Continued from yesterday:

Fast forward to December 2008: there is now more retail here, albeit on a limited scale; and wine clubs of various sizes are sprouting for Beijing’s wealthy (focus Bordeaux). Wine lists are becoming more exciting too with less evidence of wayward persuasion by strong-arm importers. Mercifully, tasting opportunities are more frequent and more inviting with new importers coming on the scene (The Wine Republic) – some of whom have done well elsewhere in China or in Hong Kong/Macau (Watson’s, Links Concept). At the same time some of the more distinctive Shanghai importers (like Ruby Red Fine Wines and Globus Fine Wines) are sending their wines to Beijing and the traditional players here (Aussino, ASC, Torres China, Summergate) are shaking up their lists to rival relative newcomers like East Meets West. And so it goes on…. The point is the market is becoming more dynamic. (Flickr photo by tsc_traveler)

My earliest memories are all based on shocks, of one sort or another: not culture shocks, so much as, what, ‘vinous bafflement’? I remember being in a well-known Sichuan restaurant chain and seeing a young Chinese couple confidently order a bottle of Argentinean Malbec. This was great! The waiter came back, presented the bottle elegantly, cut the cap and removed the cork without trouble. He then …

Editor’s Note: As many of you know, we diverge from Iberian wine every now and again to give you new perspectives and experiences on wine from abroad. This week, our Chinese correspondent, Edward Ragg, of Dragon Phoenix Fine Wine Consulting gives his the first installment of his series on how he became a Chinese wine consultant in Beijing.

First off, a few qualifiers… I am not Chinese nor am I a consultant to Chinese wineries; although, for better or worse, I have tasted my way through multiple Chinese wines, if only a handful overall from a country that boasts several hundred wineries in Shandong province alone.

Sadly, I’m not a master of Chinese either; and currently grasp only enough of the language to get me into trouble or fool taxi drivers into thinking my linguistic skills extend beyond ‘Turn Left’, ‘Turn Right’ or ‘Please go to the end of the street’. These are the phrases most ex-pats here obviously have to learn; and, sadly, what most of us only have time to learn. After the usual practical banter, I typically fall at the first hurdle when it comes to intimate questions about my family, salary and what I’m paying on rent (apartment and office): questions just about every Beijing taxi driver will gladly ask.

So it’s with a sense of caution that I talk about anything ‘in China’ or indeed Chinese consumers’ responses to wine, relying as I do on my wife Fongyee’s far more competent language capabilities. Nevertheless, through team-work or otherwise, we have been hugely …