Chinese wines surprise industry experts

 
Wine industry aficionados from Napa and Sonoma gathered at Hurley’s Restaurant in Yountville recently to sample a selection of wines from China and were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the wines. Of the five sampled, only one – a Syrah, was a clear disappointment. The others, including two whites and two reds, were savored, in particular a 2005 red blend by Chateau Junding, the largest wine resort in Asia. These wines had not been selected as best in class or because of any ratings, they were simply gifts recently brought back from China.
 
The wines were brought from China’s Shandong Province by Sonoma resident Bill Boerum who had gone to China to explore business opportunities, specifically the export of California wines. “I took 28 wines to China as gifts for the hospitality I expected at dinners as well as for a tasting I conducted with wine industry leaders and experts. One thing led to another and I found myself bringing home five bottles of Chinese wine.” Boerum decided to share the wines with people here who had provided him with the wines he took to China.
  
Boerum had visited the Chateau Junding resort complex outside of Penglai including its mammoth wine cave, which includes wine lockers for affluent Chinese. He also visited one of the three wineries operated by Great Wall, the largest producer in China and saw the bottling line which can fill 15,000 bottles an hour. “That there is very good wine being produced in China for affluent Chinese with aspirations for luxury and quality should not be a surprise. But, it will probably be a long, long time before we have it commercially available here. You’ll have to travel to China to experience the range of wines we tasted.”