The China Syndrome
As if outspending the previous several Olympics combined to produce the show-stopping Beijing Games, a new area of dominance is being carved out by China: fine collectable wines.
Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson have both travelled to China, and Toronto's own Zoltan Szabo has done some consulting work in Shanghai, so clearly there's plenty of interest in wine. The super-flush oenophiles of China are now flashing ever more cash at fine wine auctions, driving already high prices even higher.
Toronto's Ritchies Fine Wine Auction has been considered a great success, selling around $3 million worth of wine at its annual event. Read Mike Steinberger in Slate magazine to hear how things went at Hong Kong's first wine auction this year...
