Beijing Boyce

“Ben Foster loves Preston North End“, “Ben Foster [heart] PNE,” “Ben Foster [this]” and “Ben Foster [that].

So state the toilet walls in several bars in Sanlitun. This raises for me questions that ranks up there with “Does life exist on other planets?”, “What really swims beneath the waves of Lake Khovsgol?” and “Why do I feel like having a breath mint every time I see the National Aquatics Center?”

Namely, “Who is this Ben, from whence comes his PNE love, and why is it being communicated above the urinals of our fair city?”

Upcoming Beijing wine-related events

Thursday, May 8, 7-9 PM, Med (Block 8), RMB100
Ladies Wine Club, with Italian wines and five-course meal; contact Kristen at lum.kristen@gmail.com.

Thursday, May 8, 7-8:30 PM, Amigo (Central Park), free
Chilean wine festival, with 16 wines, by Top Cellar; RSVP with Cedric at marketing@topcellar.com.cn / 13439-467-514.

Thursday, May 8, 7 PM, Prego (Westin Financial Street), RMB100 preregistered / RMB120 at door
Kim Crawford tasting, by ASC; RSVP at 6587-3808, x200.

Friday, May 9, 6:30 PM, Sequoia Cafe (Sanlitun), RMB 150
Pinot Noir tasting, with 4 wines and food; RSVP with Frank at 13701-178-073.

Thursday, May 15, 7:30 PM, Bookworm, RMB180
Australian wine tasting, 6 wines from 3 regions, by The Wine Republic; RSVP at 5869-7050 /  events@thewinerepublic.com.

Friday, May 16, 7-8:30 PM, Bento & Berries (Kerry Centre Hotel), free
Henry Bourgeois wine tasting, by Top Cellar; RSVP with Cedric at marketing@topcellar.com.cn / 13439-467-514.

Thursday, May 22, 7 PM, Cafe Europa, RMB180
Pinot Noir / Sauvignon Blanc tasting, by ASC; RSVP at 6587-3808, x200.

Thursday, May 22, 7 PM, Summer Palace (China World), RMB2008
“Road to Beijing” wine dinner and charity auction, 8 Chinese food-French wine pairings; auction of sports art and memorabilia (part of proceeds to Care for Children); RSVP at 6505-5838.

Friday, May 23, 7 PM, Aria, RMB1288
Guigal wine dinner, with the winery’s E. Guigal, by ASC; RSVP at 6587-3808, x200.

Saturday, May 24, Great Wall of China, RMB15888
Robert Parker wine dinner, by ASC; food by Blu Lobster; 8 wines rated 94+ by Parker; RSVP with Adam Steinberg at adamsteinberg@asc-wines.com.

Tuesday, May 28, 7 PM, Blu Lobster, RMB988
Alain Chabanon wine dinner, with winery owner Alain Chabanon, by East Meets West; RSVP with Blu Lobster (8882-6727) or EMW (6445-5797).

Friday, May 30, 7-8:30 PM, Bento & Berries (Kerry Centre Hotel), free
Deutz Champagne tasting, by Top Cellar; RSVP with Cedric at marketing@topcellar.com.cn / 13439-467-514.

Note: To get a wine event listed, send event information, preferably in text format, to beijingboyce@yahoo.com.

By Jim Boyce

I joined Marc Curtis of China Wine Tours on March 24 for a visit to Chateau Bolongbao, just outside of Beijing. Curtis will bring his first tour group from the United States to China in October, with the planned itinerary including Beijing, Xian, Shanxi, Xinjiang, and Shanghai. Here are some photos from the visit, led by the winery’s Tang Jie.

A view of Chateau Bolongbao from the gate.

Given that Beijing winters can be quite cold, these vines are buried beneath 35-40 centimeters of soil in the fall and then uncovered in the spring.

A hilltop view of Bolongbao, which we were told produced its first Bordeaux-style wine in 2003.

This facility is being built next door to Bolongbao by a farmers collective and, from what I gathered, will make non-grape fruit wines.

Professor of Agriculture Zou Fulin (second left), with (from left) China Wine Tour’s Judy Zhao and Marc Curtis, and the winery’s Tang Jie. Zou says he knows Italian, French, Australian and American wine styles, and prefers Bordeaux.

Production for 2005, 2006, and 2007 was 110,000, 88,000, and 110,000 bottles respectively, says Zou.

Bolongbao uses oak barrels from France and the United States.

This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (75%), Merlot (20%), and Cabernet Franc (5%). We tried it decanted for 40 minutes. The body was clean, with some cherry and clove aromas, though I found it a bit oak-y.

“There is nothing in the flavor that turns me off,” said Curtis. “I’d be happy to serve it to people.”

The 2005 vintage is available for RMB198. Bolongbao wines are not available via retail shops, but can be ordered via the winery.

I joined six Chinese wine writers on April 26 for lunch with Chateau Latour GM Frederic Engerer. Organized by ASC at the Hyatt’s Made in China restaurant in Beijing, the event saw us try his 1995 and 2001 wines with Chinese dishes, including Beijing duck, and discuss Chateau Latour in particular and the wine industry in general. I asked him three things.

Has he tried any Chinese wine?

He said that regrettably he had not.

What does he think about China’s growing influence on the Bordeaux market?

He said that countries such as China are changing the customer base for Chateau Latour: “It’s going to be a different profile of customers.”

“We are not responsible for the tripling of prices,” he added. “It’s out of our hands. Our goal is to provide the best wine every year.”

What does he think of screw tops and has Latour experimented with them?

He reacted strongly to the issue of screw tops. He called them “artificial” and questioned how well wine will age with their use.

“If you make wine to drink in 18 months, then [screw tops are] wonderful,” he said, but added that corks are better for storage. “It’s not a matter of traditional versus modern. It’s understood that our wines last 50 years.”

He gave no indication that Latour had experimented with screw tops.

“Our goal is to get cork better. With screw tops, it’s a different product. They call it wine, but we don’t,” he said, and cited his displeasure with the screw top lobby.

He pointed at the wine we were drinking: “Do you want this wine touching something artificial?”

When asked about glass closures, he said that Latour used some of these with its 2000 vintage and would give the wine a try in 2010. He added that Latour used glass closures in the 1820s, 1830s, and 1840s.

As for the food and wine pairing, some of the initial dishes proved too spicy - particularly those from southwest China - so the “heat” was reduced for the remainder, with the Beijing duck being an OK match. On top of talking to a leading Bordeaux personality, trying new food and wine combinations added to the fun.

Note: The wines we tried were Les Forts de Latour, Pauillac, 2001; Chateau Latour Grand Cru Classe, Pauillac, 2001; and Chateau Latour Grand Cru Classe, Pauillac, 1995.

Klubb Rouge is slated to open in China View – beside the City Hotel and The Den on Gongti East – in the first half of June. I reported on the press conference held outside Beijing two weeks ago (see Surreal Saturday). Last Friday afternoon, the club’s GM, David Blais, gave me a tour of the venue.

(Note: China View has quickly filled up with more than a dozen restaurants, coffee shops and bakeries, including Red Ocean Butterflies, Pullman Steak, and Purple Haze, although I hope Bella is not serving from that half bottle of white wine it leaves outside in the sun as an inducement to enter the place.)

Klubb Rouge’s main area takes the entire fourteenth floor. Patrons leave the elevators to face a two-sided 18-meter long chrome bar and a view west toward Workers’ Stadium. This space includes high ceilings - I would peg them at seven meters - and an elevated DJ booth.

Adjoining it to the north is a sizable lounge, about the size of Q Bar, which will include a second, shorter chrome bar, fixed sofas, and free-standing furniture. A sliding door can isolate this space for functions.

The lounge has a lower ceiling, as does the VIP area above, which is essentially a second lounge with views of the bar floor below.

Overall, expect décor with deep plums, candy apple reds and gold trim along with glass and stainless steel. Blais says the six massive columns lining the club will carry images of sexy women and there will be five tons of crystal hanging above the bar.

On the south sound of Klubb Rouge, a staircase will take patrons to two private rooms – one can seat about 20 people and faces east, the other is smaller and looks down on the main club area. Above that is a large deck with yet another chrome bar and an excellent view of the city. There are two private areas on this floor.

All bathrooms are on the main floor.

The current drink plan includes 10 to 15 wines, bottled beer, and a cocktail list that includes signature drinks. There will be a strong focus on bottles of spirits.

Blais says the place aims to draw a diverse crowd of both locals and expatriates, including tourists, businesspeople, and others.

Note: To clarify from the last post. There is no business relationship between Klubb Rouge and Shanghai’s Bar Rouge, but several people who formerly worked at the latter are now involved with the former.

The Friday night tasting (RMB100) at Sequoia Café in Sanlitun two weeks ago featured Chilean wines from Terra Mater. We worked our way through a Chardonnay, Merlot, Sangiovese and Zinfandel-Shiraz and two Sauvignon Blanc. My favorites were the Terra Mater Sauvignon Blanc 2006 (dry grass and crisp fruits on the nose, and a juicy body, though some found it too acidic) and Zinfandel-Shiraz 2005 (an 85-15 percent blend with a rich fruity - plum - nose, though the body came off as weaker than expected). Both wines cost RMB143 per bottle.

Other tasters liked the Reserve Sangiovese 2006 (ample fruit and a nice mouth feel, but it smelled a bit rubbery to me). Terra Mater wines are distributed by DT Asia.

Later that night I checked into the second anniversary of Cellar Le Pinot, a tightly designed and decently stocked wine shop near the Hyatt Hotel.

Some two dozens were available for tasting (RMB50) and the shop offered a 20 percent discount on all wines.

I bought two Chinese wines I have not seen before: a bottle of “Night” by Suntime (Xinjiang) and a bottle of “Vintage” wine, which I believe is an export-only brand using grapes from Xinjiang (the back label was in French and Dutch). I’ll put these bottles into a future blind tasting.

I met bartenders George Zhou and Echo Sun shortly after arriving in Beijing in 2004 and imbibed more than my fair share of their cocktails at First Cafe and Midnight. Before they opened current venue Q Bar with partner Ralph Ziegenhorn two years ago, they gave me a tour and asked my opinion. My gut instinct: given their strong following among the city’s cocktail crowd and the challenges of dealing with a relatively large-scale bar, they should stick to drinks and forgo the staffing, safety, spoilage and other issues that come with a kitchen.

It seems they had the same idea: Q Bar, save for the nightly peanuts and the food at special events, has remained a liquid zone… until now.

The bar recently introduced a food menu of just over a dozen items and O-Zone and I went into guinea pig mode last Tuesday night to give it a taste test.

Prunes wrapped in bacon (RMB40): a dozen of these “little devils” comes on a tray with - fancy schmancy - a cloth serviette. They are tasty but might be even better with something a bit sharper to offset the prunes’ sweetness and bacon’s greasiness. George had another batch made topped with Parmesan, but I’m thinking blue cheese.

Chicken kebabs with guacamole (RMB50): about a dozen individual nuggets on sticks, with ample guacamole (so much we couldn’t eat it all). Tasty again, and - while guacamole is a personal thing – another option is an extra squeeze of lemon and shake of salt.

Sandwich plate (RMB50): this came with: 1) chicken salad and homemade mayonnaise on rye, which was fresh and had a nice texture, and 2) turkey, Camembert and raspberry jam on what looked like 20-percent whole wheat bread.

For another take on the food, check this post.

By the way, it isn’t on the menu, but last summer – fruit permitting - it was possible to get dragon fruit margaritas at Q Bar. It’s worth a try.

Glenn Phelan at Paddy O’Shea’s said about 35 Canucks were on hand last Sunday to watch the NHL playoffs. If you want to watch an early morning game, let Glenn know ahead of time at glenn@paddyosheas.com.

Not that the NBA playoffs matter any more now that my beloved Raptors are out, but The Rickshaw has been showing those games that it can pick up by satellite.

The ground has thawed, the leaves are out, and that means The Stone Boat “Tunes in the Park” series is up and running again. The May lineup includes Hussy Hicks (May 1, 9:30 PM; “They actually rock quite clean with hints of country and Celtic Rock”),  Jane Germain and Ian Simpson (May 9, 9:30 PM, “grassland blues”), “Brasil Nite” (May 10, 9 PM, samba, jazz, and bossa nova), Hedgehog (May 16, 8 PM, “pop-punk”), Panjir (May 17, 9:30 PM, “insanely free jazz and Flamenco guitar solos”), Woodie Alan (May 23, 9:30 PM, blues-rock), Enfants Terrible (May 24, 9:30 PM,  “jazz electronica”),  Panjir (May 30, 9:30 PM), and Hanggai (May 31, 9:30 PM, Mongolian throat singing).

The Stone Boat is also holding “Boat Paridiso Video Shorts“, on May 15 at 9 PM, “featuring film/video art, vidcasts, animation, and other shorts highlighting local life and talent.”

All of the events listed above are free. Fishing in the pond next to the Stone Boat is extra.

The resort - an hour’s drive beyond Beijing - sat nestled among a dozen mountains, upon one of which The Great Wall snaked like gray piping on a green felt jacket. Its balconies, pillars, arches, stonework, gilded trim—all seemed as though they had been teleported from Europe with the wave of a magic wand. Upon its vast deck sat scores of attendees sipping cocktails and wine, and nibbling barbecued lamb, stewed beef, and potato salad studded with strawberries, grapes and bananas. As the afternoon dwindled, a small herd of tame deer materialized to mingle among those on the sprawling lawn.

Why, one might reasonably ask, were we there? A press conference for Klubb Rouge*, an establishment to soon open in downtown Beijing, a dozen floors above Hooters on Workers’ Stadium East Road.

Saturday’s event and the club might seem an odd juxtaposition, somewhat along the lines of strawberries in potato salad, but who am I to complain about getting out of the city. And that is what more than one hundred of us – PR people, F&B managers, magazine types, and the like – did as we gathered on three buses that first inched through downtown traffic and then wound past fields, farm villages, vegetable vendors, and reservoirs to the resort.

The press conference proved anticlimactic. A poorly planned Powerpoint presentation resulted in print too tiny to read, while the verbal delivery consisted largely of rah-rah sentiments such as, “it’s really going to change the club scene,” “it’s going to amaze your eyes and amaze your ears,” and “you will be really, really, really delighted.”

Fortunately, I was able to ask general manager David Blais a few questions on the deck (I’ve paraphrased his answers).

Is Klubb Rouge related to Bar Rouge in Shanghai?

No, although a consultant and DJ from Bar Rouge are working on the project.

How big is the club?

The club has 1400 square meters of space on the fourteenth floor of China View as well as a terrace with a 360-degree view, two private rooms, and a mezzanine that can hold 300 to 400 people. The total capacity is 1500 to 2000 people.

How much will cocktails cost?

About 70 to 80 kuai.

Will there be food?

No, at least not in the beginning.

It was then time to enjoy a sunny afternoon in sedate surroundings, and enjoy a buffet of salad, meat and fruit as well as an open bar. Things were made all the more delightful when one at our table - Ross “Papa JJ” Goulding of Time Out magazine - won a draw for a bottle of 1999 Dom Perignon that he decided was best consumed there and then.

We realized that all good things must come to an end (translation: the last bus was leaving). After grabbing a few beverages and petting the deer, we boarded the bus for Beijing and a traffic flow that became increasingly  and excruciatingly slower as we approached city center.

The long ride put both physical and spiritual distance between us and the afternoon that had been. Just before we tranquilized Ross “Papa JJ” Goulding, whose elocution, while endearing, was scaring fellow passengers due to its volume and endurance, he hoarsely said: “Twas a great day, but how the memory fades. In the words of the great Rutger Hauer, ‘All those moments will be lost in time, like my upcoming three-day hangover tears in rain.’”

(And yes, the Champagne was worth including that quote in this post.)

As usual, apologies for the quality of the camera on my otherwise excellent K-TOUCH B922 phone, though in this case the somewhat surreal results fit the event.

Abracadabra!

Oh deer.

Note: I will have more details on the club later this week.

* KLUBB is spelled with the “K” reversed and a double “B”, while ROUGE is spelled with the “R” reversed. I lack the technology, let alone the willpower, to duplicate it here.

If you hear the words “wine humidor” and think of oak barrel displays, wooden shelves, and row upon row of top-end wine, you might be a tad disappointed by the Metro hypermarket on Beijing’s outskirts. This is a storage facility, plain and simple, with fluorescent lights, fabricated steel shelving, and a warehouse feel.

While I spotted wine such as Napa Valley Shafer and Barossa Valley Penfold’s Grange alongside ice wine and the usual Champagne suspects - a three-liter bottle of Veuve Clicquot is RMB2190 - the selection is lighter than I expected.

In terms of Chinese wine, options include Dragon Seal and Grace Vineyard Chairman’s Reserve 2005 (RMB388). But unlike the imported wines they are kept standing rather than on their sides. Why put them in storage if you’re not going to lay them down?

The constantly opening and closing sliding door also made me wonder how well the temperature and humidity is maintained.

Note: Spirits are also available at Metro, including Macallan 30-year-old single malt (RMB3999) and Remy Martin’s Louis XIII Grande Champagne Cognac (RMB12999 kuai), which the sales staff told me is a popular item. A ceramic bottle of 1955 baijiu goes for around RMB50000. German beer fans will find about about 10 brands in the store proper. To shop at Metro, you need to be a member.

Wine writer Robert Parker will make his first trip to China next month and the price tag for the two dinners that ASC Fine Wines is organizing for him is nothing to sniff at: RMB15888 (USD2270) per head.

Then again, it’s not your typical event.

The Beijing dinner will be held on May 24 the Great Wall and catered by Brian McKenna, chef at Shangri-la Hotel restaurant Blu Lobster. The dinner, limited to 40 people, will include eight wines Parker rated 94 points or higher, with three at 100 points, including Chateau Haut Brion 1989 and Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2002.

The Parker dinner in Shanghai will be held on May 23 at Noble Seafood, carry the same price tag, and include eight other wines Parker has rated 94 points or higher.

Oh, and each attendee gets a copy of an autographed book by Parker, if you are looking for that little extra to make you plonk down your cash.

Open since December in the ex-Browns location, Revelations held its official launch party Wednesday night with live music, tango dancers (meow!), a draw, and free drinks (for those uninterested in subtlety, the “Revelations” cocktail is a heady mix of what I guess to be lychee and passion fruit).

This cavernous spot remains a bit of a mystery to me. It offers what I consider the city’s best lunch deal - example: fresh bread, soup, quiche, both green salad and warm potato and ham salad, and a Lavazza coffee for 40 kuai – yet draws a small crowd. Perhaps, the launch party will provide the exposure needed to get the numbers up.

Urban Sambal had its re-launch party the same night. While not conveniently located (near Phoenix Town), the space is refreshing, with the high vertically and horizontally slanting roof, cement floors and art giving it a gallery air that is nicely moderated by the bar and huge chandelier.

The place bustled as patrons enjoyed free Mojitos, martinis, wine, Qingdao and tapas (excellent curry!), with many hanging out on the deck to enjoy the cool night air. Parties with their fair share of “beautiful people” are no rarity in this town, but this one was uncommon for the number of women who were attractive and fun (I’ll leave up to the ladies to do decide if the male half was up to snuff). More power to Cho for drawing such a crowd.

On Thursday, The Rickshaw held its one-year anniversary bash. People were flank to shank upstairs as a DJ cranked out tunes and the bar handed out free beer, including three kegs of homebrew from sibling bar The Saddle Cantina.

For all my complaints about the service (and that new yellow paint job), The Rickshaw has served me well these past 12 months with cold Stella, medium wings, a strong wireless connection, and the NBA Channel.

The ballots are out for the City Weekend 2008 Reader Choice Awards (I can’t find any info on the City Weekend Web site, but have already been lobbied twice for votes by Block 8). This year’s contest covers 44 categories. Those for nightlife include:

- Best jazz
- Best for group hangouts
- Best live music
- Best for dancing
- Most loved budget bar
- Mixed drinks to die for
- Best place to find a date
- Most extravagant bar in town
- Best Beijing-based band of the year
- Party of the year (best party promoter)
- Most skilled bartenders
- Best Beijing-based DJ of the year
- Best beer selection
- Best sports bar
- Best wine selection
- Nightlife newcomer of the year
- Best bar of the year

I had my first “inside look” at the Olympics facilities on Saturday night as I attended the Brazil-Ghana women’s soccer match at Workers’ Stadium. The game determined the final qualifier for The Games.

Having neatly ironed the Ghana flag I diligently sourced for the 2006 World Cup, I arrived in the hope that my pennant would not fly alone. That hope was realized. There were dozens of flags - all of them carrying the colors of Brazil, which racked up five goals before Ghana saved a bit of dignity with a late tally. I have no proof, but I believe my team must have gone on a huge drinking binge the night before. You got lucky, Brazil.

In any case, a few “thumbs ups” and “thumbs downs” about the game.

Down
Despite tickets priced as low as 20 kuai, the stadium was only one-third full.

Up
Crowded into half of the stadium, the crowd oh-ed, ah-ed, booed, cheered and had a good time, with those in the nose-bleed sections getting “the wave” going.

Down

The seats were dirty, some dabbled with white paint spots; some rows were 25 seats wide, which meant the guy on the end had to struggle past 24 other people.

Up
Several attendees offered me newspaper pages on which to sit; people were polite about letting each other go by.

Down
The nasty air, with not only visible haze, but also floating tree pollen.

Up
The diligent could have stuffed a pillow with that pollen while they watched the game.

Down
No timer on the score clock, making it hard to know when the game was close to ending.

Up
Replays on the massive TV screen.

Save for the pollution (and the score), I enjoyed the game. The security guards at the gate were polite and efficient, the crowd had a good vibe, and the stadium looked good with its various sections of colored seats. I can only imagine how this stadium is going to rock when it is full!

UPDATE II: The Rickshaw was able to show the Hornets-Mavs and Suns-Spurs games this morning, so it appears that games listed here as being on either bensports 1 or ESPN are available. That would mean the Detroit Pistons-Philadelphia 76ers (7:30 AM) and LA Lakers-Denver Nuggets (10:30 AM) are available tomorrow. (For audio streaming, go to the “scores” on ESPN and click the “listen” button for each game - you need to sign up for this feature, a process that takes about 90 seconds. Thanks to Chad at The Rickshaw for figuring this out for me.)

UPDATE: It is 8:20, I’m at the Rickshaw, and we have been treated to baseball, motorcycle racing, a dog show, and snippets of the Hornets-Maverick game, but no Raptors-Magic. Not sure if the Suns-Spurs game will be on.

Glenn Phelan is showing the playoffs of that well-known Irish sport – NHL hockey - at Paddy O’Shea’s. He is getting the games via the Internet and says the images are good.

The four conference semifinals hit the ice starting Thursday morning our time. Here’s the slate Glenn sent. (If you plan to go, I suggest shooting an email to glenn@paddyosheas.com to inspire Glenn to get out of bed for a bunch of hockey nuts.)

Game 1
- Thursday, April 24, 7 AM and 10 AM
- Friday, April 25, 7 AM and 10 AM

Game 2
- Saturday, April 26, 7 AM and 10 AM
- Sunday, April 27, 8 AM

Turning to the NBA playoffs, Rickshaw manager Chad Lager and I stayed up until 3 AM Monday morning in the hopes of catching the scheduled Toronto Raptors-Orlando Magic and/or Denver Nuggets-LA Lakers games. No dice. Chad managed to get two games yesterday and fingers are crossed for tomorrow morning’s Raptors-Magic (7:30 AM) and Phoenix Suns-San Antonio Spurs (9:30 AM) games.

A bunch of parties going on this week…

Sambal Urban will hold an “opening cocktail party” on April 23, 8:30-11 PM, with DJ Huang Weiwei, VJ G.org and art by Wei Xingyu. RSVP with Cat or Peter at 5866-8538.

Revelations is apparently having its opening party the same night.

And Kokomo now has Cuban band “Son de Cuba” on Wednesdays - the show starts at 9:30 PM. (Buy one, get one free Cuba Libres before 10 PM.)

The Rickshaw marks its first anniversary on April 24, 4PM-6 AM, with some freebies and lots of “surprises.”