2010-09-20 10:21

Diversification is an important safeguard, says top sommelier

Editor's note: Zhang Hui, a State-level wine sommelier and also the deputy director of the Production and Operation Department of the COFCO Wines & Spirits Company, shares her views on collecting and investing in red wine during an interview with China Daily reporter Yang Ning.

In your opinion, what are the requirements for successfully collecting and investing in red wine?

The material used in the production of red wine, in other words, the variety of wine grapes, is very important, with high quality resources always limited. Generally, the world-famous wineries have a long history of more than 100 years, with their vines in existence before living memory. The wine made from the grapes grown on these kind of vines is definitely different from that made from those grown on saplings.

In what ways can a beginner learn how to collect and invest in red wine?

The beginner should pay attention to specialists and information from insiders. For example, Robert Parker, the famous wine critic, always wrote comments about the current situation regarding wine in the magazine "Wine Advocate". Wines with a score of 90 or above out of 100 are worth collecting.

There is an opinion that foreign wines are more worthy of collecting and investing in. Do you agree?

When talking about the comparison between foreign and domestic wines, there are two things we should know. The first one, which cannot be denied, is that the history of foreign wines is much longer than that of China. With the abundant experience resulting from that long history, there must be many varieties of wines. The second point is that history is not the only factor affecting the quality of wine. In China, we also have a good environment, the time and good varieties, which can also help to produce good wines. So definitely, we have top-level wine inside China.

What do you think of Chinese red wine in the international market?

Compared with some European countries that have a very long history with red wine, there does exist some limitation in the Chinese red wine market. But we cannot deny that now the status of our domestic red wine is rising continuously.

As Federico Castellucci, the director general of the International Organization of Vine and Wine, once said in a wine forum, "China, being the fifth biggest grape-planting market in the whole world, is showing itself optimistically." Also, at a dinner party during the International Open Golf Championships, a bottle of Chinese Great Wall wine with the signature of famed golfer Jack Nicklaus was sold for more than 100,000 yuan. A limited edition of Great Wall "Beyond 2008" wine is in the permanent collection at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. All these examples show us the high status of Chinese wine around the world.

Zhang Hui, a State-level wine sommelier and also the deputy director of the Production and Operation Department at COFCO.

We notice that COFCO Wines & Spirits Company recently launched a limited edition red wine for the Expo 2010 Shanghai. Is the wine with a significant background usually a more collectable item?

World Expo is a great chance for people to enjoy face-to-face communication. People from all over the world gather in one place, display their products and skills, and praise their hometowns and motherlands. Expo was hosted by China for the first time, which is a particularly meaningful and memorable thing indeed.

Our limited edition Great Wall wine for the Expo 2010 Shanghai was made from the top types of wine grapes on the basis of species. After 22 months of careful brewing in new French oak barrels and 120 procedures, the wine was tasted 48 times by wine experts, which showed its uniqueness.

Expo 2010 Shanghai is definitely a significant factor that could expand the potential of the wine market in China. The value of this kind of limited edition wine is a combination of both the product itself and the meaning inside it, which will certainly double the collectable value.

Now there are two kinds of wine collectors: One is for investment and the other is just for fun. What advice and suggestions would you give to them respectively?

For those who just collect it for fun, they must take care of the preservation of red wine. Generally, it takes 15 years before wine reaches maturity, so they should wait for the maturation process to end.

For those who want to invest in this sector, professional preservation is also very important. It is better to ask investment companies for help because they have professional wine cellars. Moreover, usually you can get a report every quarter from the company, which will tell you how much you have gained from the wine you have bought. However, since investments are always accompanied by risk, everyone should be careful when thinking of buying.

Do you have some other opinions about the collection and appreciation of red wine?

It is important to decentralize and diversify your collection so as to appreciate the value of red wine. This is also a general rule for all kinds of collections.

Yi Jie contributed to this story.