Last night I kicked back, opened a bottle of L’Esprit de Chevalier 2010 and turned on Red Obsession.  This is the documentary I first spoke about in my pop culture article in our July/August Wine Journal.  I was so excited to see it streaming on Netflix--I couldn’t wait to watch. 

When we first begin we get to see a small section of the 2010 En Primeur in Bordeaux where the 2010 is about to be graded as an almost perfect year, which in turn will account for the price jump.  I was so enthralled I actually took notes on some of the history on the first growths.  Come to find out, Bordeaux wine prices have risen over 1000% in the past 10 years and, for some, too valuable to drink. When the U.S. stock market took a turn in 2008, many investors turned to wine instead.  2008 was an interesting year, as I saw in this documentary, Lafite-Rothschild did something unique on their bottles, they placed the Chinese number 8 above the label.  This almost seems like an opening up to an entire new market for the Bordeaux wines. 

This branding of the wine with their fascination with numerology did something to that particular label, it became an obsession.  In numerology the number 8 is connected with luck and prosperity so many looked at this label as a gift to their culture.  Now, to own a bottle of Lafite-Rothschild is a status symbol in the Chinese community.

But now let’s take this one step further, according to the documentary, when the Chinese want something, they get it, so what we are seeing now is, not only are billionaires buying land in Bordeaux, but they are searching to find plots of land to grow their own wines in China.  In a few years could we see wines of the Gobi desert?  China is now planting 20,000 acres of new vineyards every year.  In the next four decades they will be on their way to becoming the largest producer of wine in the world.  I’ll be curious to see how this works, how about you?  I highly recommend seeing this documentary if you have interest in wine. Sit back, open a good bottle, and see what you think.

Kathleen Anderson, Northwest Florida wine supervisor

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