The temperature is pushing 35 here these days so this issue is truly "hot off the presses."

The posts below cover everything from a story of failure and success in China's wine scene to the newest kid on the Hong Kong contest block, from reflections on 20 years in the business to a rant I call The Judgment of Beijing on the Judgment of Paris.
 

Althogh Grape Wall is a labo(u)r of love, it does require time and money. It's always appreciated if you pass this newsletter to others interested in China's wine scene. And if you want to support Grape Wall further, here for four ways to do so.

"Influential." "Important." "A new standard."

Those are some of the words used by organizers of the newest Hong Kong wine contest. The city already has the veteran Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition (HKIWSC), the surprisingly resilient and influential China Wine & Spirits Awards and the spin-off Decanter Asia Wine Awards, so one wonders if this newcomer, the Wine Luxe International Awards and China Wine Challenge, will actually live up to its claims and leave everyone in the terroir, er, dust. More here.

China-based importer and distributor East Meet West added four wines from the Tiansai brand, produced by Xinjiang winery Wangzhong, to a portfolio that includes local labels Chateau Nine Peaks from Shandong and Legacy Peak from Ningxia. GM Chen Lizhong has overseen development of the winery from scratch, assisted by consultant Li Demei and winemaker Lilian Carter. More here.

He grew up in the Mosel region, but only gained an appreciation for Riesling after he left, and now handles German, Italian and Chilean wine brands in China. A talk with Constantin Press on everything from representing "high-end" wines to his take on Chinese consumers. More here.

Results of the fifth annual Wine 100 contest are out and a German Riesling took top spot from nearly 800 entries. There were also 57 gold, 110 silver and 240 bronze medals by 30 judges from China and abroad. More details, including a list of trophy winners, here.

At least! | 99 bottles of wine on the wall...

Digging in cupboards and closets while thoroughly cleaning my apartment meant coming across bottles long forgotten. How many of these Chinese wines do you know? See dozens of labels, plus explanations, here.

I've written about CHEERS and how it influences the way wine is sold in China. Now CEO Claudia Maseuger has written about her experiences, starting with a trial by fire--her warehouse burned in 2011--and covering how the trade mocked the company, strategies it uses to attract consumers, and more. Details here.

When I went on my first tour of Niagara three years ago, lots of people told me of Chinese investors willing to buy up entire vintages. Now, according to a media report, they are buying up the wineries themselves. More here.

I was writing a pair of posts on the sad state of Italian wine in China and planned to finish with positive words, including by Jack Ma of Alibaba about using his online retail sites to boost sales. But his comments on fake products, namely that they are of better quality and price, jumped the queue. And justified a quick take on some fake wine issues in China. More here.

Marcus Ford spent a decade at Shanghai's M on the Bund before moving into retail with Pudao Wines in 2009. He recently reflected on nearly 20 years in the business, from memories of a Krug rep who delivered by bicycle, to China being used as a dumping ground for poor wine, to the rapid rise of vendors. More here.

The 2016 results are out and 51 wines from 38 wineries in China, led by those from Ningxia, won some kind of recognition this year. More here.

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‘Best’ is a tricky word. I recently waded through over 1000 pages of menus for the China Wine List of the Year Awards. There are lots of factors to consider, from menu design to portfolio breadth to food fits, and a lot of themes, from massive highly collated portfolios to smaller quirkier ones. More here.

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