Perhaps it's a good thing that the Chinese are likely, for a while at least, to remain net importers of wine. Otherwise, given their capacity to overwhelm any market they target, who knows how the 2007 sales-by-country statistics might look.

But there are some bottles heading for Europe - and we're talking wine made from classic varietals, not rice wine.  Although mostly intended for restaurants, they will be available to consumers in a month or so, through the website of Primrose Hill-based importer Bibendum. And they're not simply a curiosity, but wines which can hold their own internationally. This is due largely to the involvement of Austria's Lenz Moser, guru of his country's gr¨1ner veltliner grape, and Bibendum buyer Iain Muggoch.
 
The aromatic, fresh Noble Dragon wines are the result of two years' work with Changyu - China's oldest and now most innovative winery - and, Moser tells me, are very different from the bottles sold on the home market. There, the current red vintage is 1997 and the wine is thin, unripe and oxidised.

Here, it will be the 2005, which has a clean leafiness and bright berry fruit reminiscent of lighter bordeaux - not surprising, as Changyu's vineyards in the Shandong region are on the same latitude and have a similarly cool climate challenging the cabernet sauvignon, syrah and local dragon's eye grapes to ripen fully.

Riesling, chardonnay and a little muscat are blended for the 2005 white, floral-scented with a hint of spice on the fruity palate. Both are about 12 per cent alcohol - low by today's standards.

Changyu has state-of-the-art facilities and the people there were very open to using them as Moser suggested. "I have never ever experienced a learning curve so steep," he says. Communication could be a little complicated, however. "We talked in English, but we had an interpreter all the time. The words may be the same, but the meaning isn't." So if you're looking for a talking point wine, you could hardly do better. Bibendum is nothing but innovative.

Source:未知