Note: wine lover, collector and Dragon Phoenix student, Michael Ma, reports on a special tasting…

Over three decades ago Steven Spurrier set up his legendary Judgement of Paris tasting which placed California on the international wine map. The matchup between the Californian reds and whites against the top Bordeaux and Burgundies of the time is still the topic of debate among wine lovers thirty years later. Recently a similar comparison took place at the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing in an attempt to bestow similar merits on New Zealand’s up and coming appellation: The Gimblett Gravels.

三十年前史蒂芬-斯波尔组织的巴黎品酒大会至曾经将名不见经传的加州葡萄酒展现在世人面前，而今天，新西兰大使馆试图在北京重现历史：将新西兰最好的红葡萄酒对决法国波尔多顶级庄园红酒。让现场在座的品酒专家来评定孰优孰劣。

Despite the mere decade of establishment, everything about Gimblett Gravels sounds full of promise: the unique terroir is the first NZ appellation solely based on the eponymous soil type: gravel. The maritime climate, the lengthened ripening season, then meticulous vineyard management, and the optimal temperature balance: all of Gimblett’s characteristics suggest a parcel of land that shares much of Bordeaux’s hallowed terroir, and perhaps wines to rival the best of Bordeaux.

这次参加品酒会的新西兰红酒全部都产自于金佰利碎石滩。 虽然只有十年的酿酒历史，金伯利产区拥有一切成功的要素。它的土壤结构，海岸气候，湿度和温度均与法国波尔多有着惊人的相似。今天，就让我们一起来看看这片与波尔多相似的土壤，究竟能否产出能够与法国匹敌的红酒。

At this tasting Master of Wine Steve Smith put such hopes to the test. The equally enthusiastic Ambassador of New Zealand, Mr. Carl Worker, was kind enough to lend us his stately residence, in the heart of Beijing’s diplomatic district: a place befitting the occasion, an opportunity for the new to upset the old order and perhaps to conquer mainland China’s affluent but nascent appetite for fine wine.

Eight wines were selected and poured blind. Four were some of the best of younger Bordeaux:

2006 Ch. Lafite-Rothschild, Pauillac

2005 Ch. Cos d’Estournel, St. Estephe

2005 Ch. Canon La Gaffeliere, St. Emilion

2006 Pichon Baron-Longueville, Pauillac

Four wines harked from the Gimblett Gravels:

2007 Craggy Range “Sophia”

2007 Craggy Range “The Quarry”

2007 Trinity Hill “The Gimblett”

2007 Sacred Hill “The Helmsman”

在庄严又优雅的新西兰大使馆内，8款红酒静静地在水晶杯中一字排开。其中有法国的2006年拉斐，2005年 Cos d’Estournel, 2005年 Canon La Gaffeliere , 2006年碧尚公爵。新西兰的四款酒分别为 Craggy Range 2007 “索非亚”, Craggy Range 2007 “采石场”，三度山2007， 以及神圣山2007 在场的品酒师们将会盲品这八款酒，猜出产地，以及按质量排序。

The audience was asked to rank the wines from 1-8 in terms of quality and to identify their origins.

All wines served had a deep purple color of varying degree due to their youth. The first one had a closed bouquet of pepper, sour cream, ink and wood. Green and very tannic on the palate, but turned sweet on the 2nd tasting some 30 minutes later. The wine was concentrated, creamy and smoky. Both young and long. The green pepper and the balanced sweet tannins sort of gave away its Saint Emilion birthplace. (This wine turned out to be the 2005 Canon La Gaffeliere).

所有的酒都比较年轻，全部拥有不同深度的紫红色。 第一杯酒气味已开始比较闭塞，有青椒，酸奶油，墨水和木材的味道。入口很青涩。在30分钟后第二次试饮饮的时候经过呼吸后苏醒了过来。味道同样浓郁，富有奶油般的润滑以及烟熏得味道。特有的青椒味道以及均衡的单宁准确地指出了这瓶酒圣爱美隆的产地。（果然是爱美隆名庄Canon La Gaffeliere的酒）

The second wine also had a closed bouquet of cherry, other red fruits and some floral notes. Smelled ‘New World’ with a cherry-candied note. Sweet and pleasant in the mouth, fine tannins, soft and supple body. A hint of milk chocolate in the finish. It was quite clear that it was a Merlot based wine. Most had guessed correctly that it was the Merlot-predominant 2007 Craggy Range Sophia. (Funnily enough, some tasters did not like the wine being too “soft”) 第二款酒头香同样闭塞，淡淡地有些樱桃和红果的味道。新鲜的樱桃味道一闻就知道是新世界的特产。入口甜美柔顺，单宁较软。余味有些白巧克力的味道。这无疑是一款新世界的梅辘Merlot. 比较适合年轻时饮用，但是由于单宁松散，并没有太长的陈年潜力。（后来揭晓是新西兰的索非亚红酒）

Dense, brooding, and inky were the first impressions of the third one in the flight, with a hint of minerality. Acidic and tough tannins on the tongue, sour cream. Concentrated and very balanced, a refreshing after taste that was long. Clearly a young Bordeaux here, classic Pauillac. (This wine turned out to be the 2006 Pichon Baron).
强壮，内敛，仿佛如墨水般的浓郁。第三款酒从杯子里就散发着一股浓浓的男子汉气概。入口酸涩，单宁强劲，酸奶油以及一些矿物质从舌底传了上来。浓郁并且非常平衡的一款酒。（揭晓是2006年非常年轻的碧尚公爵，波尔多大名鼎鼎的二级庄）

The fourth wine was on top form, ‘very Bordeaux’ in style, but showed extra ripeness over its peers. Black pepper, smoke, and meaty aromas on the bouquet, powerful. In the mouth it gave full and gripping tannins, crème de cassis, obviously with a long life ahead of it. Yet underneath the toughness were sweet, ripe and balanced chocolate notes. Long. I was confused at this point; the firm structure and class suggested a fine Bordeaux, but not necessarily its concentration and ripeness. I ventured with a guess that this was the top Cabernet based Craggy Range on show. However it turned out to be the 2005 Cos d’Estournel, almost in garagiste style. Love it, hate it, each to their own. It was the #1 wine for me of the day.

第四款酒性格奔放，毋庸置疑的波尔多贵族气质，但是又比同龄的法国红酒更加成熟、甜美。黑胡椒、烟熏、和卤肉的味道非常浓郁，入口后极浑厚。单宁仿佛抓在嘴唇舌根牢牢不肯放手。在强壮的背后，却是非常迷人的甜美口感，成熟的黑果香好香巧克力。这款酒是典型的波尔多结构，却有着新世界般的浓郁口感和甜度。我开始还以为是新西兰最引以为豪的红酒。最后原来是大名鼎鼎的Cos d’Estournel. 怪不得！2005年分的它比以往更加有力道，有人爱、有人恨，各自感受都不同。对我来说它实在是太好喝了！

To the fifth then. Dense and herbaceous, the nose showed lots of integrated oak, but was still closed. On the palate it was sweet and balanced, surprisingly light on its feet. Fine and gripping tannins, taste of sea salt. This was a classical Bordeaux to me with its elegance and balance. I was surprised to find out that it was the 2007 Sacred Hill Helmsman. What a lovely wine! Not as concentrated as the Cos, but more in the classical Bordeaux style. This wine was my favorite New Zealand wine of the flight.

轮到第五款了。浓郁并且有树木的青涩。酒精和橡木桶与酒体本身结合的非常好。 这酒还没有苏醒呢！入口甜美并且均衡，几乎可以用步履轻盈来形容它了！一股迷人的海盐味道。我以为这是一瓶出身名门的波尔多，却发现它原来是来自新西兰的神圣山2007年份。超值！

Smoke, bacon and oak oozed from the sixth glass. ‘A very nice Bordeaux’ I thought immediately. Black cassis, pepper, chocolate and fine tannins in the mouth, this appeared to be entering into an open phase in its long life. Very approachable now, balanced. (This wine turned out to be the 2006 Lafite, my second favourite, but the group’s first choice)

烟熏，腊肉以及高级橡木味道弥漫在酒杯中。我一下子就觉得这是一瓶似曾相识的波尔多。黑加仑，青椒，巧克力等都不足以形容它复杂的味道。单宁入口也比较柔顺。 原来是我们中国人的最爱拉斐酒王！不过这款酒虽然年轻就已经很好喝了，让我对他的陈年潜力有些许疑问。

Craggy Range “The Quarry” was the seventh wine. It had mint, black fruits, floral and spicy notes on the nose, sweet and forward in the mouth. Structured tannins, good balance and a little high in alcohol (14.3%). Although it went through fine oak treatment, it had the tell-tale sign of cherry-candy that suggested perhaps a New World wine. (Also the mint aroma which can be a sign of top New World Cabernets).

来自新西兰的“采石场”是这组里面的第七款酒。不知道为什么新西兰人总喜欢给他们的酒安上一些奇怪的名字，不过却是比法国的绕口地名好记些。这酒有股独特的薄荷味，以及黑葡萄，香料，和些许花香。入口简单直接，甜美并浓厚。（可能太浓了！14度酒精）。不过典型的新世界樱桃味道。

The last wine was massively extracted. The purple liquid didn’t seem to want to come off the wall of the glass. Crème de cassis, dried dark fruits dominated in what was a straight-forward bouquet. True to its form, it was fruit-forward and concentrated in the mouth. Cherry, mint, oak and fine tannins were notable. Long. (This was the 2007 Trinity Hill “The Gimblett” ).

最后一款酒浓度极高，紫色的酒液挂在杯子上不肯流下来。黑醋栗，黑色浆果以及果酱的味道简单直接又粗暴。樱桃，薄荷，橡木等味道都有体现。余味悠长。（三圣山2007）

Two highlights to take away for me were the sensitivity of the audience’s palates in terms of French/New Zealand differentiation. Most present were on the mark in indentifying the Bordeaux wines among the flight. Perhaps we Chinese indeed drink too much Bordeaux!

品酒会结束后很久大家都还流连忘返。在场的人对波尔多和新世界的区分很敏感，几乎没有人会猜错产地。但是我们都认为在质量上新西兰的酒并没有差的很多，而更多的是个人口味偏好的不同。新西兰的酿酒师们已经证明了他们能够酿出堪比法国的好酒，问题是，他们是否能够跳出模仿的条条框框，不要去攀比波尔多，而能够找到自我，并且超越呢？
Secondly, the closeness in quality (not necessarily style) was impressive. The Gimblett Gravel wines were going against rivals that are 10-50 times more expensive, but held their stands remarkably well. Especially the 2007 Sacred Hill Helmsman, utterly indistinguishable.

So, if the goal was for the New Zealand wines to blow out the top French competition, they didn’t. (Among us, the honorable NZ Ambassador also picked Lafite as his favorite). However, if the goal was to put these wines on the map for Chinese wine drinkers, then we were certainly impressed. Now that the New Zealanders have proven their ability to disguise their wines among the best of the French, perhaps it is time for them to aim to surpass them.

If the Bordeaux 2008 En Primeur campaign was unexpectedly dramatic, 2009 seems to be more ‘business as usual’, at least in terms of the Bordelais’ capacity to sell another nominal ‘vintage of the century’.

Early assessments of the 2009 reds have noted higher alcohol levels, typically lower acidity, but in the best examples high quality fruit and the structure to ensure longevity.

Whites and especially Sauternes seem to have come out very well - with Doisy-Daene and Raymond Lafon looking very attractive in terms of price and quality - whilst the reds of the Medoc/Left Bank are generally attracting more attention than those of the Right.

But with a weak US dollar and, until recently, a relatively strong Euro, the Bordelais are looking increasingly to Asia for buyers (and were out in force at last week’s Vinexpo Hong Kong).

But what about mainland China, where the concept of en primeur is extremely new?

As the campaign started off, Decanter Magazine asked us to survey some significant figures among importers, merchants, wine clubs and wine lovers in the Chinese mainland.

Is it all about Lafite? To find out, read the full survey here.

A day in the life of a wine maker 一个酿酒师生命中的一天

Last March I had the chance to make wine at Brown Brothers in the King Valley, Victoria, Australia. It was a fascinating experience and I would like to introduce you to a typical day in the life of a winemaker!
3月份我有机会在澳大利亚维多利亚国王谷的布琅兄弟酒庄酿酒，那真是一次迷人的经历，我非常乐意跟您分享当时的情况。

6:30am Get up and pull on steel-capped work boots, T shirt, shorts and safety vest. All night long, trucks have been coming to the winery and the night shift has been hard at work processing them
6：30起床，穿上钢头的工作靴、T恤、短裤和安全马甲。通宵，满载葡萄的卡车来到酒庄，夜班工人已经开始努力地酿造。

7am Get to the “Kindergarten” . This is an experimental winery – a working laboratory - where we winemakers can play with smaller batches to make new and exciting types of wine. This is uniquely Brown Brothers’ style and has led to a number of very exciting wines. I start my day collecting samples of wine from every fermenter and tank – these are sent to the lab for testing and analysis.
7点去布琅兄弟的“幼儿园”。这是一个实验性的酿酒所与一个实验室相似。在幼儿园， 我们这些酿酒师可以酿造少量的创新、令人激动的风格的葡萄酒。这是布朗兄弟酒庄独特的风格就是创造性。开始从每一个发酵罐中收集葡萄酒样品，这些样品被送到实验室中分析。

7:30 Start the pump-overs for the red wine. This is spraying the top of the fermenting red wine (the grape skins) with juice from the bottom of the tank. This is messy work and needs concentration! Each fermenter requires a different amount of time for pump-over so you need to check your work-sheet very carefully!
7：30 开始为红葡萄酒泵送葡萄醪。这个过程是用发酵罐中底部的葡萄醪喷射上部发酵中的红葡萄酒（葡萄皮）。这是一个很脏的工作，而且需要集中精神！每一个发酵罐需要不同的泵送的时间，所以你每一次需要查看你的工作表。

8:30 One of the red wines has finished fermenting and we have to press it to separate the wine from the skins and pips. We first take out the free-run liquid and pump it into a tank. Then the hard work of shovelling the skins and pips into the press begins! This is especially physical since the skins weigh a good few tonnes! Then we turn on the press to do its job while we wash out the fermenters – which makes you really wet!
8：30 其中一款红葡萄酒完成了发酵，我们必须要压榨它以使葡萄酒与果皮和果籽分开。我们首先把自流的汁液分离开，然后把他们装入罐中。然后是艰辛的铲除工作，我们需要把所有的葡萄皮和果籽铲除到压榨机中！因为葡萄皮重达几吨，所以这个过程非常辛苦！然后在清洗发酵罐的过程中（让我们都湿透了！），我们启动压榨机让它开始压榨。

10:00 Finish the red wines and go for Smoke-oh (which is Australian for a tea break!).
10:00 结束红葡萄酒的酿造，去休息一下，叫Smoke-oh（澳大利亚人称其为休息）

10:30 We then wash out the press – this is really really wet work again! We also press some of the whole-bunches of grapes that come in for making sparkling wine – this needs a lot of care and attention as not all the juice that is pressed is used in production – only the best!
10:00把压榨机也清洗干净：我们全湿透了！然后我们也压榨用来酿造起泡酒的整串葡萄。因为不是所有的压榨出来的汁都用来酿酒（只用最好）的原因，这个过程需要很认真、精力很集中！

11:30 Start to look at the white wines – we measure the temperatures and see if they need heating or cooling.
11：30 开始处理白葡萄酒。我们测量温度以确定是否需要给他们加热或冷却。

12:00 Lunch! 午饭时间!

1:00 There is some new Chardonnay wine that needs to be put in new oak barrels for maturation. I am given the pump and it’s hard to get the barrels really full without spilling the wine all over me! It smells very yeasty and fresh.
1:00 有一些刚刚酿完的霞多丽葡萄酒需要放在新的橡木桶中熟化。他们给我泵，那是很困难的：需要让木桶装满，但是还不能把葡萄酒溢出来弄得全身都是。有很重的酵母味，很新鲜的酒香。

2:30 Check the wine that is fermenting in barrel. We monitor this Chardonnay to see if it has finished fermenting by checking the sugar content. If there is no sugar left in the wine, it is finished! We also taste each barrel to make sure the fermentation process is going well – and some of the ones that are not finished taste very strange because there is so much sugar in them.
2：30 检查在桶中发酵中的葡萄酒。以检测糖的含量来确认这款霞多丽葡萄酒是否已经完成发酵（如果没有糖分残留，就表示已经完成了发酵）。我们也会品尝每个酒桶里的酒以保证发酵过程进行的顺利， 可是有的酒发酵还没有完成，所以尝起来很奇怪：酒中还有残留糖。

3:30 The day shift is finished and we meet with the winemakers on the evening shift to talk about the wines that are being made and any problems. I then go back home and fall asleep!
3:30 白班结束了，我们与上夜班的酿酒师交接，告诉他们我们酿造的酒和任何的问题，然后我回家，马上就入睡了！

2006 Roero Arneis, Correggia, Piemonte, Italy (258RMB)
Available from Wine Culture. Contact: Wendy Wu, Email: wendy_wu88@hotmail.com (www.wineculture.com.cn)

Arneis is a very aromatic grape variety native to Piemonte and especially to the Roero region. This example, from a top producer, is medium green-gold in colour. The nose has delicate peach, guava and floral aromas – Arneis is like a cross between Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc on the nose – whilst the palate is dry with refreshing high acidity, light to medium body and good length. Very suitable with a range of Chinese cold dishes, this wine and can even pair with jiaozi and its accompaniments!

2005 Domaine Cauhapé ‘Ballet d’Octobre’, Jurançon, France, 375ml (207RMB)
Available from China Wines & Spirits. Contact: Alexandre Cros, Email: alexandre@china-wines-and-spirits.com (www.china-wines-and-spirits.com)

Jurançon is a region in south-western France well-known for its production of a spicy, sweet white wine and some dry whites made from the Petit Manseng and/or Gros Manseng grape. This wine is called ‘Ballet d’Octobre’ on account of the wonderfully sweet and pungent grapes that are late-harvested in October (in this case, 70% Gros Manseng and 30% Petit Manseng).

Medium gold in colour, the nose has pear, apricot and peach fruit with a range of spices (cinnamon, clove) and honeyed aromas. The palate is medium sweet with vibrant acidity, lovely fruit and considerable length. This wine is a joy to drink on its own but would also suit less acidic Chinese fruits such as dragon fruit and water melon.

It’s been a quieter few months on the Dragon Phoenix Wine Blog as Edward has put the finishing touches to a major study of the work of 20th Century American poet Wallace Stevens (1879-1955).

Wallace Stevens and the Aesthetics of Abstraction will be published by Cambridge University Press in August and is the culmination of almost a decade’s research based, in part, on an original Ph.D. dissertation and subsequent research trips to the US supported by the British Academy and British Association for American Studies in 2007.

Stevens is perhaps best known for poems such as ‘The Emperor of Ice-Cream’, ‘Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird’, his long doctrinal poem ‘Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction’ and his late lyrics, such as ‘Final Soliloquy of the Interior Paramour’. So what’s the connection with wine?

Stevens was something of a wine lover, especially of the wines of Burgundy and one of the book’s chapters is entitled ‘Food, Wine and the Idealist ‘I” (the ‘I’ is a special case of the first person speaker in several of Stevens’ 1940s poems).

The book proffers a long reading of perhaps Stevens’ most baffling gastronomic poem ‘Montrachet-Le-Jardin’, a text whose relationship with Burgundy and with Occupied France of 1942 is both ingenious and has previously remained tough for Stevens scholarship to decipher.

Part of the book’s argument is that Stevens’ embrace of an abstract aesthetic was not confined merely to poetic or artistic concerns, but involved his everyday imagination, interests and needs, including a love of the finer things in life, with wine being no exception (for initials reviews from Charles Altieri and J. Hillis Miller please click here).

This is, after all, the poet who wrote in ‘Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction’:

We drank Meursault, ate lobster Bombay with mango
Chutney. Then the Canon Aspirin declaimed
Of his sister, in what a sensible ecstasy

She lived in her house. She had two daughters, one
Of four, and one of seven, whom she dressed
The way a painter of pauvred color paints.

The study follows on from a joint project entitled Wallace Stevens across the Atlantic (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008), pictured above.

Watch this space for updates on our combined wine writing, most recently in Decanter and The World of Fine Wine Magazine. We also have highlights from the 2009 tasting season in Beijing, plus some special Featured Tastings and up-to-date coverage of what’s been happening in China’s capital and further a field.

2007 Josmeyer Riesling ‘Le Kottabe’, Haut-Rhin, Alsace (RMB421)
Available from East Meets West. Contact: Wendy Jiang, Email: Wendy Jiang wendy@emw-wines.com (www.emw-wines.com)

Josmeyer is one of Alsace’s greatest producers and can trace its roots back to 1854, now under the watchful eye of winemaker Jean Meyer. The winery is also a fervent practitioner of biodynamic viticulture. This Riesling comes from 35 year-old vines close to the village of Wintzenheim.

Medium green-gold in colour, the nose has appealing apple fruit with mineral aromas. The palate is essentially dry with lovely fruit, excellent acidity, moderate alcohol and refreshing length. A superb wine to enjoy now or to age, it will also accompany Chinese cold dishes from various regional cuisines very well.

2006 Dr Bürklin-Wolf Pinot Noir, Pfalz, Germany (378RMB)
Available from Globus. Contact: Oliver Baenninger, Email: oliverbaenninger@globus-wine.com (www.globus-wine.com)

Dr Bürklin-Wolf is one of the top estates in Germany’s Pfalz region. This slightly warmer part of Germany enables Bürklin-Wolf to produce sumptuous white wines, but also this charming Pinot Noir. Another biodynamic producer, great care is taken in the vineyard to make one of Germany’s most attractive Pinots.

Medium red-purple in colour, the nose has very spiced red cherry Pinot fruit (with lots of white pepper, even clove). The palate has refreshing high acidity, low-medium smooth tannins, medium-high alcohol and quite good length. The quality of the fruit and the high acidity here means this Pinot Noir can suit chilli-hot forms of Chinese cuisine, including some Sichuan and Hunan dishes. Or enjoy as a lightly chilled aperitif when the Chinese summer arrives!

Organic and Biodynamic Wines
Many consumers are increasingly concerned about the chemicals present in the foods and drinks we consume, not least in China; and many are tending to buy nominally organic food and drink products, where possible, although this is only just beginning in the PRC.

But what about organic wine? Just like organic foods, organic wines are produced without the use of man-made chemicals such as artificial fertilizers or pesticides. Instead, producers rely more on natural controls via what is termed integrated pest management: for example, introducing ladybugs to control the numbers of insect pests, on which ladybugs feed, within the vineyard.

However, organic wine is easier to make in some countries and locations than others. Chile, for example, offers a predominantly dry, sunny climate with little pressure from pests, making it, in normal conditions, an ideal place for organics. Other locations are often less than climatically ideal. But even Beijing’s south-east outskirts has its own organic winery: Chateau Bolongbao, which is trying hard to implement organic practices in Fangshan county.

One area of general confusion is the lumping together of organic practice with biodynamics: a (viti)cultural approach bordering on the mysticism of certain schools of religion. This form of agriculture was developed by the Austrian Rudolph Steiner and places the vineyard holistically within its relations with the sun, moon, earth and total environment.

It is organic in principle, but also makes use of biodynamic preparations thought to treat plants and soil in beneficial ways. In a biodynamic winery, everything is carried out with regard to the position of the earth and moon rather like the lunar calendar in China – including all wine-making steps. Some extremely high quality producers have ‘turned biodynamic’ but there is still much research to be done (as a major Australian oenologist remarked to Fongyee recently: ‘Where are the double-blinds?’).

(Photo: conventional spraying in Pernand-Vergelesses. One of the problems for organic or biodynamic producers in Burgundy is maintaining standards downwind from what more chemically-intensive neighbours are up to).

No matter whether organic or biodynamic, it is worth noting that a lot of wineries do not declare, at least on their labels what processes they follow. However, for those that do, be suspicious of wines that sell themselves on organic or biodynamic principles but have no reputation for quality. After all, it is no surprise that some of the top domaines of Burgundy - with winemakers who were already highly talented - have also continued to make very good wines biodynamically. But the question remains as to whether the wines are greater because of biodymanic practices.

For many good and great winemakers, the goal is to make the best wine possible by whatever means and in most keeping with whatever part of the world one is producing wine in in the first place. Most are agreed, however, that the best way to make great wine is in a sustainable fashion, keeping soil and the surrounding vineyard environment in good shape.

This month we are recommending two wines that happen to have been produced biodynamically.

(Photo: wines from the 2009 Landmark Tutorial)

We are delighted to be participating in this year’s Landmark Tutorial, to be held in the Yarra Valley in September.

Joining a group of 14 participants chosen from the around the world, this one-week, residential course exposes students to some of Australia’s greatest winemakers, wine critics, authors and other luminaries as well as several hundred representative and classic wines in vintages old and new (and in all colours and styles!).

Click here for the full list of this year’s participants. Further details on the Tutorial, can be downloaded here.

Click here for this year’s schedule of seminars and activities.

The inaugural Landmark Tutorial, held in 2009 in the Barossa Valley, showcased some 248 Australian fine wines. The success and stimulation of last year’s Tutorial was evidenced by student feedback and on the blog reports of 2009’s alumni, including the likes of Jamie Goode and Julia Harding MW.

We would like to extend our gratitude for enabling us this unique opportunity to the Landmark Tutorial Committee and to Wine Australia/AWBC for launching the initiative.

Watch the Dragon Phoenix Wine Blog for reports on this week-long course as well as our more recent forays within China and around the world.

Edward Ragg & Fongyee Walker

This month we recommend two Californian wines which we have especially enjoyed recently on the back of our recent Californian trip (look out for future posts!)

(Photo: Schramsberg, remuage with riddler of long-standing Ramon)

2004 Schramsberg Crémant, California (412RMB)
Available from Globus. Contact: Oliver Baenninger, Email: oliverbaenninger@globus-wine.com  (www.globus-wine.com)

Intrigued to try something from the producer who supplied the wine for the secret meeting between Zhou Enlai and Nixon? Schramsberg is California’s most famous sparkling wine producer, serving Presidents, Kings and Queens and other dignitaries. This wine is called ‘Crémant’ because, although it is made through the traditional Champagne method, it is slightly less sparkling than Champagne.

Made from an unusually aromatic grape called Flora, the wine is a lovely deep gold with a gentle sparkle. The nose has floral and honeyed fruit with some toasty aromas whilst the palate is medium-sweet with balancing acidity and good length. An ideal Chinese banquet wine! (importer Globus stocks most of Schramsberg’s other wines including their Napa Cabernet, called ‘J. Davies’, which is well worth trying too).

2005 Ridge Lytton Springs (Zinfandel Blend), Sonoma, California (699RMB)
Available from Summergate. Contact: Jim Yang, Email: jim.yang@summergate.com Telephone 86.10. 6562.1800 ext 16 (www.summergate.com)

Ridge, under the command of Paul Draper, has become one of California’s greatest producers, with wineries in Sonoma and also the Santa Cruz Mountains (where the legendary Monte Bello Chardonnay and Monte Bello red blend are made).

This wine, from the Lytton Springs winery, is medium purple-red in colour. The nose has attractive blackberry, black cherry and berry fruits with lovely oak; whilst the palate offers robust and ripe tannins, strong fruit, nice acidity, good oak and excellent length. Made from 77% Zinfandel, 17% Petite Syrah and 6% Carignan, this is an extremely good wine. Try with Cantonese roast meats or even Beijing roast duck!

(Photo: Pacific and Bay-area fog draws in on Oakville, Napa Valley)

Approaching California (from China)

Over Chinese New Year, we had the chance to re-visit California, the USA’s most famous wine state (around 90% of American wine comes from California).

During our winery visits, we talked with Californian producers about the lack of recognition in China of US wines.

However, several mainland Chinese importers now carry important American wineries (click here to read more) with California leading the way, even if lack of awareness among consumers and the absence of a co-ordinated programme for the reception of US wines in China remain issues.

But what makes California distinctive? Most famous is California’s Napa Valley which more often than not boasts near-perfect growing conditions for high quality grapes.

Cabernet Sauvignon grows especially well in the warmer parts of Napa; although near the southern end of the valley lies Carneros which is cooler and more suitable for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The Carneros region is also shared with neighbouring Sonoma, a generally cooler part of the North Coast AVA (American Viticultural Area).

Typically, higher-quality wines come from California’s cooler regions, whether up-high in the Santa Cruz Mountains or along the North, Central and South Coast zones. Producers are free to plant grape varieties wherever they want, but certain areas are, of course, well-known for specific varietals:

Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, Carneros Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, Alexander Valley and Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel (‘the Zin zone’), Paso Robles Syrah etc.

Beyond these special areas, the huge Central Valley produces the bulk of California’s cheapest wine. However, the Central Valley also has some special parts, like Lodi, which is also famous for Zinfandel.

The Zinfandel grape is certainly one of California’s oldest and more unusual varieties. Although it is the same, genetically speaking, as Italy’s Primitivo grape, Zinfandel is morphologically different with plump berries that easily raisin on the vine (the berries are so large initially that they even shade other grapes on the same bunches, which can lead to uneven ripening).

Raisining on the vine typically leads to a particular style of red wine, usually high in alcohol with lots of fruit and tannic structure (when red).

However, Zinfandel is also used to make an affordable rosé wine - sometimes confusingly called White Zinfandel, usually known as Blush Zinfandel - that has brought many American and some international consumers to wine and is a good thing to buy for first-time wine drinkers.

Our advice in buying Californian wines in China? Seek an importer with an interest in US wines specifically, if you want to try premium or mid-range wines (for more information on importer ranges click here).

Californian wines are generally quite expensive around the world and China is no exception (no less influenced by tax and some hefty distributor margins). But at least you will usually find the main grape variety on the label with the area of production also usually clearly marked (these are legal requirements, but rules on labelling are occasionally bended in the PRC!).

For those who like generally rich-textured and higher-alcohol wines, California remains attractive, but styles are changing and even something as generically coded as so-called ‘Napa Valley Cabernet’ comes in a whole host of producer-inflected expressions.

Thankfully, this range of styles and attention to quality winemaking means that US wines are typically adaptable  to many different types of cuisine. Our advice is to keep searching, tasting and bringing such wines to the banquet or indeed any table!