Beijing Boyce

Hoops fans - even though it’s obvious the Toronto Raptors will win the championship, you can still see the other teams play as The Rickshaw will be showing games, says manager Chad Lager. The Rickshaw has NBA TV, as well as access to ESPN via two dishes.

By the way, I am checking with Frank’s Place about getting some NHL playoff games shown. More on this soon.

By Jim Boyce

The Shuang Jing branch of Carrefour in Beijing launched its 2008 April Wine Fair last Thursday. The event drew a sizable crowd as the opening day included at least a 20 percent discount on all wine.

I arrived around 9 PM, unaware of the scale of the fair or that many distributors would be on hand with samples of their wines.

A mix of locals and foreigners toured more than a dozen tasting stations. Most wines were entry-level, or slightly above, and it was a good opportunity to “try before you buy.” Many shoppers had carts loaded with individual bottles or cases. I ended up going for the “two bottles of Domaine Ste. Michelle and one bottle of Columbia Crest Two Vines for RMB282″ deal.

Here are a few photos from the event. Apologies for the quality - while my K-Touch B922 phone offers good features, an excellent built-in camera is not among them.

Wine guy Badr (left) tastes some wine with Torres China’s Hugo (right).

These guys are stocking up, with a full few carts behind them…

… and one in front.

Even at 9:30 PM, there were plenty of wine lovers.