tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16579934.post7033975595501520357..comments2024-03-18T21:16:20.987+08:00Comments on Think Positive: Wine critic praises China’s passionGuanyuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622336318754833240noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16579934.post-45708303122896916172011-11-09T00:06:42.789+08:002011-11-09T00:06:42.789+08:00Wine critic praises China’s passion
Robert Parker...Wine critic praises China’s passion<br /><br />Robert Parker sees much to admire in the mainland industry, but talk also touches on image problems<br /><br />Christy Choi<br />08 November 2011<br /><br />Could China produce world-class wines to compete with the best from countries such as Argentina, Australia, Chile, France and Spain?<br /><br />That remained to be seen, said Robert Parker, a man whose wine ratings can make the market move.<br /><br />Despite that cautious assessment, he said there may be some “pretty special wines emerging from China”.<br /><br />“I’ve never seen such a dramatic transformation of a country, their interest in wine. They’re incredibly fast to pick up things, to learn, to immerse themselves,” Parker said.<br /><br />“The interest and passion is an important factor in quality and in wine education. That already exists and has existed for some time in China. That’s a good sign.”<br /><br />The renowned US wine critic was speaking at Winefuture Hong Kong 2011, a gathering of respected figures in the wine industry being held at AsiaWorld-Expo until today.<br /><br />They will be welcome words for Chinese winemakers, who struggle against a negative image rooted in nationwide food safety scandals and the mainland’s reputation for fake products.<br /><br />Celia Hay, a wine educator with the New Zealand School of Food and Wine who is looking to teach wine classes on the mainland, said: “[The experts] were saying, since 2006, when the market was deregulated, that 20,000 wine importing companies have been set up. But there’s still a lot of fraud, smuggling ... and some companies are just focusing on sales; it’s just a commodity. For most of us in the industry, it’s a special beverage that needs some respect.<br /><br />“It’ll take some time to educate the consumer to experiment and to trust Chinese wine. There are some good-quality wines, but some wines in China are overpriced. If the quality is good, than it’s fine to charge a high price, but often the quality is not good,” she said.<br /><br />Professor Zhang Fuqing, a viticulture expert with Dynasty, a 30-year-old mainland winery, said, however, that the fake and substandard products “are just a part of development”.<br /><br />“Other countries seem to forget their development also included these phases,” he said.<br /><br />“I think a lot of foreigners think only their wine is best. It’s pride and prejudice.<br /><br />“In reality, they’ve all done bad things. In the 1990s, they exported a lot of substandard wine to China because they knew Chinese people would not know what was good.”Guanyuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03622336318754833240noreply@blogger.com