Beijing Boyce

Upcoming Beijing wine-related events

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. (Note: RMB100 of each fee will go to the Red Cross for earthquake relief efforts in Sichuan.)

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.

Friday, May 16, 6:30 PM, Sequoia Cafe (Sanlitun), RMB 100
Languedoc tasting, with 5 red wines; RSVP with Frank at 13701-178-073.

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.

Thursday, May 22, 7 PM, Sheraton Great Wall Hotel (21F), RMB588
Grace Vineyard wine dinner, with Grace President Judy Leissner; by Torres China, RSVP with Sophie at sophie@torres.com.cn.

Thursday, May 22, 7-10 PM, Cafe Europa, RMB180
“Four continents” tasting, with NZ, US, French wines, and finger foods; RSVP Joseph Kiang at Cafe Europa @5869 5663 / 13910-097-621.

Thursday, May 22, 6:30 PM, Le Little Saigon, RMB70
Loire Valley wine tasting, with 7 wines and buffet; RSVP with Raphael at 13520-795-172 or raphael@bylweb.com.

Friday, May 23, 7 PM, Aria (China World Hotel), RMB1288
Guigal wine dinner, with 7 wines and wine makers Philippe and Marcel Guigal; RSVP with Danny at Aria (6505-2266, x36 / danny.kane@shangri-la.com) or Helen at ASC (6587-3803 / homedelivery@asc-wines.com).

Friday, May 23, 7-9 PM, Cellar Le Pinot, RMB50
“Wine & Lady” tasting party, with four wines; RSVP at 8515-1715 / zhoumeixing@lepinot.com

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.

Tuesday, June 3, 4-8 PM, 1949: The Hidden City, RMB150
Global wine extravaganza, with leaders from 20 wineries - Joseph Phelps, Seghesio, Trimbach, Meerlust , Santa Rita, etc; by ASC; RSVP with Helen at helenlu@asc-wines.com.

Saturday, June 14, 3-6 PM, Ritz-Carlton Financial Street, RMB120
The Culinary Coin Festival, with free-flow Champagne / wine, coffee, chocolate, and more.

Saturday, June 14, 7-10 PM, Greenfish (Ritz-Carlton Financial Street), RMB2008
Dinner with Volker Drkosch, 1-star Michelin chef; RSVP at 6601-6666.

Saturday, June 14, 7-10 PM, Cepe (Ritz-Carlton Financial Street), RMB2008
Dinner with Claudio Sadlerm, Michelin star chef; RSVP at 6601-6666.

Saturday, June 14, 7-10 PM, Qi (Ritz-Carlton Financial Street), RMB2008
Dinner with Eric M. Johnson, from Shanghai’s Jean George; RSVP at 6601-6666.

Note: To get a wine event listed, send event info, preferably in text format, to beijingboyce@yahoo.com. If you intend to attend any of the above events, it is best to confirm with the venue ahead of time.

Eight is a lucky number in China, so for each of the 88 days until the 2008 Olympics, I will strip-mine my brain to unearth a thought related to Beijing and The Games. That’s one thought per brain cell. It’s called teamwork, people!

Thought 3 of 88

Getting hounded by a dozen or more “lady bar, lady bar“, “happy hour, cheap drink” and other touts while walking the Sanlitun North strip is as annoying as the Beijing bar scene gets, right?

Actually, Sanlitun slides into second place when compared to Houhai’s Lotus Lane last night around 11 PM. Here are a few highlights of my visit there with The Cellar Rat:

- Lady bar touts, including one who grabbed my arm, following uncomfortably close and shouting “massage! sex!” and “lady come to room!”

- Restaurant employees dragging bags of stinking leaking garbage across the sidewalk, thereby leaving streaks for everyone to walk through.

- In-your-face “salespeople” repeatedly shouting “hello, hello!” and “looka, looka!” in a persistent effort to sell those hand-held laser beams, one of which was shone near my face.

Classy.

Most annoying is that Lotus Lane has such potential. Lying beside the lake and with ample outdoor seating, it offers a nice view. Some of the restaurants serve good food. Some of the clubs make an effort - Buffalo had a decent jazz combo playing last night.

Unfortunately, none of them got our money. We decided to leave rather than deal with a smelly street loaded with rude pushy touts.

One hopes that for the Olympics, the authorities will either: 1) clear out the touts, 2) arm tourists with tasers and mace so they can do the job themselves, 3) or provide a sales primer which underscores that yelling “looka, looka” and shining a high-powered beam of light into someone’s face is unlikely to make them a potential customer.

Previously

Thought 1: If they build it, we may come
Thought 2: “Whether or not” in Sanlitun