Shopping
The jeans industry was been criticized for not being environment friendly due to the amount of water needed to produce the stone-washed and other such looks. So, first Tristar, and then The Gap posted videos on You Tube showing how jeans can be cleaned (at least be rid of bacteria and odors) by being placed in a plastic bag and then put in the freezer for 24 hours. That way less water is consumed after sales if not before sales.
After the recent articles highlighting the massive shopping spree the Chinese are on, locking in raw material resources around the world while the US is not in a position to buy due to the American recession, here's a different resource that they are also scooping up. The 2009 vintage of Bordeaux wines is thought to rank with the top vintages of the last half-century, 1959, 1961, 1982, 2000 and 2005. In fact Steven Spurrier, one of Britain's leading critics dubbed it "the best Bordeaux had ever produced", while Michel Bettane, France's leading critic, said: "It is the best in my lifetime."
In 1999 Forbes published its first list of China's wealthiest and to be among the 50 richest one had to be worth $6 million. Now, ten years later,
to be among the 50 richest, one has to be worth $1.6 billion. With this staggering change has come a mushrooming business in luxury items, but especially of certain iconic brands and the wine is seen the same way
"Everyone in China is thinking Lafite," he said. "It is seen in the same light as Louis Vuitton, Prada and Gucci."
So the Chinese are descending on Bordeaux in droves and buying as much as they can.
"Sam Yip, 36, a Hong Kong investor tasting at Chateau Mouton Rothschild, which along with Lafite-Rothschild has been dubbed by one merchant the "tipple of choice for your thrusting Chinese industrialist", said he was planning to spend $250,000 (£163,000) across the 2009 vintage for his private collection."
"Money doesn't seem to be an issue," said Gabriel Wong, who sells Bordeaux across southern China. "Private companies are growing fast and property values are soaring so people have a lot of cash. This week 70 bottles of Petrus sold for £210,000 so there is no limit to the appetite for the top growths."Her firm is planning to buy 3,000 cases — three times more than last year.
Read more here.
In 1999 Forbes published its first list of China's wealthiest and to be among the 50 richest one had to be worth $6 million. Now, ten years later,
to be among the 50 richest, one has to be worth $1.6 billion. With this staggering change has come a mushrooming business in luxury items, but especially of certain iconic brands and the wine is seen the same way
"Everyone in China is thinking Lafite," he said. "It is seen in the same light as Louis Vuitton, Prada and Gucci."
So the Chinese are descending on Bordeaux in droves and buying as much as they can.
"Sam Yip, 36, a Hong Kong investor tasting at Chateau Mouton Rothschild, which along with Lafite-Rothschild has been dubbed by one merchant the "tipple of choice for your thrusting Chinese industrialist", said he was planning to spend $250,000 (£163,000) across the 2009 vintage for his private collection."
"Money doesn't seem to be an issue," said Gabriel Wong, who sells Bordeaux across southern China. "Private companies are growing fast and property values are soaring so people have a lot of cash. This week 70 bottles of Petrus sold for £210,000 so there is no limit to the appetite for the top growths."Her firm is planning to buy 3,000 cases — three times more than last year.
Read more here.
photo: Richard Harris
If you're in central Brussels and you want some fab cheese or cold cuts or prepared dishes you can go to rue de la Fourche/Greepstraat and find amazingly delicious things (I got some scallops with braised Belgian endives last New Year's that were beyond), but it'll cost you. Or you can go to Catherine on Rue du Midi/Zuidstraat 23 (just south of the corner of Steenstraat/rue aux Pierres) and find every cheese you've ever heard of and many more you had no idea existed, and outstanding cold cuts from small producers in the Ardennes and especially the Gaume. Belgium produces over 300 different cheeses, but Catherine doesn't stop there, they carry the best from France, Switzerland, Spain and elsewhere. And not just carry them, but if you ask for a particular cheese, you will get the question, "is it to be eaten today?" so that they can give you the cheese you've asked for at the perfect point of ripeness. if it's for later, you'll get a less ready example of the cheese. Their homemade quiches are stupendous, as is their farmer's cheese. Not to mention their breads. At lunch time the store fills with people buying sandwiches that can be stuffed with any of the available foods. The emphasis here is on quality, quality and quality. The family has been running the store for over fifty years and they know their stuff. Since it takes a while to fill each order with personal service, you might be there for a little while, but you can always indulge in an interesting philosophical discussion while you wait. If you live in Brussels, I highly recommend that you stop by; if you don't, well, you can always dream.
If you're in central Brussels and you want some fab cheese or cold cuts or prepared dishes you can go to rue de la Fourche/Greepstraat and find amazingly delicious things (I got some scallops with braised Belgian endives last New Year's that were beyond), but it'll cost you. Or you can go to Catherine on Rue du Midi/Zuidstraat 23 (just south of the corner of Steenstraat/rue aux Pierres) and find every cheese you've ever heard of and many more you had no idea existed, and outstanding cold cuts from small producers in the Ardennes and especially the Gaume. Belgium produces over 300 different cheeses, but Catherine doesn't stop there, they carry the best from France, Switzerland, Spain and elsewhere. And not just carry them, but if you ask for a particular cheese, you will get the question, "is it to be eaten today?" so that they can give you the cheese you've asked for at the perfect point of ripeness. if it's for later, you'll get a less ready example of the cheese. Their homemade quiches are stupendous, as is their farmer's cheese. Not to mention their breads. At lunch time the store fills with people buying sandwiches that can be stuffed with any of the available foods. The emphasis here is on quality, quality and quality. The family has been running the store for over fifty years and they know their stuff. Since it takes a while to fill each order with personal service, you might be there for a little while, but you can always indulge in an interesting philosophical discussion while you wait. If you live in Brussels, I highly recommend that you stop by; if you don't, well, you can always dream.