Recently in Hong Kong, I attended one of those big pomp and circumstance dinners for the Jurade de Saint Emilion, the French appellation’s vinous brotherhood, which can trace its roots back to a royal charter issued in 1199 by John Lackland, King of England. In relative recent times (1948), several winegrowers resuscitated the Jurade in the embodiment of a group of ambassadors to spread the good word about Saint-Émilion wines far and wide. They have inductees far and wide and, given the role of Bordeaux in China these days, were inducting a flurry of Chinese members into their order, replete in clothing them their traditional crimson robes which make them look awfully papal! Continue reading »