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 …

Gabriella fondly remembers when she was a child, sitting in front of the TV listening to Cookie Monster teach the alphabet, and on this particular day, words that started with the letter “S”. This episode is firmly ingrained in her head, because unfortunately, she couldn’t pronounce the letter “s” as a child, handicapped with a severe lissssp. Therefore, words like snake became th-nake and summer became th-ummer. Clearly, this doesn’t bode well when you’re watching your brother happily sipping on his vanilla shake and all you can come out with “Mom, I want a thake too!”

Well, today, we’d like to thank Grape Juice for hosting Wine Blog Wednesday, by celebrating anything directly related to a bottle of wine that begins with the letter “S”. Considering that we are in Spain, we thought there would be no better opportunity than to feature our favorite “S” word, Sherry! Eric Asimov recently published an article on this much under appreciated style of Spanish wine, claiming that, “… certain wines require more of an effort to appreciate than most people are willing to give and therefore are consigned to a form of marginal status.” We wholeheartedly agree with him, and are hoping that today, we can motivate you to get off your keester and enjoy a delicious and thirst quenching glass of sherry.

Osborne’s Coquinero is a wine that we both immediately fell in love with. Incredibly delicate, with a honeyed nose, while the palate packs more of a punch. We seriously want to drink this on the beach in Cadiz with a plate of fried marine creatures! The salty air on the …

Last January, the UK based wine writer and Committee Member of the Circle of Wine Writers, Christine Austin, suggested that we apply to the organization housed in England. Having had several people offer a similar suggestion for over a year, it seemed ridiculous for us not to get off our hides and do something about it. So, we figured we’d experiment a bit, where I would apply and test the waters, followed by Ryan’s application soon thereafter.

As taken directly from their website:
The Circle of Wine Writers is an association of authors, broadcasters, journalists, photographers and lecturers who are professionally engaged in communicating about wines and spirits. It was founded in 1960 by the late Cyril Ray and now has more than 280 members and, although most of the membership is based in England, the Circle has members in countries around the world.

The objectives of the Circle of Wine Writers are:

* to improve the standard of communication about wines, spirits and beers
* to contribute to the growing knowledge and interest in wine
* to promote wines and spirits of quality and to comment adversely on faulty products and dubious practices
* to establish and maintain good relations with the news media and the wine trade
* to provide members with a strong voice with which to express their views
* to provide a forum for the exchange of information
* to provide a programme of workshops, meetings, talks and tastings

A month has now passed, as seen by the lush green blanket of leaves hanging right outside my office window, and …

According to this article UK is number one market for Spanish Wines - Talking Retail, there is good news for Spanish wine in the UK. Sounds great. Sounds important, but I would say that this is only half the story. Spain is the third largest producer of wine in world, but we also have the largest land area under vine. Granted, a large chunk of this land consists of low density plantings in areas such as La Mancha, with less then stellar wine varieties like Airen. That said, we do have the capacity to grow and produce more, and after talking to many producers at Alimentaria, I realized that there a lot of room to expand sales. The UK may be the biggest market for Spanish wine, but with America poised to become the largest wine consuming nation, this statistic could change quickly.

Questions for Readers: If you are in the UK, do you see Spanish wine occupying more space at your local wine shop? Are restaurants offering more Spanish wine choices, both low and high end? If you are seeing Spanish wine in your area, are they from a handful of regions, or is the UK exploring the vast and diverse Spanish wine landscape?

If your in the US, or elsewhere, what do you see? Is Spain becoming more accepted? Are you seeing one region denominating or is there considerable diversity? I ask because, I fear that while sales increase, we aren’t finding anything new, just more of the same. What do you want to find on your local …

I love cookbooks, but I hate to follow recipes. I know I’m not alone, however. For me, a recipe is a suggestion, while a cookbook is an inspiration - a thought that makes many of my friends cringe. For them, recreating the traditional techniques and nuances of a historic dish is the goal; whereas, for me, I want to improve it! Vane, yes, but I also know that I’d rather eat a traditional dish in its home country with someone whose been making it for decades.

I begin with this introduction because “Cook España, Drink España”, by John Radford and Mario Sandoval, appeals to the adventurer in me. Mario Sandoval, a rising star in Spanish cuisine, partners up with John Radford, arguably, one of the most knowledgeable Spanish wine authorities on Spanish wine, to make a cookbook that covers the vast diversity of Spanish wine and cuisine.

If you enjoy beautiful pictures in your cookbooks, by all means, pick this up. Displaying fantastic photography, coupled with a nice, simple layout, make this a book a joy to sit back and peruse at your leisure. All 17 political regions are comprehensively covered, beginning with a short explanation on both the food and wine culture. This introduction is followed by 3-4 recipes and then a short recap of the wines, or in many cases, sidras, drunk in said region. A …