California Grapes: The Early Learning Wine Cente

California Grapes: The Early Learning Wine Center

Submitted on Oct 14, 2012 2:00pm by Paul Ryding

It had been a long day at work, it was lashing down with rain, and I’ll be honest, given the recent glut of wine merchants in the city, I wasn’t relishing the prospect of visiting yet another wine shop – even if it was Beijing’s first Golden State-specific wine retailer . Previously, my grasp of the grape was limited to an instinctive awareness of which poor-selling pungent potables were discounted at the local off-licenses. The spendthrift restrictions placed on my drinking habits by a student loan have been hard to shake.

An hour after arriving at California Grapes, I had learned more about wine than I ever thought possible and was ready to write the first chapter of my own Dummies’ Guide to Oenology .

Mario, the über-enthusiastic store manager, had me inhale a pungent red and then asked what flavors tickled my nose.

“Erm … cream?” I offered meekly.
“YES! You get it, right?”
“Oh yeah, cream. Definitely cream,” I repeated, now quite certain that I held in my hand the creamiest of creamy bouquets.

The wine world is rife with pretension. But at California Grapes, with its modern, accessible take on viticulture, even a complete novice can enjoy the experience of learning more.

Stocking about 300 wines from a range of the 100-plus wine regions of California, including the revered Napa Valley, there’s no shortage of choice and the staff are ready to help you make the right one. You can even pull up a seat and enjoy a selection by the glass from their “Try Before You Buy” menu , divided into four wallet-friendly categories (RMB 20-65). Any subsequent purchase of a sampled bottle (starting from RMB 200) will be discounted the price you paid for the glass. And with food available from Moment Cafe , there’s no reason not to spend a lazy afternoon sat up at the counter engaging in some hands-on learning.

Since California Grapes specializes in smaller, lesser-known wineries , there are plenty of options here available nowhere else in Beijing, even in its current wine-saturated state. In fact, such is the exclusivity of the collection that a wine you enjoyed last month might not be available when you next stop by.

By the time I left, I’d chosen a new favorite (the creamy number I’d expertly identified). Heck, I even parted with some money to take a bottle home with me to continue my education.

California Grapes . B1/F, B1-301, Sanlitun Soho, 8 Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District (136 1135 9505) ??????? 8 ???? Soho 3 ?? B1-301 ?

By Subway : 800m west of Tuanjiehu station (Line 10)

Photos: Paul Ryding

Photos located at: http://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2012/10/14/c...ine-center