Value for money

A non-profit wine tasting event held recently had 18 wine experts and consumers, most of them Chinese, pick some of the best wines available in China for under 100 yuan.

"Given the global economic crisis and the fact that the average wine purchase in China is for under 100 yuan, the contest aimed at helping consumers find wine that was both affordable and good," said Canadian Jim Boyce, organizer and author of a wine blog Grape Wall of China, written in English.

The contest, called The Grape Wall Challenge, was organized on March 13 at Maxim's Solana Beijing. Six consumer judges tasted 21 white wines in the morning and another six tasted 23 red wines in the afternoon. Six wine experts tasted all the wines. A total of 14 wine distributors from 8 countries contributed wines to the event, with one distributor limited to two wines. The same limit applied to each country.