the great wall

so tonight, i decided to enter into the world of chinese red wine. the first vehicle was a bottle of great wall wine. made from the grapes near the great wall near yantai. it is produced by the world renowned winery of china national cereals, oils, and foodstuffs import and export corporation. it just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? what kind of grapes? i have no idea. just grapes.

when i bought the bottle, i asked if i could get a corkscrew as well. to be honest, i just pointed to the top of the bottle and said "i open?" they nodded and grabbed what looked like a well used corkscrew from underneath the cashier's counter. as one clerk rang my purchase up, another took a knife to the bottle and started to tear the foil off. i tried to stop her, but she kept going. after the foil was off and i had paid for my goods, i grabbed the foiless wine and the much worn corkscrew and put it in my bag. the clerk shook her head no, and took both of them back from me. it turned out that i had not bought the corkscrew--it was used by the clerks to open the wine before you left the store. unfortunately, she didn't know how to use it. she was able to screw it in, but seemed to be it at a loss for what to do after. i told her i knew, took the bottle, and popped the cork out, by this time in front of about five chinese women. a student remarked, "wonderful," and i went on my way.

once i got home, i poured a glass into a plastic cup, and gave the wine some time to let it air. the bouquet smelled okay, better than i thought it would. but when i tasted it, boy oh boy. it turns out chinese beer is better than chinese wine. it's a shame really. now i have to finish a bottle of wine i don't like.