Wine Time: Grape Wall Challenge, Vinopolitan at Hilton Beijing and Beaujolais Nouveau
November's shaping up to be a great month for wine lovers, with a variety of events to look forward to. We've put together what ought to be a handy at-a-glance guide to what's going on in the coming weeks.
Nightlife and wine blogger and all-round consumer's champion Beijing Boyce hosts the third Grape Wall Challenge at Modo on Tuesday (Nov 8), with panels of consumers and wine experts rooting out the best wines available in China for under RMB 100. Just a few of the distributors taking part include ASC, Aussino, China Wines and Spirits, East Meets West, French Wine Paradox, Links, Mercuris, Summergate and Torres. The event itself isn't open to the public, but you'll certainly want to know the results, so keep an eye on TheBeijinger.com for more on the aftermath of this event. In the meantime, check out Boyce's excellent Grape Wall of China blog for his take on wine in China.
On Saturday (Nov 12), Hilton Beijing presents Vinopolitan, the 2011 edition of the hotel's hugely popular wine and food festival. This year it's bigger than ever, with over 1,000 wines from all around the world being showcased. As well as taking your time to stop off at the booths and sample all the wines you can stay on your feet for, you can take in talks from pros, taste some fine foods and lots more. Beijing Boyce is also hosting a Chinese wine-only edition of the Grape Wall Challenge as a special side attraction, so look out for that.
This event always throws up a few surprises, from discovering Chinese wines you never knew existed to enjoying a rare chance to try some really top-end wines - last year there was also some good rum doing the rounds. The trade session opens at 11am, the event opens to the public at 1pm and everything wraps up at 7pm. Tickets are RMB 260 per person and include dinner buffet. This is really a bargain event and a must-try if you've never been before. Call 5865 5125 for more information. Tickets are also available from Sendmetickets.com.
At the higher end of wine proceedings this month, Maison Boulud is hosting a Michel Gros wine dinner on November 11. RMB 1,888 gets you five courses with champagne and Michel Gros Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Clos Des Reas Wine. Call the venue for reservations.
Back down to the earthiest wine event of them all, it's time for the annual round of Beaujolais Nouveau parties on November 17. Enoterra will be doing a complimentary buffet and bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau for RMB 200. Le Petit Gourmand's celebrations run from November 17-19 and feature glasses of Beaujolais Nouveau for RMB 55 (RMB 268 for a bottle), as well as four-course dinners for RMB 198. Commission Rouge hosts an event at Novotel Peace Hotel on Jinbao Jie from 7pm, with free entry and glasses of wine from RMB 15. As well as Beaujolais Noveuau they've got wines from other French regions, cheeses and other French snacks. Tushuguan 98 tell us they'll be combining Beaujolais Nouveau with a "specially devised cheese plate" to allow you to "discover the heights of French smart-ass gastronomy." So there you go.
Finally, Beer Mania is doing a wine event on November 25, featuring a selection of La Caumette wines. That will get started at around 6pm.
