Life of Guangzhou - Supreme Wine or Luxurious Culture?

A wine cellar at Tianhe Bei Lu, Guangzhou

As Chinese are getting more and more familiar with wine, more and more wine cellars are springing up in Guangzhou, targeted at different levels of customers.

Rich Chinese are trying to set themselves apart by wearing shining gold Rolex watches and suits with brand names.... Some businessmen smell the opportunity to cash in and in consequence a number of expensive wine clubs have been established.

A wine club at Zhujiang New City charges RMB300,000 yuan for membership. The owner Mr. Hu claims he has spent about RMB 10 million (about USD 1.33 million) on cellar decoration, not to mention the value of his wine collection.

The supreme wine club with RMB 10 million cellar decoration

In his cellar, there are over 35,000 bottles of wine, including a bottle of La Romanee-Conti that he charges RMB 280,000 (about USD 37,335) for, and Lafite 1929.

"There are no more than three bottles of La Rmanee-Conti in the mainland China," Hu said.

This club serves members only and the prices of membership are RMB 10,000 yuan, RMB 200,000 yuan and RMB 300,000 yuan respectively.

However, there are also some wines targeted at a less expensive market. These wines range from RMB 200 to 1000 yuan per bottle.

Even so, Mr. Hu said that, his purpose was not to make a profit but to create a luxurious lifestyle for consumers.

One person commented that, "It's an important way to make acquaintance with other businessmen."

This might be true in the wine market of China. According to a local expert, the market is developing rapidly but wine culture is still exotic for most Chinese. So far the main function of wine cellars is as a social stage, rather than wine selling. Most Chinese see wine as a symbol of their social status and bourgeois life.

(By Chen Wenli and Alan Devey)

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