Shanghai Wine Bars

Shanghai is probably the chinese town which has most of the wine bars . They are not easy to find and address mostly to the expat community . One thing strange is that I did not find a single one that had chinese wine by the glass . This is true today , but things change rapidly here of course and it would be interesting to visit again in a year or so .The first place I visited was Red , a wine bar and a restaurant located 284 Anfu Lu (ph: 86 21 5403 6376), which is a parallel street to Huaihai Lu & Yanan Lu , near where Wulumuqi crosses the three of them . Taxi ride from my place near the Bund took 15-20 minutes and cost 20 Yuan (2 Euro) . Nearest subway station is Chang Shu Lu station . Red is located in an old house in a garden . Beautiful surroundings , very quiet . The place opened 2 years ago . They have wines by the glass , 6 whites and 7 reds , priced 58 to 78 Yuans , 5 Champagnes . Their bottle selection lists 14 whites , priced 408 to 768 Yuans , and 17 reds (428 to 768 Yuans) . The selection is diverse ,: Australia , Spain , US, South America & Africa , etc... A little disappointed not to see chinese wine by the glass , I chose an australian wine that was very correct : Xanadu Secession Shiraz-Cabernet 2002 . We don't see a lot of australian wines usually in France , and it is quite strange to go taste them in Shanghai , when I actually wished to drink chinese wines... I spoke to Stephanie Wang , marketing manager of the place . They have tuesday specials : For 150 Yuan ( 15 Euro ) , you can taste 4 whites and 4 reds , plus enjoy something to eat with . Near the bar , there is the restaurant proper , where red is also the dominant colour ( like for the counter seats ) and where you can also sit to drink .Stephanie Wang at the Red bar

Bonne Sante wine bar waiterSecond Place I visited is Bonne Sante , located 8 Ji Nan Lu , phone : 86 21 6384 2906 . It is at the foot of Somerset Grand Shanghai East tower ; but to find the place , I suggest to say it is located at Taicang Lu and Puan Lu , as the Ji Nan street is very hard to locate on a map . It is at the corner of Huahai Park , just south of Huaihai Lu . This is the best of the places I saw , but I missed some others , I think . It is a wine bar , with some possibility to have dishes with the wine . The owner , who was not present , is from Singapore : Mr Timothy Yeo . He happens to be also an importer , wich may explain the very large selection in his wine bar . At the glass , 4 reds from Europe and Australia , 4 whites & rose , from US and France .Philip So, Bonne Sante night managerHis bottles choice is rich . I'll give only part of it to have an idea : 11 Champagnes (220 to 1458 Y) , 14 french whites ( 210 to 1600 Y) , 14 italian whites ( 195 to 990 Y) 5 spanish whites (190 to 525 Y), 23 US whites (215 to 1105 Y), 3 canadian whites ( (245 to 380 Y) , 14 australian whites ( 180 to 535Y ), 2 NZ whites ( 285 to 400 Y) , 3 argentina whites (275 to 370 Y) , 13 chile whites (150 to 550 Y) and 2 south african whites (250 Y) . Red wines list is proportionally as important . No need to say this is a good place for wine amateurs ( a bottle can be shared with friends ) to visit . I took an australian red wine glass : NXGVinfive Cabernet-merlot 2003 . The label on the bottle says : Bouquet of milberry & plum aromas . Complemented by a hint of oak maturation . Nicely said . If you visit in the evening , the master of the place is night manager Philip So . The Mad House, near the BundLast place I visited was Mad House . It is not exactly a wine bar , but rather a place where you can drink some wine . It is located 115 Jianxi Lu , not far from the Bund and Fuzhou Lu . This is interesting as there are not many places to enjoy a drink around. Phone is 86 21 6321 6611 . The owner is a well known designer from Hong Kong who studied in the UK : Mr Simon Ma . He bought the whole house and used his interior designer skills to give his personnal imprint on the place . A gallery upstairs has some of his works , paintings , sculptures as well as furniture he designed . His office is also upstairs ; The whole place is an interactive space for expositions, you can have a drink and ask for a look upstairs . Just the way the building's architecture and volumes have been used is interesting . The Mad House has strange lights in the bar that make its ambiance . About the wine : They had (when I visited) only one wine by the glass . The label of this red said : "Baron de Mevouillon . Vin de pays portes de la mediterrannee . Union des vignerons de cotes du rhone a Tulette" . 40 Yuan a glass . I am sure Mr Ma will change this wine soon . Otherwise , there are a few wines by the bottle that may be a better option . And the Mad House has different sort of coffees , latte , etc... And the staff is friendly . Mad House staff at the door

Comments

[Rich]

Hi Bert -

Interesting posts and fascinating to see how a new culture is adopting wine. I love the pictures, too. I will be in India over the next few weeks and plan to seek out wine bars and Indian-grown wine. Check out my blog in early December for the posts!

Rich