A Chinese wine was launched yesterday in Beijing for 900 yuan ($142) per bottle. Some already consider that price outrageously high, others woefully low. If the price sticks, this could mark the emergence of Chinese wine into the realm of fine, high-price wines, which are predominantly French.

The vintage in question, Jia Bei Lan 2009, last year shocked experts when it became the first Chinese wine to win an 'international trophy' in Decanter magazine's World Wine Awards in London, and in a category for wines made with Bordeaux grape varieties, no less. Given the general global disdain toward wine from China, this not surprisingly resulted in suggestions the contest was either fixed by the magazine or the wine was fake