Grapes worth their weight in gold

Stainless steel tanks for fermentation and aging at Concannon Vineyard in Livermore Valley. [Photo by Dong Fangyu/China Daily]

Lu Jiang, a Beijing wine critic and consultant, has made wine-themed trips to California three times. For him the most notable feature of these expeditions is that they are about far more than wines and wineries. The tours are a magic amalgam that bring together local wineries and local resources such as food, scenery, other places of interest, hotels, music, arts, films and sports, he says.

"There are simply so many choices in California. The region I love most is Santa Barbara. For me it even outperforms Napa, which I like too. It was in Santa Barbara that my favorite film, the Oscar-winning Sideways, was shot. There's the amazing Danish Village of Solvang," too.

There is also a guided road trip that marks the wineries and restaurants shown in the film, he says.

Lu has traveled to several wine-growing countries, in both the New World and Old World, over the past 10 years. The Old World wine tours are obviously more steeped in history and vaunt terroir, the heritage of the soil, while the New World tours are more commercialized and versatile, with wine-related events such as festivals and concerts, he says.

"But wineries in the New World and the Old World are learning from each other."

In California, one grape varietal that epitomizes the lifestyle is Zinfandel. It is planted in 45 of the state's 58 counties, with a few key wine-growing areas including Lake, Lodi, Napa Valley, Sierra Foothills, Sonoma County and Southern California, the California Wine Institute says.

Zinfandel comes in many different styles－red, rosé, sweet, dry, late-harvest and sparkling－and it is said to go well with many Chinese dishes.

"The conventional wisdom is to have hot spicy food with a spicy light white wine," Beros of the wine institute says. "But my experience in China is that hotpot goes really well with Zinfandel."

Beros, who worked in the wine business in China for seven years before taking up his post as China director of the institute, says: "Chinese consumers really like Zinfandels. It goes great with high-acid food, full-flavored food. ... You need a sweet wine or a very fruity powerful red wine to go with hotpot."

Lu Jiang, the Chinese wine critic, says: "Zinfandel is relatively full-bodied, with a little higher alcohol level. It is fruity, with more spices, even with a jammy feel. These attributes can make Zinfandel appealing to Chinese people."

It is also relatively inexpensive, he says, many are available at between 100 yuan ($14) and 200 yuan a bottle in China.

We have the wine, and now for the industry side dishes.