41 Drinking in the Luxe Life A look at new drinking trends and the evolution of luxur y beverages. By Luigi gAreLLA What is the luxury frontier when we think of beverages? Fan explains that counterfeits can be seen as a way to make Wine has long been the center of attraction in this respect. the drink more easily available because the concept behind The 2016 "Premium Wine Luxury Brand Status index (LBSi)" some of the world's most sought after wines is rooted in survey by The Luxury institute found that 90% of affluent prestige versus taste. consumers in the united States self-identify as wine drinkers, with 58% drinking wine at least once per week. Fan goes on to quote Suzanne Mustacich, author of the book Thirsty Dragon. "enthusiasm for the concept of wine emerging markets such as China have primarily been se- outpaced concrete knowledge," Mustacich said. "[Most] duced by the allure of what used to be a typically european Chinese people didn't really know what wine is supposed to product. These consumers sought out prestigious imported taste like, so it was spectacularly easy to get away with." in brands but we are now seeing more emerging markets birth her reportage, Fan shared these insights from her interview brands of their own, often with their own local production. with Mustacich, "Few people understood that Bordeaux was not a brand but the name of a region. Counterfeiters started We've seen this before in the luxury beverage market's his- obtaining empty bottles of expensive wine and filling them tory; this is exactly what happened in the now world-famous with plonk, and even created ersatz wine by mixing sugar Napa area in California in the 19th century. in her New yorker water with artificial color and flavor." article, "Can Wine Transform China's Countryside?" Jiayang BXPMagAzine.comhttp://bxpmagazine.com