葡萄酒 (pútáojiŭ、wine)

One thing I expected to really miss about home is 葡萄酒(pútáojiŭ; wine from grapes). On coming here I discovered tons of Chinese wine sold in the stores, most of it being Great Wall variety. Some of it is drinkable, even verging on pleasant, but none I’ve had so far is very good. Stores like Metro and Carrefour do have limited selections of wine from other countries, at a comparable price to home.

The infamous 白酒(báijiŭ; white grain liquor) is everywhere and astoundingly cheap, at an alcohol level into the fifties which I think would be illegal in Canada. I poured a shot of what I thought was 白酒(báijiŭ) from a bottle in our cupboard and ended up with a mouthful of 白醋(báicù, white vinegar)。 The characters really do look similar, no? Anyway, the real 白酒(báijiŭ) that I tasted later was even harsher. I thought I could borrow an idea from a friend and use the stuff as hand sanitizer, but it smelled too bad.