Uncorked

Why the visit of Robert M. Parker Jr., one of the world's most influential wine commentators, signals China's emergence as a serious wine market

With a local wine scene often highlighted by the comings and goings of a who’s who of French wine royalty, it was neither a French winemaker nor Chateau CEO whose recent visit to Beijing served as a watershed moment in the local wine market’s evolution. In fact it was not a European or a winemaker at all, but a former lawyer from Baltimore who graced our fine capital with his presence late in May, and in doing so helped pop the cork on the coronation of China as a world player.

This esteemed visitor was one Robert M. Parker Jr., the world-renowned publisher of the Wine Advocate and legendary wine critic, who is a driving force of the world’s wine economy. His judgment of a wine is often one of the greatest determinants in setting its market price and a producer who makes a wine that garners a high score on his 100-point rating system can have the fortunes of their winery forever changed.

A short and stocky man, Parker does not look like someone who moves the wine world with his pen and his palate, but his opinion and time is more sought after than anyone in the wine world, and thus him gracing us with his presence meant he too was ready to acknowledge the importance of China’s burgeoning group of wine drinkers.

Parker’s visit to China was sponsored by local wine importer ASC Fine Wines, so he wasn’t necessarily wandering over to this part of the world on his own, yet his presence is still telling in that all previous visits to Asia were marked with trips to Hong Kong and Japan without venturing to the Mainland.

Wine makers have been treating China like a mature market for years now, but this behavior is more reflective of their hope and belief in China’s market potential rather than for the impact it is currently having on their bottom line.

Parker is different, though, as he makes his money not in selling wine but in selling his opinions of wine, and his presence certainly indicates that he thinks the masses in China are getting ready to listen to what he has to say.

People have been clamouring for China to be recognised as a major world wine market for years now. It is in many ways not dissimilar to the way every major company executive, from those that produce automobiles to soft drinks looks at China, sees 1.3 billion people and thinks of 1.3 billion customers. But it is also these execs that make aspects of the domestic Chinese market out to be more than it actually is, selling the hype rather than the reality.

Wine has fallen in that boat for a long time with everyone in the business saying it was the next big thing despite what the numbers said (per capita consumption is still around .5 litres per person while consumption is at seven litres per person in the US and 54 litres per person in Italy).

Parker coming to China does not make China anything in and of itself, but his visit does signify a turning point in the young markets evolution. The bottles are flying off the shelves faster than ever, imports are doubling by the year and along with Hong Kong, China is helping to drive the global market for fine and rare wine.

When Robert Parker speaks, the wine world listens, and where he goes the wine world watches. As he stood on the Great Wall during a gala wine dinner to mark his visit and toasted a group of people who had shelled out 15,888RMB for a dinner, he wasn’t just toasting the fine food and drink on offer that evening, but really the celebration of China finally getting ready to lay stake to the claim that it is one of the most important markets in the world.

Wine of the month

The Time Out wine of the month for July is one of Parker top rated wines of the past decade, the Torbreck RunRig 2003. With a point score of 99 on Parker’s 100-point scale, the wine reached near perfection according to his palate, and a recent tasting leant a lot of credence to his claim. This blend of 95 per cent Shiraz and five per cent Vigonier is phenomenally dense and rich, with perfectly balanced flavours of blueberry and blackberry laced together with a dark chocolate swirl. It lasts forever on the palate, and only gets better as the flavours continue to morph and evolve in your mouth. It comes with quite a hefty price tag but for those interested in understanding the full potential of fine Australian wine, the Torbreck RunRig 2003 is the perfect place to look. Available from ASC Fine Wines, 3,309RMB, www.asc-wines.com

 

Gabriel Suk