the Beijinger’s very own wine experts, Edward Ragg and Fongyee Walker, have announced an ambitious new posting plan for their Dragon Phoenix Wine Blog. In the coming weeks, expect to read regular tasting reviews on selected sips available to buy in Beijing, plus the occasional feature. In particular, look out for their write-up of the Black Sesame Kitchen food-and-wine matching exercise they participated in, as publicized in The New York Times (click here for article).

Elsewhere, The Bookworm will soon offer a range of retail wines available to take home at cost price or drink on site for RMB 50 corkage. The bottles include Momo Sauvignon Blanc 2001 from New Zealand for RMB 156, and Little Yering Pinot Noir 2001 from the Australian Yarra Valley for RMB 137.

In other vinous news, the heats for the first ever China National Sommelier Competition took place on June 7 at the Westin Chaoyang. Out of 17 contestants, eight will be traveling to Shanghai for the grand final on July 7, including Frank Hao and Lin Chun Ke from The Opposite House and Jason Shi from China World Hotel.