Grape Press: Decanting the Years

“Grape Press” is a regular magazine column in which we recommend wines to suit various occasions and price points.

Back in 2001, the vast majority of wines available in China were Chinese. A decade on, although Chinese wines are still the greater force, a far wider range of imported wines from many more countries is now available.

Certainly, with a growing audi ence for wine, no one would be surprised to learn that wine imports grew by 60 percent in 2010 alone. And with increasingly knowledge able palates, especially in Beijing, again it’s no surprise the thirst for a wider range of wines should follow.

But the big changes? Nowadays, wine education is no longer purely given lip service, and WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust), the main internationally recognized pro vider, is leading the way in China. Food-and-wine matching involving international wines and Chinese cuisines is also on the up. Consum ers have become more savvy about counterfeit wine, and even the rise of La Fei (Lafite) has reached its peak for some. Chinese wines too have improved, spearheaded by Shanxi’s Grace Vineyard.

This I know for sure: None of this month’s recommendations were available in China ten years ago.

ONE TO QUAFF
2009 Schloss Gobelsburg Grüner Veltliner, Kamptal, Austria (RMB 250, EMW)
Available at Maison Boulud, LMPlus

The grape that put Austria back on the map – this is trademark Grüner Veltliner. Medium green-gold in color, the nose offers green apple, lemon citrus and white pepper. Medium-bodied with refreshing medium acidity, lovely fruit and impressive length.

ONE TO SIP
2009 Veiga Serantes, Rías-Baixas, Spain (RMB 297, The Wine Republic)
Available at Transit, Doubletree by Hilton, Beijing

Albariño is the grape variety of Rías Baixas in northwest Spain. Medium green in color, the nose has attrac tive green apple, white peach and floral aromas backed by refreshing high acidity and nice length on the palate.

ONE TO SAVOR
2004 Cortes de Cima Aragonêz, Alentejo, Portugal (RMB 466, Wine Culture)
Available at Capital M, Grand Hyatt Beijing

From one of Portugal’s new-wave producers, this Aragonez (aka Tem pranillo) is dark garnet, with savory oak, dark plum fruit, supple tannins, lifting acidity and great length.

Edward Ragg is co-founder, with Fongyee Walker, of Dragon Phoenix Wine Consulting, China’s leading WSET-certified independent wine consultancy and education service (www.longfengwines.com). They write for the world’s wine magazines and several publications in China.

Click here to see the October issue of the Beijinger in full.