31-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
How Chinese wines are finding new fans at New York's drinking hotspots
From the Michelin-starred Gramercy Tavern to popular cosy wine bar Cellar 36, a variety of Chinese wine is now on the menu for New York's drinkers.
Never before seen in the city, these wines are being introduced to bars, restaurants and retailers by Camden Hauge, an American entrepreneur and the person behind the China Wine Club.
Hauge's initiative aims to 'bring the wildest, brightest and best of modern
Chinese winemaking to the US'.
China Wine Club officially launched its first portfolio of imported wines in New York in April 2025, but Hauge's story and love for Chinese wine go back years.
China Wine Club founder Camden Hauge. Photo: Robert Nilsson
When she opened the wine bar Bird at the end of 2017 in Shanghai, a place she had called home since 2012, she felt passionate about featuring Chinese wines. She wanted to support local wine producers and help foster a greater understanding of the burgeoning wine scene in China.
There were not many Chinese wines available to source, and the ones that were available tended to be based more on traditional winemaking techniques, often inspired by classic French blends that were more attuned to people's palates at the time, she says.