There was big news out of China this past week trumpeting their expertise in wine making and claiming to have taken down the powerful Bordeaux in blind tastings. The Chinese, of course, have a long history in winemaking as they do with nearly all things given their standing as one of the oldest human cultures. In fact, the Chinese have been making wine longer than much of Europe, let alone the rest of the planet. The original grapes of China were not of the quality for wine that Europe's native grapes were and so rice wine became the popular drink of choice and grape wines were reserved for the rich and powerful. Actually, not much has changed.
Now, don't expect any kind of "cri de coeur" from the French any time soon. We have seen this type of gimmick used before to draw attention to an aspiring wine nation. But, unlike the 1976 competition, this one seems even more contrived and stacked in the challenger's favour. And I am not the only one who thinks so. There are several problems with the methods used in this tasting but, the most glaring is the difference in quality control in both regions. Bordeaux winemakers are very carefully controlled by the Bordeaux AOC and must use grapes that only come from the appellations listed in their guides. The AOC First Growth and Superiore have even tighter controls for grapes from just their estates. Even within an estate their are different levels of quality.
Controls on the French are not limited to just where the grapes came from. They are limited to where the vines are from and how and when to plant them. Even the amount of time fermenting and aging in oak and bottles is regulated for the various levels of wine. This is what makes the best Bordeaux very expensive. The cheaper a Bordeaux is, the less quality control is applied to it and the bottle's label will reflect this. Wine anywhere from Bordeaux may be called Bordeaux but only a few can be designated Grand Cru, Superiore or First Growth.
The Chinese wine, on the other hand, is free of any kind of AOC control. Chinese wines can, and do, use grapes, juice and even fermented wines sourced from other regions, and even other nations, in their wine making. There is nothing wrong with this, but you are not getting a real sense of the region when comparing wine blends and for the French terroir is everything in wine. As with all Chinese industry, the wine industry is not just subsidized but it is owned and operated by the state and has a domestic monopoly on all aspects of labour costs, pricing, marketing and distribution. The only reason a wine made in China would sell for 30-70 Euros is because the government said so not because of production costs and profit margins and market forces. This trumps the French system of subsidies for producers of unsold product.
There is a reason everyone likes to compare their best wines to the wines of France: it's because French wines have a deserved reputation as the very best in the market. But what we see, typically, is any given country pitting their best wine against some of France's good or very good but never best wines. There are dedicated fans of every region of wine making in France, some prefer Burgundy over Bordeaux, or Loire over Alsace, but France continues to have a little something for everyone despite any of its recent problems. This is something that other countries can only hope to achieve and even if the French should slip from their position as the best, the world will always owe them a great debt for showing us how it should be done.
As I said, the Chinese have a long history of fermenting fruit and grains for consumption, and have never had to take a back seat to any nation in culture. This competition will get people talking about Chinese wines, which of course was the purpose of all this, and many will even search them out and try them. And one thing is certain, the Chinese are making great gains in the quality of their wine products and the future looks good for them. I think any new addition to the wine world is a positive thing but, I hope the Chinese will avoid trying to be like anyone else and concentrate on the methods and techniques that would demonstrate the best reflection of viticulture from China. Because, quite frankly, the last thing the world needs is another Bordeaux.
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