Deep in the Bordeaux countryside, Chateau du Grand Moueys is a sprawling 170-hectare expanse of vineyards and forest. At its center, a neo-gothic castle with turrets and crenellated walls, bring to mind a medieval world of knights and romance.
Seated within the chateau's genteelly dilapidated dining room, the estate's new owner, 49-year-old Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Jin Shan, chomps forlornly, on a croissant and contemplates how to revive the vineyard. Globalization has created new challenges for the French wine industry. Once secure in their supremacy, French vineyards now must compete with less expensive New World wines, at a time of declining demand from austerity-parched developed markets.
I ask Zhang how he's been enjoying the local French food. "Hai xing," he replies with a shrug, using a Chinese phrase that signifies faintest approval. "I've got used to it."
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