Wine me Dine Me

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

So, they say a wine shortage is coming? European countries wine consumption is decreasing steadily. So, if we have a shortage, who's responsible for buying up all the wine? Well the US is one, and you guessed it, China is the other. China wine consumption has increased 150% in the last five years. That explains why many of the stores that once only had "Great Wall" brand (puke/gag), now have other options.

 

http://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/screen-shot-2013-10-28-at-2-32-35-pm.png?w=1024&h=546

Edited October 31, 2013 by GuangDongExpat (see edit history)

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

Here's the link to the article:

 

 

http://qz.com/140602/a-global-wine-shortage-could-soon-be-upon-us/

[Mick]

That is interesting, indeed. I can recall during my first year in China (1997), you could hardly find wine in local stores and when you did, it was considered pretty bad stuff. (I don't drink, so I can't make any credible comment). Few people drank it. When we moved down to Guangdong, it slowly began to increase in variety and popularity but it was still fairly scarce when we left China in 2003. It will be interesting to see if China develops any "wine snobs" like we have here. I have several friends who fit into that niche and one even has a wine cellar.

 

What do you notice about the wine drinking patterns where you are located?

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

That is interesting, indeed. I can recall during my first year in China (1997), you could hardly find wine in local stores and when you did, it was considered pretty bad stuff. (I don't drink, so I can't make any credible comment). Few people drank it. When we moved down to Guangdong, it slowly began to increase in variety and popularity but it was still fairly scarce when we left China in 2003. It will be interesting to see if China develops any "wine snobs" like we have here. I have several friends who fit into that niche and one even has a wine cellar.

 

What do you notice about the wine drinking patterns where you are located?

 

I'm now living in Guangzhou with my girlfriend, so am beginning to learn more about this city. I've seen a steady increase in Western restaurants and bars all over China. Most of the Western restaurants have a good selection of wines, but they are mostly limited to Italy, Australia, Chile, and France. It can be very difficult to find a California wine in the stores or in the restaurants. I'm not sure why wine from the US is hard to find, but figure it may be due to negative political feelings and taxes toward the US, mixed with a European forced delusion of snobbery telling them European and French wines are better.

 

But, it's not only the consumption of wine that is increasing in China. Chinese people are drinking more and more varieties of alcohol. The days of having only baijiu and beer are disappearing fast. It's becoming easier to find well-stocked Western bars and pubs. These bars, pubs and Western restaurants are located in specific areas of most larger cities in China. In Guangzhou for example, the designated areas for foreigners are Jujiang Xin Cheng, and Tian He. Italian, French, German cuisines are easy to find among others. When you walk in, you get the same feeling as you would in any Western bar. They are dimly lit, nice wooden bar and stools, nice back-lit displays behind the bars of virtually any bottle of alcohol you would find anywhere else in the world. Also, well-known popular beers are on-tap. Carlsburg, Heineken, Paulner, Budweiser, and many others. Selections depend on the theme of the joint.

 

There are also more and more wine stores popping up. The wine stores are more like a European art gallery crossed with fine Chinese tea house and very elaborate.

Edited October 31, 2013 by GuangDongExpat (see edit history)

[Mick]

During my years in China, one of the most fascinating things to watch was how fast the culture was changing, especially in terms of consumerism. As I mentioned in one of Randy's threads, when I first arrived in China a decent cup of coffee was a rare find. One had to settle for pre-mixed Nescafe packs, which was truly hard on a dyed-in-the-wool coffee snob like myself. If I wanted decent coffee, I had to fly to Hong Kong and bring in a supply. That rapidly changed as the years passed.

 

I remember distinctly the day the Wal Mart opened in Shantou (where we lived for four years). It was quite an affair, with six stages out front, complete with non-stop rock bands, fashion shows, and even a bikini show (my ribs were sore for days from Li's elbow slamming into my drool-dampened side). Taking in this scene of wanton capitalistic decadence, I couldn't help wondering what Chairman Mao would think.

 

It is nice to hear that more and more variety is available for the Chinese to experience. It was a monotone culture for so long, especially under the Chairman.