The popularity of fine wines is growing quickly in China but it's not just the rich and mature drinkers who know how to savor this alcoholic beverage - the students do too

Of the various private events that took place across the seven ballrooms at Park Hyatt Shanghai, one stood out the most.

Instead of the regular dinner party, business meeting or conference, this event was more akin to an examination, one that was attended by 30 college students.

The presence of high foot wine glasses in the ballroom, however, suggested that this was no regular examination. In fact, this was the final round of the Chinese edition of the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup, one of the world's most prestigious and participated wine contests for college students whom the organizers called the "world's future elites".

The wine exam comprised a multiple-choice test on Bordeaux's history and wine trivia. What followed was a blind tasting of a variety of wines that even the most professional sommeliers might find difficult to handle. Huddled in teams of three, the students swirled, sniffed and sipped fine Bordeaux before identifying the wines. They also had to determine the name of a Chateau from a photo, the year a vintage wine was made and its appellation.

"Considering Chinese students' remarkable ability to memorize, we have designed the questions particularly for the Chinese mainland tests. Some of them are so difficult that even I cannot answer them," said Fan Lina, the only Chinese member of the wine appreciation guild and judge on the panel this year.

First introduced in 2002 by Commanderie du Bontemps de Mdoc, des Graves, de Sauternes et de Barsac, one of the most historical and biggest French wine appreciation guilds, the contest was a national event for wine societies in French schools before it was opened up to the world in 2011. The contest has since been won by teams of wine connoisseurs, or oenophiles, from Cambridge, Oxford and Harvard. The event was introduced to China, currently the world's fifth largest wine market, at the beginning of 2014.

Red wine is the most consumed type of wine in China. In terms of consumption volume, it enjoyed a whopping 74 percent growth rate from 2009 to 2013, according to a joint report released by Vinexpo and The International Wine and Spirits Research (IWSR). In 2014, all varieties of wine suffered negative growth as they were affected by China's anti-corruption campaign which banned officials from splurging on gifts and dining extravagantly with public money.

"The Left Cup in China has been as much about the promotion of wine knowledge as it is a means of boosting consumption among future drinkers and collectors," said Fan.

"Everyone has been talking about the wine market becoming rationalized, with young people becoming the main purchasing power and growth engine. But the focus has been mainly restricted to office workers only, while the potential of college students is regretfully ignored," she added.

Ten teams were involved in the Feb 28 final of the Chinese edition this year. They were from some of the most prestigious universities in the country, including Shanghai Fudan University, Nanjing University and Tsinghua University. The winning team, however, was the relatively unknown Zhejiang Gongshang University in Hangzhou, and it will in June compete against seven other teams from Asia, Europe and America in the global final at Chateau Laftie-Rothschild.

"Unlike Harvard or Oxford, top universities in China still have their attention focused on contests in 'serious fields' like science or even singing contests. Wine appreciation is yet considered an art or 'beneficiary skill' by schools, parents and many students," said Zhang Teng, founder and director of China Wine Association of College Students, a non-profit organization based in Shanghai that promotes wine culture in Chinese universities.

Zhang, who majors in oenology at the Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, the first school in China to offer oenology courses, was inspired to start the association in the summer of 2014 when he discovered that many of his peers were interested in wines but had little chance to experience it.

The China Wine Association of College Students first comprised students from just six schools. Today, it boasts a membership of about 15,000 students from 31 universities all over the country. Six out of the 10 teams at the Chinese final of the Left Cup are members of the association.

Emmanuel Cruse, owner of Chateau d'Issan in Margaux and the world grand master of the Commanderie Bontemps who led the judging team for the final in China, noted that while there remains a wide gap between Chinese students and their global peers in terms of wine knowledge, young people here are catching up at an astonishing pace.

Last year, the winner of the Chinese edition secured the fourth place at the international competition, the best record so far.

"I want to win, not for the title or prize, but to earn a reputation for wine drinking," said Wang Zhengqing, the team captain of the winning Chinese team this year.

Wang said that the first alcohol he ever drank was Moutai, the famous produce of his hometown in southwest China's Guizhou province which is a major production base for baijiu, the national drink of China. He was only 3 years old then. When he was 8, he got to savor his first sip of wine. Drinking baijiu is a tradition in Guizhou people's daily life.

"I love Moutai as much as I hate the ganbei (bottoms up) culture. So when I was introduced to the world of wine, especially French wine, I have been fascinated by how alcohol can be enjoyed genteelly," said the 19-year-old.

Wang said that his parents remain "somewhere between supportive and indifferent" about his expensive hobby which costs him about 15,000 yuan ($2,170) a year to purchase wine and travel for wine tasting events. He has also started a wine society in school and it is regularly attended by seven other like-minded students.

"Some of my peers like playing video games. Others like reading online romance novels. Me? I just happen to have a penchant for wine," said Wang.

"One day, I want to teach my folks to savor Moutai like how the French savor their wines."

http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2017-03/17/content_28597793.htm