Bottled in China: A Wine & Food Podcast

Everyone agrees Burgundy is having a moment in China. But beneath the enthusiasm lies a harder question—one that Bordeaux answered badly a decade ago: can it last, or is Burgundy quietly repeating history's most expensive mistake?
In this episode we gather three voices who see the market from very different vantage points.
Matthieu Luneau, Export Sales Director at Domaine Faiveley, speaks for one of Burgundy's most historic estates—an institution that first bet on China back in 2007.
Maxime Gibrat, Director of Operations at Bund Fine Wines in Shanghai, tracks the market's daily realities, from cash-flow crises to counterfeit DRC.
PM Hall-Jones, owner of Domaine Thomson, bridges Old World Burgundy and New World Pinot Noir from New Zealand.
Together they unpack a paradox. Burgundy grew by double digits as French still wine overall collapsed by more than a quarter. However, it remains under 2% of China's imported still wine. So how does a tiny category dominate the headlines?
The conversation moves from the data to the ground. The guests explore why Burgundy never "exploded" like Bordeaux, how its dizzying complexity became a weakness turned strength for curious Chinese drinkers, and why consumption is shifting from gifting and banquets toward genuine enjoyment and learning. They confront the uncomfortable truths too: surging prices, a punishing exchange rate, tightening anti-corruption rules, and a persistent counterfeit trade.


Since 2016, Bottled in China brings you into the food and drink scene through conversations with the some of the most happening personalities. Hosted by Emilie Steckenborn, the show is your one spot for all things wine, food and beverages from across the world. Connect with us on LinkedIn or Instagram @bottled.in.china

Podcast available on iTunes, Spotify , online or wherever you listen to your episodes!
Subscribe to Bottled in China to follow the journey!
Check out our new website & find out more at https://www.thebottledshow.com

Richard Geoffroy was the eccentric driving force behind the world’s most famous Champagne, Dom Pérignon. But then, everything changed at 64.
In this episode, Richard Geoffroy, the legendary former Cellar Master at Dom Pérignon, where he shaped the house’s style for 15 years, turns his craft to an unexpected frontier: IWA sake. Bringing Champagne rooted mastery to the art of blending, precision, and reinvention, Geoffroy begins rewriting the rules without losing what makes Japan feel unmistakably present.
Crafted outside a traditional sake region in Toyama Prefecture, IWA gives Geoffroy room to innovate while staying deeply rooted in Japan. His flagship IWA 5 delivers a distinct expression each year, and his latest release, Assemblage 7, offers a new expression of his vision. It uses five different yeast strains, including experimental ones, with a rice polishing rate of just 35 percent, and it incorporates reserve sakes to add depth.
We also explore a career that did not follow a straight line from one passion to the next. Geoffroy traces his path from medicine to Champagne and finally to Japan, where IWA comes to life. Along the way, he discusses what carries over across industries and how his drive for innovation travels across borders.
Finally, we dig into a deeper question: innovation vs tradition. Both Champagne and sake are rooted in deep history, rituals, terroir, and craftsmanship, and ask which world truly leaves room for modern experimentation. The answer might be more surprising than you think.

Find out more: Assemblage 7 — IWA Sake of Japan
Visit their Instagram: IWA Sake of Japan (@iwa.sake) • Instagram photos and videos

Since 2016, Bottled in China brings you into the food and drink scene through conversations with the some of the most happening personalities. Hosted by Emilie Steckenborn, the show is your one spot for all things wine, food and beverages from across the world. Connect with us on LinkedIn or Instagram @bottled.in.china

Podcast available on iTunes, Spotify , online or wherever you listen to your episodes!
Subscribe to Bottled in China to follow the journey!
Check out our new website & find out more at https://www.thebottledshow.com

India consumes more whiskey than Scotland produces. It is a nation of 1.4 billion people, of spirits and celebration, where wine accounts for barely one percent of the alcohol market. And yet, something is shifting. A growing middle class, an expanding cohort of women entering the workforce, and a wave of new free trade agreements with the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Australia have placed India at the threshold of becoming one of the world's most consequential wine markets.

In this episode, we speak with Sonal C Holland, India's first and only Master of Wine, about the decade-long journey that took her from a Fortune 500 corporate career to the highest credential in the global wine trade. We explore India's wine scene, the structural barriers of duties and state-by-state distribution, and the quiet revolution underway among a new generation of consumers.

Connect with Sonal C Holland, Master of Wine, on Instagram and discover more about her remarkable journey in her new book, One In a Billion: Becoming India’s First Master of Wine.

Special thanks to Rachel Mamane for putting this piece together and to Jeff for the audio editing.

Since 2016, Bottled in China brings you into the food and drink scene through conversations with the some of the most happening personalities. Hosted by Emilie Steckenborn, the show is your one spot for all things wine, food and beverages from across the world. Connect with us on LinkedIn or Instagram @bottled.in.china

Podcast available on iTunes, Spotify , online or wherever you listen to your episodes!
Subscribe to Bottled in China to follow the journey!
Check out our new website & find out more at https://www.thebottledshow.com

What does it take to bridge two wine worlds? 

Lenz Moser has made 75 trips to China over 21 years, transforming from curious visitor to pioneering winemaker at Chateau Changyu Moser XV in Ningxia.

As the fifth generation of Austria's legendary Lenz Moser wine family, whose grandfather invented the revolutionary trellising system used across Europe. In this episode, we discuss how Lenz brought his vision and winemaking wisdom to China's emerging wine frontier. After managing Austria's pre-eminent winery and serving as General Manager for Robert Mondavi in Europe, he turned his attention east in 2005.

In this episode, Lenz shares his journey from that first overwhelming moment in Beijing Airport to becoming the winemaker Chateau Changyu Moser XV in Ningxia. We discuss how he spent 10 years building trust before Changyu appointed him head winemaker, and why understanding China's contradictions: patience versus speed, became essential to his success. He reveals the secret behind Ningxia's world-class wines: the smallest Cabernet Sauvignon berries on earth, grown in a desert terroir that went from unknown to World Atlas of Wine recognition in just over a decade.  

Since 2016, Bottled in China brings you into the food and drink scene through conversations with the some of the most happening personalities. Hosted by Emilie Steckenborn, the show is your one spot for all things wine, food and beverages from across the world. Connect with us on LinkedIn or Instagram @bottled.in.china

Podcast available on iTunes, Spotify , online or wherever you listen to your episodes!
Subscribe to Bottled in China to follow the journey!
Check out our new website & find out more at https://www.thebottledshow.com

What happens when China's wine market shrinks by 15% annually since 2019, yet some companies post their best year ever? In this landmark 200th episode of Bottled in China, we assembles an expert roundtable to decode 2025's contradictions and what they mean for 2026.
Guests:
Nick Marro, Principal Economist for Asia, Economist Intelligence Unit
Ian Ford, Founding Partner at Nimbility, previously the Co-founder of Summergate
Martin Shen, Managing Director, Tiansai Vineyards (Xinjiang)
Richard King, Sommelier in Shanghai's fine dining scene
From Beijing's anti-corruption crackdown that decimated government banqueting to the surprising surge in aromatic white wines, our panel reveals how "involution"—China's race-to-the-bottom pricing wars—is reshaping everything. Discover why post-2000 consumers spend fortunes on wine pairings but only Instagram the famous labels, how instant retail delivers chilled bottles in 30 minutes, and why Xinjiang is becoming China's hottest wine destination.
The verdict? China remains Asia's largest bottled wine market with massive upside in a $300 billion² beverage alcohol sector—but only for those willing to adapt to the new normal.
Insights: IWSR Wine Landscapes 2025 - China, ¹Wine market CAGR -14.9% 2019-2024. ²$266 billion TBA value

Since 2016, Bottled in China brings you into the food and drink scene through conversations with the some of the most happening personalities. Hosted by Emilie Steckenborn, the show is your one spot for all things wine, food and beverages from across the world. Connect with us on LinkedIn or Instagram @bottled.in.china

Podcast available on iTunes, Spotify , online or wherever you listen to your episodes!
Subscribe to Bottled in China to follow the journey!
Check out our new website & find out more at https://www.thebottledshow.com