Hey buddies, let's "Cheers"

By Precila, Chau Hok Ieng

What kind of beverage do you think teenagers nowadays are more likely to choose in a party - a cup of coffee, a can of soft drink, or a glass of fruit punch? It may be none of them as there is a new choice for teenagers - a glass of wine.
With a constantly changing trend of society, teenagers are willing to spend more on the way of lifestyle - the consumption of luxurious goods as well as expensive food and beverage.

To trace the history of wine, let's go back to the ancient time. Archaeological studies indicate that wine originated 6000 years ago. It is said that Ancient Persia was the place where wine was first produced.
It started with a Persian king who liked eating grapes and used to press the grapes in a big pot. Since he was worried about theft, he labeled "POISONOUS" on the big pot. One day an imperial concubine was tired of her life and attempted to take her life by drinking from the big pot. Instead of being killed, she was revitalized by the taste, getting excited and feeling confident about her life. She reported it to the king who then gave order to collect ripe grapes for fermentation. Thus wine was created.
Man Ng is a wine retailer who has been working in the wine retail business for more than 13 years. He is mainly engaged in retailing wine to hotels, restaurants and supermarkets. "Compared with the wine market in Macao 10 years ago, there has been a wider market in recent years due to the grand openings of many
foreign businesses in Macao. And I mainly focus on the retailing of Portuguese wine, sake as well as high grade Shaoxing rice wine," Ng said.
Noble and high-priced consumer goods are the labels people tend to attach to wine. They normally drink wine during a red-letter day such as a wedding party, a birthday celebration as well as a business opening ceremony. However, wine drinking is now being advertised not only as consumer goods for people from the upper class, but also a trendy lifestyle for teenagers. "More and more teenagers like to choose wine nowadays, especially those who have studied abroad, because the most common activity they have is clubbing," Ng said.
Teenagers like to chase something, which is stimulating and trendy. They are willing to explore something completely new. "Teenagers are pleased to try wine from Australia, Chile as well as South Africa. All these countries are new wine producers who are willing to spend more money on promotion and their flavors pander to the teenagers," Ng added.
There are many reasons of wine drinking. For males, they drink since they need to engage in social activities, recreation and pressure release. For females, they drink to relieve themselves from loneliness or when they face problems of interpersonal
relationship. However, wine drinking is also a health remedy; it can lower the chance of having a heart attack, combat cancer as well as dissolve cholesterol and fat.
Cadi Wan, a 21-year-old student who has been drinking wine for three years, said, "I started wine drinking due to the affection of my father and sister. We can drink at anytime and without any reasons." According to Wan, wine can make her feel relaxed, especially when there is a big pressure. "Different kinds of wine have different taste, and each of them has its own characteristics, that's the reason why I love it," she added.
The indigenous alcoholic beverage for Chinese is rice wine which is made by the fermentation of rice starch, a way which is different from wine making. Evidence shows that the ancient Chinese began to grow grapes and make wine in the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD). In 138 BC, the emperor sent Zhang Qian, as his envoy to the Western Regions for a mission; he was surprised to see people there use grapes to make wine. He was said to be the person who introduced grape growing and wine-making skills to China. However, wine has never been as popular as grain spirit in Chinese society.