Single Guy Chef

Chinese Wine …that’s good???

Posted on 07. Jul, 2007 by marriedguychef in Drinks, wine

When we first arrived in China, I decided that it was wine hell and wanted to leave immediately.  The selection was limited and the prices were ridiculous.  I spent weeks trying to find ways to import what I wanted, but that didn’t pan out.  Of course, I was certain there were no good Chinese wines.  That much was obvious. 

I was wrong.  One day, I was in a wine store in a Nanjing shopping mall (you can see how desperate I was).  The owner showed me all of his overpriced French and Australian wines.  Finally, I asked him for the best Chinese red wine he had.  Surprisingly, he didn’t take me to the most expensive bottle.  He pointed me to a 2001 Grace Vineyards Premium Cabernet Merlot (RMB123 - about 15 bucks).  I bought one bottle and avoided opening it for a few weeks because I didn’t want to ruin a night with some rancid grapes.  We finally opened it and were really impressed.  This was a great bottle of wine.  It was our house wine until we exhausted the local supply (we’ve moved on to the 2003 vintage which is also very good). Grace Vineyards is a winery in Shanxi province started by a Hong Kong entreprenuer.  The business is run by his daughter and a smart French guy handles the vines and the wines.

I’d like to give you a really detailed review of all the nuances of this wine, but I don’t have a golden pallet like that marriedWineGuy.  If my wife didn’t drink all of the 2001, I’ll bring MWG a bottle and see what he thinks.  Check back in a few weeks.

In any case, if you’re in China or your local wine shop has a Chinese section (yeah, right), head straight for the Grace Vineyards.  The Tasya’s Reserve Cabernet Franc is excellent as well.

Tags: Cabernet, Merlot, wine