At a wine festival held in Changli, a wine producing region in northern China, a bidder in sunglasses paid RMB200,000 (about US$30,000) for two bottles of French white wine. He promptly smashed one bottle on the ground. He hopes this stunt will make more people support China’s domestic wine, “the meaning of which is priceless,” said the unnamed bidder from Beijing, according to media reports.
His message was heard–and widely ridiculed–on Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter. The news item attracted thousands of mostly negative comments. @Eddie_lj scoffs, “This is not patriotism, this is stupid show-off. If he really loves the country, he can use the money to support students who dropped out of college because of poverty or other disadvantaged groups, and that would be meaningful. But doing this only shows how ignorant and shallow he is.” {{1}}[[1]]这不是爱国，这叫“烧包”。如果真是爱国，用这个钱去支持几个失学大学生，去支持一下弱势群体，都是有意义的。这个事情，只能证明他的无知与浅薄。 [[1]] Others questioned his motives. @–壹— comments, ”The other bottle is now worth more than RMB200,000. People in the antique business play this trick a lot.” {{2}}[[2]]剩下一瓶绝不止二十万了。这招古玩行的人常玩 [[2]] @太妃糖泡泡 tweets, “This man is so poor that all he has is money. What a pity.” {{3}}[[3]]此人穷得只剩钱了，真可怜[[3]]
With China becoming one of the largest wine markets in the world, domestic wine producers may be pulling out the stops to promote China’s own grape juices. Many netizens believe the stunt may be staged by staff at the Changli Wine Festival to hype the event and promote domestic wine. According to media reports, the wine in question is a type of late harvest white wine from Domaine Emile Beyer in Alsace. Tea Leaf Nation thinks it’s the Emile Beyer Gewürztraminer Vendange Tardive, the 2009 vintage of which goes for under 20 euros per bottle.
Pingback: » Top-of-the-Week Links: Ryan Lochte’s sister says really racist thing, Q Live’s misstep at Hot Cat Club, and a Peking University sex scandal Beijing Cream
Pingback: I vinpressen (uke 35) | VINEKSPERTEN