I read a
recent article on an interview with the winemaker and the Director of Domaines Barons de Rothschild, Mr. Charles Chevallier on why he thinks Lafite is so popular in China. He said that there are mainly two reasons; the first being that "Lafite makes the best wine in Bordeaux" and the second reason which could be equally important is "Lafite is a name that is pronounceable in Mandarin, and there's also something special about the word "la feet" (拉菲) in the world's biggest, fastest growing economic force."
Come to think of it, most of the popular wine brands in China do have names that are quite easy to memorize and pronounce like Mouton, Latour, Petrus, Le Pin and Grange etc. This has also become one of my favorite topics whenever I talk to my Chinese clients who would only go for Lafite, but strangely enough no one seems to have an answer. So, whether it is really as simple as just the name or Chinese really think Lafite makes the best wine in Bordeaux, I wondered. All I know is for some reason in China, any wine with the "five arrows" symbol and the name Rothchild has to be one of the "best."
