'Beijing girl' embraces romance of Bordeaux, wine culture

"Sometimes a loud person and a quiet person are a good match. Sometimes loud-loud works better. It's a matter of personal taste.

"Also, if you choose a spicy dish because that's the flavor you like, you don't want a wine that takes that away."

Feng, not surprisingly, is a big fan of Bordeaux wines.

"That is my love and my taste," she says, noting that her preference is for Pauillac, the famed Bordeaux blend.

But while French wines have a carefully cultivated reputation for quality that the Chinese market has embraced, Feng says there are practical reasons for new wine drinkers to explore French options first.

"The tradition of winemaking there is very old, very structured. Bordeaux blends are cabernet sauvignon, merlot, some cabernet Franc. In a country like Italy, which of course makes very good wines as well, there are about 100 varieties that winemakers are passionate about. So it is harder for a new wine drinker to absorb that."

She had a similar experience coming to grips with cheese－which she never ate during her first two years in France.

"Then I tried the Roquefort cheese. It was very strong, but I could really appreciate the saltiness of it. It opened up my palate, and I made connections between the saltiness of the cheese with mutton that I also love."

Her travels between France and China have allowed her opportunities to see China's own wine industry develop.

"I think China will one day produce very good wines," she says. "Wines here come from vines that are five years old, maybe 10 years old. They are young girls, compared with the mature ladies from Bordeaux's vineyards that are 100 years old and more. It will happen, but it may take a generation."