Metropolitan cities like Beijing and Shanghai are seeing a lot of wine-tasting events, organized by major wine-producing countries.
But recently the agricultural trade office of the US embassy chose to hold an American wine tasting in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province.
More than 400 people, mostly industry insiders, attended the wine tasting on July 10. The number of attendees was twice the initial expectation.
"I was told that almost 80 percent of wine industry players from Zhengzhou showed up," says Ma Zhen, editor-in-chief of Wine in China, which co-sponsored the event.
Wine educator Yin Lixue gave a two-hour introduction to American wines, during which she and the audience tasted 12 wines from different parts of the US.
"I was a bit surprised to learn that the event would be held in Zhengzhou, because even in bigger cities in China, American wine is still relatively new," she says.
She was even more surprised when she ordered champagne in a local restaurant the night before the event in Zhengzhou, and had a professional sommelier serving it in a proper glass. "That standard procedure of serving wine has not even been popularized in big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou," says Yin, director of Godolphin Wine Services Shanghai. "It just means that wine is no longer a novelty in Zhengzhou."
Among 13 national and local sellers of American wines at the event, Silenus International Group attracted a lot of attention. The group, which specializes in selling US wines in China, was established in 2010 after Meijing Group, a Henan real estate company, purchased the Silenus Vitners chateau in Napa Valley, California.
Ralph Bean, director of agricultural trade office, says the purchase was part of the reason he organized the wine tasting event in Zhengzhou.
