Dear Friends,

I am pleased to share some fantastic news about THRISTY DRAGON.

1)  THRISTY DRAGON has been short listed for the André Simon Food & Drink Book Awards

2) Great review in the Wine Economist:

http://wineeconomist.com/2015/12/08/china-wine-book-reviews/

3) Great review in Mercury News:

http://www.mercurynews.com/books/ci_29167749/5-best-wine-reads-gifting-and-winter-reading

4) Yet another hit in the Wall St. Journal (also pasted below)

http://www.wsj.com/articles/quenching-chinas-wine-market-1449683459

Quenching China’s Wine Market

The Chinese government helped unleash a thirst for fine wine, until a clampdown on corruption bottled up demand.

By

PETER NEVILLE-HADLEY

Dec. 9, 2015 12:50 p.m. ET

During China’s National People’s Congress in March 1996, then Premier Li Pengcriticized the harmful effects of drinking harsh Chinese grain spirits and praised red wine. The result for the French wine industry was initially sweet, but with a sour finish.

“It was an unmistakeable signal to every official, state employee, and entrepreneur that red wine was approved by the Communist leadership,” writes Suzanne Mustacich in “Thirsty Dragon: China’s Lust for Bordeaux and the Threat to the World’s Best Wines,” a wide-ranging look at the Chinese wine market in which she reveals widespread skulduggery. The Wine Spectator contributing editor shows how the Communist Party’s new stance had unexpected consequences for some of the world’s finest wines.

Following Mr. Li’s speech, China’s wine imports soared. Even modest vintages attracted higher prices than in the West.

“For the most part, the Chinese had no idea what they were drinking. Enthusiasm for wine outpaced knowledge,” says Ms. Mustacich. The label, and the perceived value of the brand, was more important than the contents of the bottle.

In particular, the classification of Bordeaux wines, dating back to 1855, provided both an attractive historical authenticity and five clear levels of status. The Chinese understood that Château Lafite and its few Bordeaux peers, known as premier cru or “first growth” wines, weren’t for casual drinking.