The Chinese Obsession With Wine

In this article, Slate's Mike Steinberger writes of China's "newfound obsession" with wine. Here is an excerpt:

If even a tiny fragment of China's population acquires the means and desire to regularly drink the likes of Haut-Brion and Romanée-Conti, the effect on (already high) prices and (already tight) supplies will be profound.

And, in fact, the balance of wine-buying power is already shifting eastward: Chinese collectors have furiously sought out one first-growth Bordeaux, Château Lafite; and Hong Kong, which recently lifted all duties on wine, is now poised to rival London and New York as a hub of the global wine trade.

. . . China has a long viticultural heritage, and on the back of the country's economic gains, the local wine industry is booming: China is now the world's sixth-largest wine producer.

. . . it was an Internet entrepreneur from Shanghai named David Li, who ponied up $500,000 for six magnums of 1992 Screaming Eagle, California's most sought-after cult cabernet sauvignon. "I love Screaming Eagle," Li gushed to the Wine Spectator. "Napa Valley wines are the best in the world.