Club Lunch: Wine Fraud and China’s Wine Revolution

MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2015
12:45PM – LUNCH
1:15PM – ADDRESS
1ST FLOOR

Speaker: Jeannie Cho Lee
Asian Master of Wine, Professor of Wine, HK Polytechnic

How had China’s entry into the wine industry, both as a major consumer and producer, encouraged the black market for fake wines? How prevalent was counterfeit vino in the domestic industry? How were faked wines being handled?

Austerity measures had also dampened China’s thirst for Bordeaux but was it just a temporary slowdown or a long term trend? Was China’s love affair with Bordeaux over? When will China produce great wines?

Ms. Jeannie Cho Lee shared her views on the above questions. She was the first Asian Master of Wine (MW) and a Professor of Wine at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, as well as Co-Chair of the Decanter Asia Wine Awards and a Wine Consultant for Singapore Airlines. Recognized for her contributions to the wine industry, Jeannie won the International Vinitaly Award in 2009 and was named the 25th most powerful person in wine by Decanter magazine in 2013. The vino expert was also the author of award-winning book Asian Palate and Mastering Wine for the Asian Palate (2011), which introduces a new set of Asian wine descriptors. Jeannie held a Certificat de Cuisine from Cordon Bleu and trained as a Master Sake Sommelier at Japan’s Sake Service Institute. She was a Certified Wine Educator with both the UK’s Wine & Spirits Education Trust and the US Society of Wine Educators. She held a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College as well as a Master’s degree from Harvard University.