample lemon-y character, while the white blend's aromas dance all over the place: chrysanthemum, passion fruit, jasmine, citrus peel and more.

Anyway, I brought back one bottle of each to include in my next tasting in Beijing. Looking forward to sharing them!

#wine #china #chinawine #chinesewine #skincontactwine #amberwine #amphora #riesling #muscat, #cheninblanc #ehrenfelser #mullerthurgau #zhongfa #domainefrancochinois #grapewallofchina #winelife

First post. With harvest finished, the vineyards are readied so the vines can be buried to protect them from the cold dry winters.

Photo taken at Lion Fort Winery in Beijing's Fangshan District, which has also created hybrid grapes that require no burial -- the big issue will be selling the story and taste to consumers.

Our tour was led by the 86-year-young chief wine consultant Zou Fu and included a look at the winery, cellar and laboratory, plus a tasting that evolved into a dinner gathering.

#wine #china #chinesewine #beijing #beijingwine #fangshan #grapewallofchina