Originally Posted by
BostonFlyer1624
Wanted to revisit this.
Does anyone have any friends or connections to someone in China? I would LOVE to get in contact and get them to ship me a bottle. Obviously I'dpay for their efforts
Please PM me and I may be able to assist you....
Originally Posted by
mjcewl1284
Stories like this are why I can't take the Chinese wine market and its consumers seriously.
I was in a cigar lounge on one of my biz trips to Taiwan and something similar to this occurred. Three mainland Chinese tourists purchased an Opus One, one of six bottles remaining. The owner had caught on a bit when he thought it was strange why they all had bottles of coke with them. As soon as the owner caught on what was about to happen and was about to tear off the wrapper covering the cork, he threw all three out of his store.
Yes stories like these are enough to impugn a whole demographic. There, I said it.
Not sure how strange mixing habits are related to market seriousness... in my view, they are things that need to have a Chinese Wall between them.
Yes, it does make me "sad" if someone is mixing Soda Pop with Margaux, but then again, those of us ITB (in the Wine Business) need to understand that its out goal to help these folks appreciate and understand high-end wine. In my almost 10 years in the business, Ive had a few instances of similar situations and in most cases Ive been able to establish long term relationships that have turned cola-mixers into passionate aficionados that now "respect" wines in a more traditional manner.
Being a Snob is of course an option, but I leave that to others.... I think that a more tolerant and inclusive approach is the smarter way to go. I lived and worked in China for a couple of years in the late 90ies and early turn of the Century, and have many Petrus & Coke stories..... even a few Petrus and MaoTai mixers, and in those days I was not in the Wine Trade, just an aficionado. I guess things haven't changed much in terms of mixing habits.