I watched the Olympics Opening Ceremony Friday night, in rare TV communion with the rest of the world, and found myself gob-smacked, as we say in NZ. I expected that. I did not expect to feel moved. China is unfolding to the world with a mix of bravado and hope that the rest of the world will like them. They are trying so hard. I, for one, have enormous admiration and growing affection for them. Their society is transforming in front of their own eyes and ours, and although that transformation is uneven, they are on the right path and deserve our support.
How does that segue away into wine? Easily, everyone’s doing it. The emergence of China as a producer and consumer of wine is fundamentally altering the wine market. That is old news. Vinfolio is expanding to Hong Kong, so are several auction houses, the Bordelaise set up camp there long ago, and even Mr Parker has made his inaugural visit there (that was news to me, as read in Mike Steinberger’s great blog about China on Slate.com. As a wine producer, my only experience of China was at a blind tasting with friends on a recent visit home to NZ. As I recall my notes read something like: “Bordeaux blend, possibly French, pretty fruit, a little smoky, dry finish, something like a Fronsac? 1997?” It turned out to be the 2005 Deep Blue from Grace Vineyard in Shanxi. That’s the thing about blind tastings. The wine always wins. Would I buy this particular wine again? Not at $60 a bottle, but I would at $15. Harlan & Co. can rest easy at the top of the price pyramid for now.
As a consumer, China is gladdening the hearts of winemakers all over the world, if not the wallets of wine drinkers. Yes, at the high end of the market the Chicken Littles are right - “The price are soaring! The prices are soaring!”. But across the spectrum of wine quality, greater demand will ensure that smaller producers survive and prosper, providing us all with greater choice. If Lafite disappears into the stratosphere, another wine will take its place, in the market if not in our hearts, and from an entirely unexpected place. Hawkes Bay, anyone? Seriously, right now, my advice would be to buy Lafite while you still can, because the demand for Lafite in China is out of all proportion to its place in the wine world. By an amazing coincidence, Vinfolio has several vintages of Lafite in stock. Grab ‘em while you can. Or enjoy those “other” 1st growths in relative peace, if you’re not convinced that Lafite is the one wine to rule them all.
