foodwineclick

Shanghai is a City of Lights
I have a project in my “real job” that takes me to China regularly, most often to Shenzhen, Beijing, or Shanghai.
(click on any photo to view a full size slide show, hit “escape” to return)

Shanghai boasts an impressive skyline during the day…

Walking is a great way to take in the lights

New buildings large and small feature dynamic, every changing light displays. Sometimes justaposed with beautifully lit older buildings.

The river is lined with large pedestrian walkways interspersed with art.

Hunting for Chinese Wine in Shanghai
Forbes online lists China as the #6 worldwide wine producer in 2016. However, you are unlikely to see a Chinese wine in a Chinese cuisine restaurant in China.  If there is a wine, it will be red and typically from Australia or France.

Dedicated wine shops are not so easy to find, even in major cities. There was a wine shop near the hotel in Beijing and I managed to stop one day when they were open. I found the one clerk who spoke English and asked if they had Chinese wine? He made a face and said “they’re not very good, we drink these” pointing to the French, Italian, Australian, Argentinian wines on the shelf.

Sometimes you see wine in upscale grocery type stores, again, rarely a Chinese wine to be found.  The few I have found, I would have to say tasted a bit odd. Cabernet Sauvignon/Gamay blend? Finally, on my most recent trip to Shanghai, I had a few free hours on a Saturday and found a good size shop at Pudao Wines.

If you’re in Shanghai or Beijing, search out Pudao Wines.

A beautiful shop full of wines from around the world

Store manager Jack Xu was happy to guide me around the shop, including tasting at their Enomatic

The Chinese wine selection at Pudao Wines in Shanghai

Tucked into a neighborhood shopping area, you don’t just stumble on Pudao Wines

Chinese Wines to Seek Out
I brought home several bottles from my trip to Pudao Wines. I’ll be featuring the Amethyard Marselan in our Wine Pairing Weekend blogging group this weekend. Look for my impressions of Kanaan and Silver Heights in upcoming posts!

A variety of upper-tier Chinese wines

Kanaan Winery in Ningxia is well regarded

Amethyst Manor is located in Hebei province, not far from Beijing

Stay tuned for my experience with Amethyard Marselan

Chinese Wine Links to Help Your Search

If your interest is piqued, or if you find yourself headed to China, here are a couple of notes from my experience.  I’d love to hear about your experience with Chinese wines.

• Jim Boyce is an excellent source of English language information about wine in China. He writes a very good blog: Grape Wall of China. Jim’s blog has been my single best resource for digging up information on Chinese wines and wine culture in China.
• Pudao Wines has shops in Shanghai and Beijing and has an online store here. Bonus: you can check the prices of international wines in China at their webstore. Wine is expensive in China, Kendall-Jackson Vintners Reserve wines cost nearly $50/bottle!

Chinese Wineries
Listed below are wines I have either enjoyed or will be trying and blogging about in the coming weeks. This list is not extensive or complete, it’s just a starting point. I’m hoping to visit one of the wine regions before my work project in China is over!

Grace Vineyard – Even their modestly priced wines show good quality and typicity.

Amethyst Manor – Look for my post this week about Amethyard Marselan. Also a nice blog post from Grape Wall of China.

Kanaan – Rising star in the Ningxia region.  Ningxia is generally considered the top region in China for wine.

Silver Heights – Another well regarded winery, also located in Ningxia.