Chinese or French?: Maovember Blind Wine Tasting Today

Beijing-based charity event Maovember has already collected over RMB 20k thanks to a series of events held to contribute to its chosen charities The Library Project (library-project.org) and GoodWorks Coffee and Tea (goodworkschina.com). Yet to do your part? Don't worry, as things are just getting started: including today's (Oct 27) blind wine tasting session at 7pm at Café de la Poste.

As we know, in vino veritas (in wine, there is truth), the problem is that there can only be one truth, which is why the organizers pose the question: are these wines from China or France? For RMB 100, attendees must use their superior tasting skills to decipher whether the grapes were grown on home turf or on the rolling hills of Tuscany (or thereabouts).

Last year, the tasting featured eight wines, from which four French wines were donated by Café de la Poste, while four Chinese bottles came from Chateau Nine Peaks, Grace Vineyard, 1421, and Kanaan, all entry-levels from Shandong, Shanxi, Ningxia, and Xinjiang. This year, to make the challenge even harder, there'll be some higher-end options in the mix.

"It was tough for people to tell the wines apart, but we had a lot of fun trying," said Maovember committee member Jim Boyce. "This year should be even better, because we have some nice gems from Xinjiang, Ningxia, and Shandong in the lineup."

By the way, there's only room for 16 at the event, so contact organizers lickety-split if you'd like to test your palate. RSVP by calling 6402 7047.

And if you're concerned about letting all that wine go to your head, have no fear as Café de la Poste will have liters of coffee shots (coffee, vodka, and Kahlua) on hand to keep you guessing.

On another note, voting is still open for the Sweet 16 round in this year's Pizza Cup. Read the voting process here or head straight to the voting page by scanning/extracting the QR code below. Voting for this round closes today at 2pm.