“Would you like the Great Wall Terroir with your sea cucumber, sir? Or may I recommend the Chateau Sungod?” Oenophiles in China might hear that muffled bit of advice as they study the menu. Among the many things made in China (alongside the trinkets and computers) is passably drinkable wine, often dressed up to be as French as its makers can get away with without sparking a trade war with Paris. Some of China’s winemakers are building French-style chateaux in order to have something more picturesque to illustrate the labels with than bits of broken wall. They are even buying vineyards overseas, in France and Chile among other noted wine countries. But China’s upwardly mobile increasingly want to drink more prestigious stuff.
“先生，您想要長城天賦酒窖(Great Wall Terroir)的葡萄酒佐配海參么？或者，請允許我推薦長城桑干酒莊(Chateau Sungod)的葡萄酒？”在中國，當愛酒人士研讀菜單時，耳邊或許會聽到上述含糊的建議。在眾多產自中國的商品中（從小飾物到計算機），包括還算過得去的葡萄酒，它們在包裝上模仿法國酒，相似程度如果再高一點，就能可能引發與法國之間的貿易戰。中國的一些釀酒商還在建造法式酒莊，以期在酒瓶標簽上有一些更具詩意的圖案，而不僅僅是斷墻遺址。他們甚至還到海外去購買葡萄園，包括法國、智利和其他一些出產葡萄酒的知名國家。然而中國的新貴們日益希望品鑒到更富盛名的佳釀。