Wine wizards from Oz

Two of the world's foremost wine experts have been in Beijing to pass on their knowledge. Jeremy Oliver and Dr Ron Georgiou are among only 16 people in Australia entitled to call themselves Masters of Wine.

Oliver, a wine writer and presenter, has been in Beijing to promote his new wine book. Oliver reckons he is tapping into a growing desire among Chinese people to learn more about wines, Australian ones in particular. Published in Chinese, Enjoying Wine with Jeremy is a color-illustrated book packed with information about how to appreciate wine, plus tasting notes and ratings of around 250 Australian wines available in China. Oliver also shared his experience of how to match Chinese food with Australian wines.

Georgiou hosted a tasting at Hilton Beijing Wangfujing and said that despite the global financial crisis, there were still plenty of affordable good wines, as long as you knew where to look. Georgiou helped the hotel establish its Vintage Bank wine cellar, with more than 10,000 bottles, comprising 500 different wines, including Toro from Spain, organic wines from Argentina and Chile, Italian wines and various from Bordeaux.