With my insane but exciting travel schedule of late I've had a hard time not only keeping the Digital Tavern (aka my blog) up to date, I've been amiss in reading my favorite blogs. But some downtime today and I gotta thank Doc for pointing me to this New York Times article(read it now before it fades into the archives of oblivion and they'll tease you with a capsule hoping you'll pony up pennies to read it) about blogging.
A few observations are in order. Katie Hafner mentions that:
[...] Blogging is a pastime for many, even a livelihood for a few. For some, it becomes an obsession. Such bloggers often feel compelled to write several times daily and feel anxious if they don't keep up. As they spend more time hunkered over their computers, they neglect family, friends and jobs. They blog at home, at work and on the road [...]
And while I'm quite obsessive about blogging that instead of mere observations about things that i find interesting I've referred to in my own blogging lexicon, "god, that's bloggable." Or even worse, damn hold on. I need to jot down some notes, this is totally blogworthy." So you see bloggable and blogworthy are part of my daily diatribe - for those who care to listen.
But worse, I've been very lax due to travel, time zones and extracurricular activities that I haven't been as consistent as I've been in the past. in fact, I'm feeling so damn guilty that just a couple weeks ago I let the second anniversary of my blog pass without even a nod, note or damn noodle on these very pages.
Encourage me, will you? I know you care! I do. Sometimes at night I just start to fade into my oblivious state and with good intent but somehow the sleep takes over and another day without blogging passes. What do you want to hear about? Talk to me.
Or not.
But read the article. And kudos and thanks to Jeff Jarvis for his brilliant remark:
[...] "The addictive part is not so much extreme narcissism," Mr. Jarvis said. "It's that you're involved in a conversation. You have a connection to people through the blog." [...]
So you see this is exactly why I dip into this one-to-many personal discussions with you. We are really having a conversation.
Ok. So there's much more about China that I'll truly blog about. But do drop a note or a comment here. I'd love to open the conversation up further. Let's take it up a bit. Ok?
China. You gotta love this place. The people so industrious yet get out into the countryside and you can see the classic images that have graced the pages of National Geographic and the airwaves of the Discovery Channel and the Travel Channel. Hanging in southwest China we are living the subtropical climate. With it comes the humidity, the tropical plants, flora and fauna. But one thing is for sure. This is not a climate conducive to growing grapes and therefore making wine.
Not that I haven't searched for wine. Great or otherwise. As a traveler, explorer and wanderer I typically search out local or indigenous experiences. Whether this is food, culture or whatever you might call "living life". So finding a good bottle of wine has been a challenge. Not to mention a decent glass or "stem" as I am fond of referring to those glass or crystal vessels designed to host the juice of the fermented grape. Found wine. Haven't found a stem.
And wouldn't you know it. The two easiest to find bottles of wine are from producers aptly named "Dynasty" and "Great Wall".The wines come in the standard sizes, shapes and flavors. The cabernet from Great Wall seems to be the best I've tasted to date. Vintage? 1999. But it's important to note that the grapes from these wines are about as indigenous as the Madagasscar Palms gracing the grand entrance to Fashion Island in Newport Beach are to California.
Depending on the year, the weather and the political climate in Bejing, the grapes for Dynasty, Great Wall or any other Chinese wine come from France, South America or Australia. As far as I can tell, it's never consistent. It's just wine. Throw a label on it and sell it.
So it stands to reason that when I ran across this article today it dawned on me that the Chinese DO have an appetite for wine. And that's why imports of wine into China increased at a healthy rate of more than 50% last year from the previous year.
[...] according to figures released by the Beijing customs authorities, with a value amounting to almost o26 million, an increase which is being attributed to lower import tariffs and increasingly westernized consumer tastes ...]
It's interesting to note that the majority of the wines imported by China are from Chile. According to AP-Foodtechnology.com France, Australia, the US, Argentina, Italy and Spain follow in that order.
While I didn't actually see too many Chinese locals imbibing in the greatest and perhaps oldest fermented beverage on the planet, according to the previously mentioned website, "wine is gaining popularity among China[base ']s increasingly affluent consumers, particularly red wine, although many people drink it on-the-rocks or served with mixers such as cola." No there you go. I know two people in the USA that prefer not to drink it straight up enjoying it on the rocks. My dad and my good friend Paul Hunter. But somehow both of these folks would probably never step into China. Shame. Seems they might have something in common after all.
Hanging in Guilin. More on this legendary town later.
Photo: (1) Does this one need any explanation. Which Dynasty? Tong? Which Great Wall? The only one. The wine? Juice is likely Chilean or Australian. But when in Rome....
And wouldn't you know it. The two easiest to find bottles of wine are from producers aptly named "Dynasty" and "Great Wall".The wines come in the standard sizes, shapes and flavors. The cabernet from Great Wall seems to be the best I've tasted to date. Vintage? 1999. But it's important to note that the grapes from these wines are about as indigenous as the Madagasscar Palms gracing the grand entrance to Fashion Island in Newport Beach are to California. 
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