Beijing Boyce

Prepare your palates for these upcoming events on the Beijing wine circuit. No surprise, Beaujolais Nouveau is the wine du jour - yes, it’s a huge marketing gimmick, but the parties can be fun. For a change of pace, check out the Friday tasting at Sequoia Cafe (Sanlitun), which takes a break from wine this week and has four different Aussie brews for 100 kuai. (Note: The list below is based on email from wine distributors and on that’s Beijing and Beijing Talk magazines. It’s best to double-check details with the organizer.)

November 1-18, Carrefour’s Shuang Jing store (5190-9589)
Autumn wine fair

November 13, 6:30-9 PM, Prego - The Westin Hotel, Financial Street (RMB150)
Allegrini wine tasting; wines include Soave DOC, Chardonnay IGT, Pinot Grigio IGT, Merlot IGT, Bardolino DOC, Valpolicella DOC, Valpolicella Classico DOC, “La Grola” IGT, Amarone Classic; contact Claudia at claudia.chen@summergate.com to RSVP.

November 15, Le Bistrot Parisien (RMB45 per glass, RMB198 per bottle)
Beaujolais Nouveau festival, with French performances and a meal by Chef Patrick Pontoizeau. Call 6417-8188 for details.

November 15, 6 PM, Le Baie des Anges (free)
Beaujolais Nouveau event. Call 6657-1605 for details.

November 15, 7 PM, Pekotan Deli & Wine - Central Park, Building 12 (RMB60)
Beaujolais Nouveau launch party by Palette Vino and Pekotan; Domaine du Penlois 2007. To RSVP, call 6533-6605 or email info@palettewines.cn.

November 15, 7-9 PM, The Bookworm (Advance: RMB100, includes three glasses of wine; at the door: RMB120)
Beaujolais Nouveau tasting by Metro and The Bookworm (tickets available at both places)

November 15, 7-10 PM, Kranzler’s Restaurant & Bar - Kempinski Hotel (RMB150)
Beaujolais Nouveau party by Kranzler’s and Summergate; Georges DuBoeuf 2007; call Jessie at 6562-5800 or Mary at 6465-3388, x4105 to RSVP.

November 16, 7 PM, My Humble House (RMB1100RMB)
Vega-Sicilia wine dinner, with Proprietor Pablo Alvarez and Chief Winemaker Javier Ausas; contact Sophie at 5165-5519, x208 or sophie@torres.com.cn to RSVP.

November 16, 6:30 PM, Sequoia Cafe (RMB100, includes four bottles of beer, snacks)
Weekly Friday night tasting at Sequoia Café in Sanlitun. This week features Aussie beer: Victoria Bitter, Cascade Premium, Cascade Light and, from Tasmania, Boags. Join the e-vite list by emailing Frank at frank.siegel@gmail.com.

November 16, 6:30-8:30 PM, Bentos & Berries - Kerry Centre (free)
Beaujolais Nouveau event by Top Cellar. Go here to reserve a spot.

November 16, 7 PM, Justine’s - Jianguo Hotel (RMB688+15%)
E. Guigal wine dinner at Justine’s, with chef Raphael Miloux; contact Dennis Zhang at dennis@asc-wines.com / 6418-1598, x130 for details.

November 17, 5:30 PM, China Lounge (RMB150)
Five American wines with canapes; contact Dennis Zhang at dennis@asc-wines.com / 6418-1598, x130 for details.

November 17, 7-9:30 PM, Cafe Europa (RMB250)
Free-flow Louis Jadot Beaujolais - Villages Nouveau; appetizers by Chef Tal. Contact Dennis Zhang at dennis@asc-wines.com / 6418-1598, x130 to RSVP.

November 22, 7 PM, Capones (RMB500)
“Wines around the World”; Capones and ASC Fine Wines teams up with Chef Marco. Contact Dennis Zhang at dennis@asc-wines.com / 6418-1598, x130 to RSVP.

Rather than write a lengthy report about Saturday’s Food & Wine Experience at The Hilton, I thought it would be more fun to interview myself. Here we go:

Was that you on The Hilton’s marble steps standing in front of a broken bottle of wine?
It was. As I left, the paper bag provided by the organizers came unglued and a nearly full bottle of Heartland Dolcetto Lagrein fell out. The bottle exploded on the steps and attracted gawkers from far and wide. Fortunately, a half bottle of Heartland Shiraz stayed in the bag.

You mean you could buy wine there?
No. If you stay until the end of such events, sometimes the distributors give away opened bottles because they don’t want to waste them.

Why did you end up with Heartland?
I spent the last half hour at the Palette tables. I like Australian wines and Palette owner John Gai has an excellent portfolio. Palette’s Stefan Fleischer, as he did at this event two years ago, guided me through some lovely wines, particulary the Shiraz and Viognier.

What else did you like?
I liked the media session with wine writer Jeremy Oliver, supported by the Australian Wine & Brandy Corporation and ASC Fine Wines - I’ll write a separate post about it. He encouraged us to cover the top of our glasses with our palms and shake them - this gives wine a few hours’ worth of aeration. Make sure you have tissues handy if you try this at home.

Best of all was meeting winemakers, winery owners, distributors, writers and, especially, consumers. I met many people that I previously knew only by email, including Jennifer Zhang and Jessie Xiao at Summergate and Xavier Tondusson at Bacchus. Good to match faces with email addresses!

By the way, if logistically possible, I think the Champagne distributors should be in Zeta bar next year. It’s a perfect fit. I would also have the event run later into the afternoon.

Any disappointments?
I would love to see more countries better represented. As usual, pickings were meager from China (only Grace Vineyard), Austria, Portugal, Canada and some other nations. Having said that, we get more choice every year in Beijing, so overall I was happy with the selection.

However, I was disappointed at the light turnout Saturday. The event offered hundreds of wines and a buffet for 230 kuai - what more could you ask for? Compare this to Torres’ Taste of the Nations event last weekend: it offered far fewer wines but attracted a lot of attendees, even though it was only marginally cheaper.

Spreading the Food & Wine Experience over two days - the trade show was on Friday - might help explain the attendance. Some trade people could not attend Friday and gave tickets to friends or customers who might otherwise have come on Saturday. Next year, the hotel might also want to pair its traditional magazine ads with more marketing via e-mail and word-of-mouth, which is the key way many people get information about events.

I talked to four distributors about attendance and all of them were unhappy, especially as they had to pay for table space and provide staff, wine and literature for the event. On the other hand, 18 distributors participated and most didn’t seem to do much to promote this event, at least if my inbox is any indication.

Which distributors attended?
Eight companies had the vast majority of the 182 wine tables: ASC (27), Aussino, Jointek and Summergate (25 each), Jebsen (24), and H&L, Palette and Torres (12 each). Other distributors were: DT Asia (6), Metro (4), Bacchus and Pernod Ricard (2 each) and Ao Hua, Beijing GLP, East Meets West, Longfellows, Moet Hennessey Diageo and TBC - The Beverage Company (1 each). Montrose was notably absent. The other 12 tables featured food, glassware, wine accessories, magazines, and bottled water.

This breakdown suggests the Hilton might want to drop the “food” from “food & wine” in the event title.

So, was it worth it?
Definitely. As mentioned, hundreds of wines were available for tasting. A Shiraz lover could compare and contrast what each distributor offers - dozens of wines in total. If you like French wines, you could have tasted to your heart’s content. For ten years, this has been one of the wine events of the year for consumers in Beijing. You just need to ensure you have a sturdy bag if you stay until the end.

Note: Get my free e-newsletter about nightlife and wine in Beijing by sending an email to beijingboyce@yahoo.com with “sign me up” in the subject line. For more China wine info, join the Facebook group Grape Wall of China.