Wine Culture Developing in China

China's enthusiasm for fine wine, especially high-end Bordeaux, has grown rapidly in recent years. Chinese buyers have been credited with raising prices for recent Bordeaux vintages, and their appetite for the wines shows no sign of slowing. This frenzy was initially fueled by a desire for status that somewhat outpaced the development of a so-called wine culture, but according to the San Francisco Chronicle, culture is catching up. Websites have emerged that focus on Asia, such as Grape Wall of China, which reports on the Chinese wine scene, and the Wall Street Journal's Scene Asia blog, which educates about wine in additional to cultural coverage. Michael Apstein, writing in the Chronicle, notes that young, westernized Chinese are the driving force behind the growing wine culture, and finds that they "[pour] upscale wines into the Reidel glasses they [tote] along" to restaurants. Photo by: USDA China