Decoding Wine Descriptors: My Cultural Journey in China

Living in China profoundly impacted my understanding of wine and its cultural significance. My passion for wine, initially cultivated through Western experiences, encountered a significant challenge in this new context. I became preoccupied with my inability to discuss wine effectively with locals. The challenge was not just linguistic; it was also about the vastly different cultural references for flavors and tastes.

In China, I quickly noticed that wine drinkers often used broad terms rather than specific descriptors. This trend was partly due to the visual nature of Chinese culture and a preference for wine descriptions grounded in Western contexts. Commonly used generic descriptors included terms like smooth (平滑), fruity (果香), sweet (甜), mellow (醇), and lengthy aftertaste (回味). However, specific descriptors were a mix of Chinese and Western flavors, with a tendency to use Chinese terms for familiar fruits, while Western references were more common for vegetables, spices, and other foods.

For example, descriptors for white and sparkling wines often included citrus fruits like pomelo and lime. In contrast, red wines were described with terms such as yangmei and dried Chinese hawthorns. Dessert wines frequently used descriptors like jackfruit and longan. This highlighted the necessity of a more customized approach to discussing wine in China.

One intriguing aspect was the varying tolerance levels for tannins across different Asian cultures and regions. Regular consumers of bitter teas, such as green tea in Japan or black tea in southern China, generally had a higher tolerance for tannic wines. Similarly, cultures that consumed bitter vegetables, like ginseng and radish in Korea, enjoyed full-bodied, tannic red wines with a variety of foods.

Acidity in wine posed another challenge. Many Asian cultures do not have a tradition of consuming cold beverages with meals, and high-acid wines served cool were often unfamiliar. Even in tea-drinking cultures, tea is usually consumed before and after meals, with hot soups being the main liquid during meals.

Despite these differences, Asian wine novices often preferred savory, tannic reds over sweet, ripe-fruited reds from warmer climates. This preference, even in blind tastings, highlighted the unique palate and appreciation for depth and complexity in Asian cultures.

To bridge the gap between Western wine terminology and Chinese understanding, I devoted significant time to creating equivalence tables. These tables aimed to translate Western wine descriptors into terms that resonated more with Chinese cultural and sensory experiences. At that time, there was a considerable lack of information and few efforts to simplify this cross-cultural communication. Today, fortunately, there is much more information available, and many are working to bridge these gaps.

For example, common specific Chinese descriptors for red wines included flavors such as star anise (八角), dried Chinese hawthorn (山楂干), and yangmei (杨梅), alongside Western descriptors like oaky (橡木味) and spicy (香料). For white and sparkling wines, descriptors like jackfruit (菠萝蜜), pandan leaf (班兰叶), and longan (龙眼) were prevalent.

The language used by Western wine critics often seemed confusing to Asian wine enthusiasts. Nuances were frequently lost or distorted in translations, making it challenging for Chinese consumers to connect with the wines based on the provided descriptions. In this context, visual aids like comics, with exaggerated images, became popular for simplifying wine education.

My experience in China was a profound learning curve. It taught me the importance of cultural sensitivity and the need for a more inclusive wine language. By understanding and respecting these differences, we can foster a more global appreciation of wine, enabling everyone to enjoy and share their wine experiences more effectively. This learning is something I have carried with me, and since then, I have dedicated part of my career to making the language of wine more inclusive for all.

In this regard, the University of South Australia’s Chinese Lexicon Project has been instrumental. This project, supported by the Australian Grape and Wine Authority (AGWA), aims to assist wineries in choosing the right words to describe their products in the Chinese wine market. Unlike simple translation tasks, this project focuses on understanding the cultural and sensory differences in wine description.

The project revealed that generic terms are used three times more often than specific ones among Chinese wine drinkers. This finding suggests that the Chinese wine market might currently be better communicated through general descriptors. However, the research also identified specific descriptors that resonate more with Chinese consumers. For red wines, terms like yangmei, dried Chinese hawthorn, and dried wolfberry were more frequently used, whereas for white wines, terms such as guava, gingko nut, and pandan leaf were prevalent.

Understanding these nuances can give wineries a competitive edge in the Chinese market by aligning their sensory communications with the cultural preferences of Chinese consumers. This research highlights the importance of cultural sensitivity and the need for ongoing efforts to refine and expand our understanding of cross-cultural wine descriptors.