The first "Wynn Classics - China Wine Competition",
It turns out that Chinese wine can be so interesting.
I have to come to Macau several times a year for the streets and good restaurants in the hotels. The difference is that this time I came to Macau not only for food, but also for drink.
Fine dining is mostly inseparable from wine pairing. In recent years, there have been a lot of good restaurants in China, and when it comes to food and wine pairing, there is a trend that has become more and more obvious - many restaurants have begun to use domestic high-quality wines to accompany their meals, and are no longer limited to traditional well-known foreign production areas.
Last weekend, I attended the award ceremony of the first "Wynn Masterpiece – China Wine Competition" at Wynn Palace in Macau, which greatly enriched my knowledge of Chinese wines.
The competition was judged by a jury of 27 of the world's leading wine experts, including Master of Wine MW, Master Sommelier MS, winemakers, trainers, writers, hoteliers and wine buyers. All the participating wines will be judged and scored one by one to compete for the Bronze Award (85-89 points), Silver Award (90-94 points) and Gold Award (95-100 points), and then 23 individual awards will be selected from the Gold Award winners. When chatting with Miss Wynn PR, she said that some time ago, everyone had to wrap bread and newspapers outside the wine bottle until midnight......
Although I have drunk a lot of domestic wine on various occasions, this is the first time I have seen a wine competition in which so many excellent domestic wines participate. Over the course of two days, I attended two master classes, a symposium on China's finest wineries, an awards dinner, and tasted the wine pairing menus of Tan Hui and Jing Hua Xuan, and I drank at least 50 or 60 domestic wines, among which I found some interesting grape varieties and wines that I had not noticed before.
In terms of white wines, one of the hot spots of this competition is that there are many small mantsons planted in Shandong, Hebei, Ningxia and other places, and wineries such as Longting and Sino-French Manor have their own award-winning wines selected. Due to its high sugar content and high acidity, Petit Manssen is ideal for making sweet white wines. This time, the Sino-French Manor Petit Manseng Sweet White 2018 was selected as the best sweet wine, the best Petit Manssen and the best North China wine, which tasted rich in honey and dried fruits, and was very sweet.
Another big winner among the white wines was the Xige N28 Chardonnay 2021, which I loved very much and with the full flavour of ripe tropical fruits, which won the Best White Wine and Best Value for Money wine.
As for the red wines, we have to mention Marselan, which shines in this competition. The award for Best Chinese Wine of the Year at the inaugural Wynn Classics – China Wine Competition went to Marselan 2021, a treasure of Changhe Jade. This wine has won 4 awards in the competition, including the best Chinese wine, the best red wine, the best Ningxia wine, and the best Marselan, and is the ace player with the most awards in this competition.
When I first drank this Long and Jade Reserve Marselan 2021, I still wondered why it was the best? Later, at Tan Hui's lunch, the sommelier brought another bottle of the same wine, but this one had been awakened more than ten hours earlier. Try it again, the taste is a little less sharp and dry, and a little more round and soft, which gives me a deeper understanding of the charm of this wine.
As a variety native to France, Marselan is a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache. In the past few years, some of the dry reds made from Marselan have won many wine awards in international competitions, and their cultivation areas have spread all over the country's major production areas, reflecting the different terroirs of various parts of China.
Julien, the host of the Symposium on China's Fine Wineries, has been based in China for more than 20 years, and the topic of his thesis on the Master of Wine exam was "Exploring the Potential of Marselan in China". At the symposium, one of his words stood out to me: "If you grow Cabernet Sauvignon in China, people will compare your Cabernet Sauvignon to Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa Valley or Bordeaux." I hope that if Chile starts planting Marselan in the future, people will compare it to China's Marselan. ”
If the grape varieties of the New World are represented by Carmenere in Chile and Malbec in Argentina, perhaps in the near future there will be Marselan in China.
In addition to the wines that have won many awards, the wines that I admire very much are the Changhe Jade 'Cui' 2018 made from Merlot, the Helan Qingxue Winery Gabeilan Pinot Noir 2018, which I liked when I was in Chuanjiang Yue earlier, the Longting Winery Reserve Petit Manssen 2020 as a dry white Little Mansson, and the Snow Mountain Secret Hualuo Xiangyun Ice Wine 2020 in the Shangri-La wine region, etc. After drinking fifty or sixty wines at high density in two days, it's good to remember so many......
It is gratifying that Chinese wine is going to the wider world. The stage provided by Wynn Macau is one of the great opportunities for Chinese wines to show their strength. At this event, many of Wynn's restaurants used Chinese wines to pair their dishes, which was also a good opportunity to learn about the charm of domestic wines.
In Tan Hui, the steamed sea spotted with fig leaves and ginger chicken sauce is steamed with fish wrapped in fig leaves, so that the fish is tender and delicious, and also has a sweet aroma unique to figs. The wine paired with the Chardonnay 2020 at Château Xiandao Yihu is a wonderful accompaniment to this steamed seafood dish with a fresh citrus aroma and bright acidity.
As the best Chinese wine of the year in this competition, Changhe Jade Reserve Marselan 2021 made its debut together with Tan Hui's pot roasted abalone piglets. The rich fruit aroma and oak vanilla notes are complemented by the equally rich sauce and gelatinous texture of the piglet's feet.
At Jinghuaxuan, the slow-cooked abalone with crispy shallots is one of my favorite appetizers. The chubby chef deep-fried green onions at low temperature until crispy and served with slow-cooked abalone at low temperature, which has both crispy and soft layers. Paired with this dish is the winner of the Best Chardonnay award, Nine Peaks Estate's "Chi" Dry White 2021, and the citrus flavor and a hint of minerality in this wine enrich the taste layers of this appetizer to another level.
Next up, Wynn will launch the "China Celebrated Wine Tasting Month" event in May, featuring Tan Hui, Yongcui Palace, Wynn Steakhouse and "Hong" Japanese Restaurant at Wynn Palace, Jing Hua Xuan, Lakeside Yi Lounge and "Hong" Japanese Restaurant at Wynn Macau, as well as the competition's award-winning Chinese wines at Wynn's bars, including Hung Yi Ting, Xia Lounge, Xuan Lounge and Wynn Bar.
By the way, next year's "Wynn Classics – China Wine Competition" will be open for entries on May 1st, and I am already looking forward to what interesting wines and surprises the next edition will bring.
Attached is the list of "Wynn Classic Award", "Outstanding Variety Award", "Origin Champion Award" and Gold Award winners of this competition:
Cheers!
-End-
Travel food columnist, from time to time write some travel foraging journals and drunk gibberish. Halfway idiot, you won't get lost in Latin America, but you will get lost in Guangzhou. I like good food, and I have eaten more than 100 Michelin restaurants but I don't (basically) gain weight.
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食游广东 | 食游港澳 | 食游中国
Dining in Japan | Dining in Asia
Dining in Europe | Dining in the Americas
Food Travel Essay | Eat, drink, and gossip
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