Unlocking the Chinese wine lexicon

Countless Australian producers have attempted to crack the Chinese market, with many taking the approach of ‘educating’ the emerging market on the key varietal and regional characteristics of the wine we make in Australia. Oftentimes, it is not simply a case of making a direct translation of the tasting notes, since many of the fruit descriptors we rely on here – like blackberry, strawberry, grapefruit or melon – just aren’t commonly found across China.

So, it was interesting to come across research conducted by Australian Grape & Wine Authority and UniSA on the impact of using Western tasting terminology, testing the comparable Asian taste descriptors created by Jennie Cho Lee in 2011 to identify the lexicon that Chinese consumers use to describe taste elements of wines.

The top three descriptors for sparkling wines were Pomelo, Kaffir lime and Jasmine tea leaves; for white wines, Kaffir lime, Pomelo and Lemongrass; and for red wines Yangmei, Dried Chinese hawthorn and Dried Chinese red date. The terms were limited to commonly eaten fruits. Makes sense.

The research was taken further to establish the equivalence between Western and Chinese terms, leading to this absolutely fascinating Chinese lexicon aroma wheel:

For Wanted Man’s Hong Kong marketing capsule, I worked on including these Chinese terms in their localised tasting notes – such an interesting exercise.

2013 WANTED MAN ‘SINGLE VINEYARD’ SHIRAZ Sustainably grown and made

2017 James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion – 91 points

Variety 95% Shiraz 5% Viognier

Region Heathcote, Victoria, Australia | Vineyard Wanted Man 8-hectare single vineyard planted in 1992

Winemaking This single vineyard shiraz was made at Shadowfax winery by Matt Harrop. The fruit was handpicked at 1.5-tonnes to the acre and gently destemmed before being fermented with natural yeasts in open-top stainless-steel fermenters. It was hand plunged and then pressed off the skins and matured in new (20%) and seasoned (80%) French oak barrels for 12-months before blending and bottling without filtration.

Alc./Vol. 14.1% | Total Sulphur 34 mg/L | Total Acidity 6.3 g/L | Residual sugar 1 g/L

Notes Inky ruby-garnet; this wine is 回味悠长/ Lingering and intense, with copper-ironstone minerality. Classic Heathcote white pepper opens into concentrated 山楂干/ Dried Chinese hawthorn and 干枸杞/ Dried wolfberry on a silky-smooth, balanced palate. There is an aromatic lift of 雪梨/ Asian pear blossom and almond kernel contributed by the viognier, with notes of 八角/ Star anise, lavender, bay leaf and brazil nuts overlaying 柿子/ Persimmons, salty Dutch liquorice and 中式咸猪肉/ Chinese salted pork, with dusty tannins.

Dried Chinese Hawthorn, Dried wolfberry, Persimmons, Chinese Salted Pork