What China Can Teach Us About Wine

Is wine a traditional part of Chinese culture at all?
No, but if you’re talking about a sophisticated beverage where there’s a quality spectrum and differences in taste, aroma and flavor, the Chinese have always had that. Think about tea. Tea has tannins and different textures, different quality levels—you can get inexpensive to very expensive tea, and green and black and everything in between. So when wine came along, it didn’t take people long to catch on. Plus, the dining scene in China has improved incredibly in the last 20 years.