Shanghaiist: Red, red wine

Fred Fox

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 14:40:03 +0800

I have drank my way through 1/2 the world. From 10 RMB a bottle to 20,000 RMB a bottle white/red wine from acorss the world. Most Chinese wine is really bad. If you want to get drunk without any headaches, trying some other countries. I agreed, Grace vineyard's white wine is nice, and palatable. Dynasty is decent, and best drunk with Sprite or concoct it with OJ to make Sangria. Dragon Seal is so bad, that I had to swear!! F&#@#!@ bad. I think a lot of them are overpriced, and price in Chinese wine does not mean quality! I think xinjian wine is horrible as well. Mostly, I just don't think you can sip Chinese wine. They are meant to be drunk by cases, and blind folded. Even the best Chinese wine is not comparable to a any decent wine other parts of the wine country.

Orpheus

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 22:18:20 +0800

A cabernet under "Huadong" brand, from Yantai, Shandong, takes the highest honor that a Chinese wine has ever achieved for this diligent wine aficionado: it is actually mediocre, rather than plain bad. It is comparable to a $7 California cab or an Aussie shiraz, the kind that has less character and therefore pleases many. Two caveats, however: first, you cannot find this wine easily outside of Shandong Peninsula; secondly, the price is ~130-200RMB, which puts it in the same price range as a fairly drinkable (and far more interesting) young Bordeaux that you can get from Carrefour, or better yet, D.T.Asia, directly. So, wine buff hopefuls: I guess I just lost that aparkle of interest in your eyes......

epay

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 12:51:34 +0800

In my opinion the issue with most Chinese wines is not whether they are palatable, but whether they are potable. Since spending real money on Chinese wine inevitably ends in woe, I have only experimented with the cheap ones. I've had a good imitation of grape Gatorade, vinegar, and one Tibetan Dry that tasted like beef jerky. The only acceptable one I've found is Suntime's Manas dry red (新天玛纳斯). The winery is in Xinjiang, and the wine itself, which will set you back a whopping 16 RMB per bottle, is decent. Still haven't tried Suntime's other wines. On a separate but related note, I was lingering in Metro's wine aisle the other day and saw a bottle of Franzia. Franzia comes in bottles???

A.Robb

Sun, 03 Sep 2006 22:49:47 +0800

I've found most Chinese reds completely undrinkable, though some are merely 'bad'. The lone exception in my experience is Grace Vineyard from Shanxi Province. Try it...