Raised in a military family that was constantly on the move, American Marc Curtis grew up appreciating travel and different cultures. A career in TV production furthered his passion for experiencing new places and after extensive travels around the world he arrived in China four years ago to set up a business in the domestic tourism industry. Today he operates China Wine Tours, a company that organizes wine tours in China. We spoke with him last month about his background, business and favorite Chinese wines.
TheBeijinger.com
Showing posts with label wine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wine. Show all posts
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
The China Wine Syndrome
From Michael Veseth's Grape Expectations
I've never tasted Chinese wine, but that's going to change quite soon. I have two bottles, both hand-carried from China by my former student Brian West. One is a 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon from China's oldest winery, Changyu (founded in 1892). The other is a 2003 Tasya's Reserve Cabernet Franc from what many people say is China's best winery, Grace Vineyard (or Shanxi Grace Vineyard to differentiate it from a Japanese winery with the same name -- Shanxi is the region of China where Grace Vineyard is located).
I have heard a lot of stories about Chinese wine -- about how bad it is, how prestige-seeking Shanghai yuppies mix expensive first growth Bordeaux with Coca Cola and of vast vineyards in China that threaten to flood world markets with cheap wine (as Chinese exports have flooded some other markets already). The prospect of drinking Chinese wine for the first time gave me an incentive to see what I could find out about the Chinese wine industry and market. Here is a brief account of what I have learned.
The complete article is available at Michael Veseth's Grape Expectations
I've never tasted Chinese wine, but that's going to change quite soon. I have two bottles, both hand-carried from China by my former student Brian West. One is a 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon from China's oldest winery, Changyu (founded in 1892). The other is a 2003 Tasya's Reserve Cabernet Franc from what many people say is China's best winery, Grace Vineyard (or Shanxi Grace Vineyard to differentiate it from a Japanese winery with the same name -- Shanxi is the region of China where Grace Vineyard is located).
I have heard a lot of stories about Chinese wine -- about how bad it is, how prestige-seeking Shanghai yuppies mix expensive first growth Bordeaux with Coca Cola and of vast vineyards in China that threaten to flood world markets with cheap wine (as Chinese exports have flooded some other markets already). The prospect of drinking Chinese wine for the first time gave me an incentive to see what I could find out about the Chinese wine industry and market. Here is a brief account of what I have learned.
The complete article is available at Michael Veseth's Grape Expectations
Now, Super-wine to boost your lifespan
London, Jan 8 (ANI): The health benefits of wine have since long been known, but now fans of the fruity cocktail may have something new to cheer about, for Chinese scientists have made a wine made from genetically engineered grapes which might help boost the drinkers longevity.
Yuejin Wang and colleagues at the Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University in Yangling, Shaanxi province, China, have produced a grapevine six times richer in resveratrol the compound in red wine associated with health benefits.
The researchers made the wine equipped it with an extra gene from a wild Chinese vine, reports New Scientist.
Vitus pseudoreticulata has an unusual variant of the stilbene synthase gene, which triggers resveratrol production.
The team plans to make wine from the GM (Genetically Engineered) vine, although their major goal is to make grapevines more resistant to fungus, which is kept in check by resveratrol. (ANI)
Yuejin Wang and colleagues at the Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University in Yangling, Shaanxi province, China, have produced a grapevine six times richer in resveratrol the compound in red wine associated with health benefits.
The researchers made the wine equipped it with an extra gene from a wild Chinese vine, reports New Scientist.
Vitus pseudoreticulata has an unusual variant of the stilbene synthase gene, which triggers resveratrol production.
The team plans to make wine from the GM (Genetically Engineered) vine, although their major goal is to make grapevines more resistant to fungus, which is kept in check by resveratrol. (ANI)
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Chinese Wine Ceremony
From CRIEnglish.com
A Chinese traditional "wine ceremony" was held on Sunday at Southwest University of southwestern China's Chongqing municipality to remind people of the country's traditional culture at the time of Christmas.
Students wearing Han-style clothes held a traditional Chinese "wine ceremony" at Southwest University in Chongqing on Sunday, December 23, 2007. [Photo: Chongqing Evening News]
Wearing Han-style clothes, more than 20 students, respectively playing the "hosts" and "guests", revived the wine ceremony in front of the Confucius sculpture in the university, local Chongqing Evening News reported.
Taking two bows to "hosts" with cups held to their waists, the "guests" drank rice wine slowly after "hosts" requited with hands folded together in front. The wine in the cup shouldn't be drunk up at once so as to show respect to the "hosts". The whole ceremony lasted nearly two hours with twelve steps including welcoming guests, washing cups, obeisance etiquettes, drinking wine and reciting classic poems.
According to the principal student, "wine ceremony" was an academic ceremony in ancient China. Local sages are invited to the grand ceremony in midwinter every year. The ceremony showed respect to knowledge and people with talents. The students hoped to promote traditional Chinese culture and recall respect for classical culture by this activity.
As the ceremony has almost been lost since the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD), the students held the ceremony according to ancient books from library. The Han-style clothes they wore were also self-designed referring to historical information.
A Chinese traditional "wine ceremony" was held on Sunday at Southwest University of southwestern China's Chongqing municipality to remind people of the country's traditional culture at the time of Christmas.
Students wearing Han-style clothes held a traditional Chinese "wine ceremony" at Southwest University in Chongqing on Sunday, December 23, 2007. [Photo: Chongqing Evening News]
Wearing Han-style clothes, more than 20 students, respectively playing the "hosts" and "guests", revived the wine ceremony in front of the Confucius sculpture in the university, local Chongqing Evening News reported.
Taking two bows to "hosts" with cups held to their waists, the "guests" drank rice wine slowly after "hosts" requited with hands folded together in front. The wine in the cup shouldn't be drunk up at once so as to show respect to the "hosts". The whole ceremony lasted nearly two hours with twelve steps including welcoming guests, washing cups, obeisance etiquettes, drinking wine and reciting classic poems.
According to the principal student, "wine ceremony" was an academic ceremony in ancient China. Local sages are invited to the grand ceremony in midwinter every year. The ceremony showed respect to knowledge and people with talents. The students hoped to promote traditional Chinese culture and recall respect for classical culture by this activity.
As the ceremony has almost been lost since the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD), the students held the ceremony according to ancient books from library. The Han-style clothes they wore were also self-designed referring to historical information.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
New China Wine Tours Video
We have just added a beautiful new video to the China Wine Tours site. Please visit the gallery page and enjoy! You will need to have Quicktime installed in your browser, so be sure to click the "install" link at the top of the page if it opens. If you are unable to do that, you can click the individual file for your internet speed (or right-click to download to your computer)
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
CHINA WINE TOURS CREATES A UNIQUE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE
Los Angeles, California June 18, 2007 - “Taste the Culture of 5,000 Years™” --China Wine Tours is the first travel organization in the United States with a focus on this exciting new way to visit China. Travelers are introduced to the history and culture of China and to what promises to be more than just the ‘talk of the town’, it will be the talk of the world for those who want to enjoy a unique wine-travel experience. “Our tours are designed to showcase the rapidly growing wine industry in China, along with the ancient sites everyone is familiar with,” said George Aballi, CWT travel agent.
The March 2008 China Wine Tour will feature Sommelier Paolo Wakham who will lead the tour into Chinese wineries. Paolo is a member of the International Court of Master Sommeliers & the Sommeliers Society of Washington, D.C.. He has been passionate about wine, food, tradition, culture & history for decades. He teaches classes on the history & evolution of wine on a regular basis and has toured with many groups throughout the wine regions of the world. “The ‘new frontier’ of the international wine world IS China” according to Paolo. Mr. Wakham's taste buds want to blow the cellar doors off of this once forbidden land so everyone can experience the emerging world of Chinese wine.
It is worth noting that China has good capabilities for vine growing and wine making. It has a wide variety of soils, many different climates and micro-climates, indigenous and imported grapes, as well as a huge population that constitutes a tremendous potential market for wine. China has 5,000 years of history and culture that travelers already enjoy and a 2,000 year history of wine making. China Wine Tours has combined both by inviting travelers to “Taste the Culture of 5,000 Years™.”
The first China Wine Tour is now available for reservations for the March 2008 journey. Details are available at http://www.chinawinetours.com/ or by calling George Aballi at
1-909-793-0328 ext. 311.
ABOUT CHINA WINE TOURS – China Wine Tours travel agents have created unique travel experiences in China for more than 20 years. Visit our website at http://www.chinawinetours.com/.
# # #
B-roll video will be available in late summer of 2007. Contact 1-888-USPLANB or 1-818-998-8833.
The March 2008 China Wine Tour will feature Sommelier Paolo Wakham who will lead the tour into Chinese wineries. Paolo is a member of the International Court of Master Sommeliers & the Sommeliers Society of Washington, D.C.. He has been passionate about wine, food, tradition, culture & history for decades. He teaches classes on the history & evolution of wine on a regular basis and has toured with many groups throughout the wine regions of the world. “The ‘new frontier’ of the international wine world IS China” according to Paolo. Mr. Wakham's taste buds want to blow the cellar doors off of this once forbidden land so everyone can experience the emerging world of Chinese wine.
It is worth noting that China has good capabilities for vine growing and wine making. It has a wide variety of soils, many different climates and micro-climates, indigenous and imported grapes, as well as a huge population that constitutes a tremendous potential market for wine. China has 5,000 years of history and culture that travelers already enjoy and a 2,000 year history of wine making. China Wine Tours has combined both by inviting travelers to “Taste the Culture of 5,000 Years™.”
The first China Wine Tour is now available for reservations for the March 2008 journey. Details are available at http://www.chinawinetours.com/ or by calling George Aballi at
1-909-793-0328 ext. 311.
ABOUT CHINA WINE TOURS – China Wine Tours travel agents have created unique travel experiences in China for more than 20 years. Visit our website at http://www.chinawinetours.com/.
# # #
B-roll video will be available in late summer of 2007. Contact 1-888-USPLANB or 1-818-998-8833.
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