by Chris Ruffle
When Yorkshireman Chris Ruffle decided to build a vineyard complete with a Scottish castle in the midst of the countryside in eastern China, he was expecting difficulties, but nothing on the scale he encountered. But build it he did, and the wine is now flowing. A Decent Bottle of Wine in China tells the unique story of an adventurer determined to make his dream come true regardless of what strange and formidable obstacles are placed in his path.
“An excellently written book. The Treaty Port story makes a perfect case study. It is a better read than Henry Paulson’s for anyone who really wants to understand what frontline business is like in China.” – Houghton Lee
Buy it on Amazon or email us to order a copy if you are China-based.
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Chris Ruffle and Treaty Port Vineyards are mentioned by Jancis Robinson in her review of the new Lafite wine from China. Read more here.
Chris has also written a play, “Before the Wall” (蕭牆之外), performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe:
A trade dispute escalates into invasion. The papers cry regime change and opium addiction. War crimes fire cultural vandalism. The year is 1860 and a small Anglo-French army finds itself before the walls of Beijing. How did it get there? More to the point, how will it get out? “Before the Wall” (蕭牆之外) looks at the motives and prejudices that have brought both sets of leaders to this crisis.
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A Decent Bottle of Wine in China will be included in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards at the Paris Cookbook Fair in Louvre-Tuileries (June 3-7, 2020). It represents Hong Kong in the World Wine Book category (W1-7).
