Wine in Beijing: The City’s Best Deals, Part Two

By Jim Boyce (t.sina / Twitter)

A few months ago, I wrote a story about the Beijing wine scene for lifestyle magazine City Weekend. Here is the second of three parts of that story, reprinted from here with permission from City Weekend. (See part one here and part three here)

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Beyond the Basics

Unusual grape varieties rarely make by-the-glass menus given the risk that they will go unsold and thus to waste. That means plenty of common Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon but rarely any Chenin Blanc or Cabernet Franc. Enter the Enomatic machines (pictured above) at new restaurant Modo. Patrons insert a prepaid card and choose a sixth (25 ml), half (75 ml) or full (150 ml) pour of 16 wines. The atypical lineup includes Argentine Malbec, New Zealand Gamay Noir, South African Pinotage and Italian Vermentino for as little as ¥11 a pour. “It gives people a chance to explore new varieties. If you don’t know Vermintino, you won’t order a bottle,” says Alex Molina, GM of Modo and affiliated Mosto, where he says a non-card based machine spurred bottle sales of Austrian Gruner Veltliner. For a second option of interesting wines by the glass, check Cafe Europe in Jianwai SOHO.

Drink Up Down Under

According to Ma Huiqin, a professor at China Agricultural University who includes wine marketing among her interests, Australia, along with Chile, offers the best value table wines for consumers in Beijing. “Both counties have pleasant overall climates for grapes, an export driven industry, reasonable prices and an approach that combines science and tradition,” she says. Garry Anderson of the Australian Wine Club and distributor Gelipu (GLP) also cites the consistent vintages from key areas of Australia and recommends the company’s Amesbury Colombard and Shiraz-Cabernet at ¥60—available at Jenny Lou’s (various locations citywide)—as particularly good values.

B.Y.O.W.

Many restaurants and bars are not keen on customers’ bringing wine, especially if the menu offers something similar, since the profit from bottle sales helps pay the rent. But they will usually allow it for corkage of Â¥50 to Â¥100. And if you like Middle Eastern food, there are options for Muslim restaurants that have no corkage fee whatsoever. One of our favorites is Rumi, which with no alcohol on the menu and no corkage fee, allows you to B.Y.O.B. to the max. Stop by Jenny Lou’s, pick up a bottle of South African Obikwa Sauvignon Blanc 2009 for just Â¥65 and enjoy.

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