Inside the Chinese Wine Industry: The Past, Present, and
Future of Wine in China By Loren
Mayshark
Genre:
Nonfiction
The wine business is one of the world’s
most fascinating industries and China is considered the rising star. A hidden
secret, the Chinese wine industry continues to grow at an amazing pace and is
projected to soon enter the top five producing nations, supplanting long
established countries such as Australia. Inside the Chinese Wine Industry:
The Past, Present, and Future of Wine in China takes you through the
growing Chinese wine scene.
Wine has had a meteoric rise in China over the past two decades. The nation is projected to become the second most valuable market for wine in the world by 2020. One recent study concluded that 96% of young Chinese adults consider wine their alcoholic drink of choice. Not only does Inside the Chinese Wine Industry explore current expansion and business models, it journeys back to the past to see where it all began.
There
are more than seven hundred wineries in China today. Although it’s bit of an
oversimplification, the vast majority of the wineries fit into one of two
categories: the larger established producers who churn out mostly plonk to meet
the growing demand for inexpensive wine and the newer wineries that try to
cater to the tastes of the wealthy Chinese with money to spend on luxury goods
like fine wine. In the words of wine guru Karen MacNeil, author of The Wine Bible, “The cheap wines from
the very large producers have mostly verged on dismal.” However, this should
not be considered a blanket statement regarding every wine from large
producers. Also, she has positive reflections regarding the level of wine
produced by “cutting-edge wineries” which she finds “far better.” How good are
they? MacNeil asserts: “Some of these wines are so good they could easily pass
for a California or Bordeaux wine in a blind tasting.”
How my Freelance Assignment led me to
write Inside The Chinese Wine Industry
Freelance writing has many challenges and
frustrations but there are also rewards. The necessity of finding work as a
freelancer can force you to delve into topics that you have little familiarity
with or did not know existed.
This was the case for me when I first was
introduced to the topic of wine in China. I have long admired wine and have
spent years familiarizing myself with the noble grape as a vineyard worker,
bartender, and wine enthusiast. As a result, I have done some writing about the
drinks business, however, it worked out that I have more about beer and
cocktailing than wine.
Through this work and pursuing projects I
had a vague understanding of the ascent of the Chinese wine industry but
getting more work was at the forefront of my mind. Although it piqued my
interest because it seemed to be a strange and exotic topic, it quickly receded
to the back of my mind as more pressing issues like paying the rent occupied my
thoughts.
Then I landed a weekly gig writing for Sublime China. I had been interested in
China since my youth and studied Chinese history, culture, religion, and
literature as part of my undergraduate history degree. I enjoyed writing for
them because they gave me a great deal of latitude. They liked my idea of
writing about the burgeoning Chinese wine scene. Soon I was getting paid to
research and write about wine in China. It was an exhilarating journey of
discovery.
After a few well-received pieces I was
getting hooked and this new addiction encouraged me to dig deeper. What I found
was that the books about the Chinese wine industry in English were rare and
most of what was written in books about it was part of broader books about
wine. In other words, the writing about it was extremely thin. This got me
thinking that, someone should write a book that explores the past, present, and
future of the industry.
Before I knew it, I was reading
everything I could get my hands on and spending an inordinate amount of free
time thinking about and writing about the Chinese wine industry. This was the
birth of Inside the Chinese Wine
Industry.
The book has taken nearly three years to
complete and it has been an amazing journey deep into a topic that I knew
almost nothing about half a decade ago. This is proof that freelance writing
can not only be a good source of income but also an important catalyst.
About the Author
Loren Mayshark
studied Chinese art, religion, philosophy, and history while earning a B.A. in
history from Manhattanville College in New York. After graduation, he
attended The Gotham Writers Workshop and the prestigious New York Writers
Workshop. He has written about the Chinese wine industry for The Jovial
Journey and Sublime China.
After
college, he supported his itinerant lifestyle by working dozens of jobs,
including golf caddy, travel writer, construction worker, fireworks salesman,
substitute teacher, and vineyard laborer. Predominantly his jobs have been in
the restaurant industry. He cut his teeth as a server, maître d’, and bartender
at San Francisco’s historic Fisherman’s Grotto #9, the original restaurant on
the Fisherman’s Wharf. While working with a colorful crew of primarily Mexican
and Chinese co-workers.
He spent much of his
young adult life exploring the wine industry from
Sonoma Valley to the North Fork of Long Island, immersing himself in vineyards
and learning valuable lessons. He has traveled extensively
in South America, Europe, and Asia. He presently splits his time between
Western New York and Sweden.
His
first book, Death: An Exploration,
won the 2016 Beverly Hills Book Award in the category of Death and Dying and
was a finalist for book of the year in the 2016 Foreword INDIES Awards in the
category of Grief/Grieving (Adult Nonfiction). Inside the Chinese Wine
Industry is his third book.
For
more information visit his website: lorenmayshark.com.
Keep
up with him on Twitter: @LorenMayshark
Facebook:
https://bit.ly/2PoUKHW
and http://bit.ly/LMaysharkFB
Author
Website Book page: http://bit.ly/LmaysharkWB
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2OLTEGE
Purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2PlLUuF
