Sanchez 1

Sol Sanchez
Shane Crosby
ENGCOMP3-13
May 20, 2018

Feels Like China Commented [ES1]: This remained untouched from the first draft
ass I felt my title encapsulated the feeling of Perrottet’s story.

Stigma and bias are ideas that rule the world; ideas that can become the standard for some

areas, for example China. Tony Perrottet is a travel writer who has written for several different

publishers; “Fine Wine and Caviar—Made in China?” is just one of his work and was published

in the Wall Street Journal. In his text, Perrottet writes about the time he went to China to look at Commented [ES2]: I forgot the article was from Wall Street
Journal at first and instead put New York Times as the author had
written there before and I got the two mixed up.
the production of wine and cuisine after a recent boom in popularity. Being that his text was

hosted and produced in the Wall Street Journal, Perrottet has to write somewhat for a general

audience but that doesn’t stop him from making his arguments more in tune with the ideas that

older wine enthusiast may have or people with the stigma towards Chinese produced goods.

Perrottet, in “Made in China”, shows us the new production of China and how Chinese natives

and outsiders view the quality and production of Chinese goods and produce, specifically, wine

and food by relaying us the information with firsthand experiences as an outsider alongside his

own thoughts, ultimately in the hopes of changing views and stigmas with regard to the
production and products of China.
Perrottet shows his audience how both Chinese natives and outsiders can view the quality
Commented [ES3]: The How portion of the thesis was also
tweaked; I added his own thoughts and made his firsthand
experiences, into firsthand experiences as an outsider to better
further his points
Commented [ES4]: The thesis to my paper was mainly the same
through creation, however near the end I felt it was right to tighten
up the word choice and add some more detail in the thesis itself

of Chinese wine and its production with scrutiny at first. An article by Sybille de La Hamaide of
Reuters states that “China overtook France last year as the world’s second largest wine grower
Commented [ES5]: Almost all of my topic sentences changed in
one way or the other. I struggled a lot with them for whatever
reason, but I feel that I got them down near the end. I limited the
actual sentence in most of them to focus on salient word choice of
the thesis.

by area under cultivation as it continued to plant vast fields of mostly imported grape vines to

meet growing demand.” With this we have an idea of how fast the production of wine is growing

in China itself. Although because of this surge in wine interest, others including outsides and

Chinese natives have again become skeptical of the actual wine itself. When talking about a
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Chinese wine that won the Decanter World Wine Awards, Perrottet states the judge’s thoughts

about the wine, “(judges praised its “supple, graceful and ripe” flavors and its “excellent length

and four-square tannins”). (pg 2) doing this by listing the feelings of prestigious wine tasters to

strengthen his argument about production and giving Perrottet’s specific audience a token of

acknowledgment. Overall, to the effect of the audience, allowing them to see Chinese wine first

hand in the eyes of an expert. This is important because it is showing two views as stated above

but what’s more important is that it’s not coming from Perrottet himself. Since Perrottet is trying Commented [ES6]: Having two viewpoints of something was
always important to the main point, I kept this all through my drafts
because I felt it was needed.
mainly to change the ideas of an audience about China’s production it would be important to his

point to get views different from himself. Showcasing that Perrottet is not writing just for his

own sake of changing views but also informing others about how other people feel about China’s

quality. In doing so the validity of Perrottet’s argument gets strengthened because of his use

others regarding production. Once again trying to make others think differently about the

production going on in China.

Even the Chinese natives question the quality of their homegrown produce just as much

as an outsider may. To quote Perrottet, “WARINESS OF THE “Made in China” label is even

more severe when it comes to food, thanks to the scandals that have become a staple of

international news since 2008, when baby formula tainted with toxic melamine killed six infants

and sickened 300,000 more”. (pg9) With this we can infer that not all the stigma surrounding the

production of China is unwarranted, but it follows the saying of “One bad apple spoils the

bunch”. Instead Perrottet invites the audience to look closer and showcases an upscale restraint

with an emphasis on using homegrown produce in their kitchen. Perrottet highlights the
restaurant, Madison, by chef owner Austin Hu in which Hu reveals to Perrottet that “the
homegrown concept has been a hard sell” (pg 11). The concept of homegrown being such a hard
Commented [ES7]: This is an area where I essentially
completely changed it from my previous drafts. At first, I talked
about smaller restaurant and chains of small business that benefit
from using local produce but had no real backing evidence
surrounding it. Instead I looked more into the text again and found
what I was trying to say, just in a different means. After this
sentence I tried to make it short, concise, and to the point to help the
argument.
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sell that some customers “will stand up and leave the restaurant” (pg 11) after being told all their

produce is locally sourced. Perrottet also explains to the audience that Hu has specific people to

track down local produce to make sure it’s reliable and safe to feed his guests and customers.

But, because of the stigma surrounding Chinese food and various scandals local produce has

been a hard sale in various restaurants around China. Perrottet in this case tries to show that

locally produced food items can be as reliable as western foods, but one must be willing to look

for such goods.

Perrottet’s firsthand experience as an outsider in China allowed him the chance to give

his audience a more truthful look into China’s production. Perrottet being an outsider to China
had come into the land with the ideas and feelings of a westerner. While it is possible he could
have known more about China and how it’s production is the idea falls flat because of his
Commented [ES8]: This was the start of my “How” paragraph.
After a trip to the writing center and my own evolution I decided the
structure of 2 system would be beneficial for my work. Structure of
2 system meaning, 2 “What” paragraphs, “How” paragraphs, and 2
“what effect” paragraphs. With this I could focus my points in more
relation to the thesis.

experience with Chinese homegrown grape wine. Perrottet states, “And like many uninformed

outsiders, when I was first offered a glass of Chinese grape wine in Shanghai’s spectacular

restaurant M on the Bund, I thought it was a practical joke” (pg 3) which essentially confirms Commented [ES9]: This is a good example of my shift to using
quotes in my new drafts. I had them in my previous drafts but I
under utilized the actual content of the article and because of it my
that he had the thoughts and ideas of an uninformed outsider instead of an informed one. He goes other drafts were weaker as a result.

onto state the preconceived ideas of Chinese wine such as “losing taste buds, for example, or

even the sight in one eye” (pg 3) when thinking about drinking it; but only when Perrottet does

decide to take a sip is when his ideas change. Quoting Perrottet, “The first sip is a surprise—

crisp and bright, with subtle nectarine flavors” (pg 3) which shows a somewhat heavenly contrast

in Perrottet’s first description of Chinese wine. Because of this we know that Perrottet has no

real bias in favor of China’s production itself as he came into his trip as skeptic as others may be.

During his time there Perrottet even highlights a conversation with Swiss born chef Florian

Trento that mirrors Perrottet’s experience with wine only with caviar. To show, “recalls being
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deeply apprehensive when his counterpart in Shanghai invited him to try the caviar. “I said,

‘Really? Chinese caviar?’ He said, ‘Trust me!’ And it was fantastic.” (pg 10) this only

strengthens Perrottet trying to give his audience truth when you have multiple experiences both

expelling stigmas surrounding China’s production.

It was also Perrottet’s own thoughts as an outsider that allowed him to give a more

balanced perspective on China’s quality of goods. Early into the text Perrottet gives us his
thought about Chinese productions, “The conventional wisdom—or cliché—is that China can
Commented [ES10]: The second of my “How” paragraphs, this
paragraph is somewhat repurposed version of my second paragraph
on previous drafts. The content fit more in this context then my
previous, so I didn’t need to alter much, I did add a bit but for the
most part everything fit into place nicely.

reproduce Western manufacturing or technology overnight, but European artisanal culinary

delicacies that have evolved over generations are all but impossible to replicate.” (pg 2).

Essentially what he is saying here is that the idea of China being a powerhouse of replication

falls flat when put in comparison to items of high quality. High quality in this sense referring to

something like an expensive dish at a five-star restaurant is nothing in comparison to a mock-up

that China replicated in a couple days. An important moment in the text itself because it

showcases the weakness of China as a whole. It shows and gives the viewer the idea that, while

China is a big powerhouse when it comes to production, they still cannot master things in a flash.

It humanizes China itself and the workers, the ones who actually make the goods. This is because

of the word “cliché” itself being used by Perrottet that we know China is known for their

reproductions of goods. However, the effect of this is that Perrottet allows readers to think more

openly about China’s production instead of like a “cliché”. Even after visiting Château Changyu

AFIP, an old-school winery in China, Perrottet concludes that “the quality of the boutique wines

is now undeniable—the country has the soil, the climate…” (pg 5) which aids him in his own

thoughts about China’s new production, at the same time showing his audience how it’s changed

as well.
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While trying to change the views of others regarding Chinese production, Naysayers have

a big role in why Perrottet is trying to change views; although they are more hidden than

apparent in his text. Throughout his text, Perrottet exclaims varying ideas of China’s production Commented [ES11]: If I am correct this is the only paragraph
that I did not greatly/majorly change. I felt what I was trying to say
went through all variations of my thesis and was well off.
often by others and often in a bad light. The idea that a product being made in china ultimately is

of a worse quality than being made anywhere else comes from years of its reputation being in

bad light. Angie Hunt of Iowa State University essentially states in her article titled “How ‘Made

in China’ got a bad reputation” that years of framing has caused this bias that Chinese produced

items are worse than others; also, due to baseline exposure. And not only does this effect

Westerners but also people who live in China itself. Stated previously, when Perrottet is talking

to Austin Hu, Hu claims to Perrottet that the idea of homegrown produce is hard to sell to their

Peterson

customers because of the stigmas of the label already in place. Hu says, “I tell them they’re being

closed-minded.” (pg 11) regarding customers leaving the store when told they food is

homegrown. It’s because of this inside view that helps Perrottet present what the production of

China is really like to his audience. Effectively giving two looks on Chinese production itself and

how it can be portrayed truthfully; in the end allowing viewers to see China in a more neutral

view. Commented [ES12]: Because this paragraph is so unchanged I

also felt it was the weakest of them all, I feel now that I probably
could’ve went with stronger points but still keep in the naysayer
theme.
Perrottet in “Fine Wine and Caviar—Made in China?” hoped to change the views and

stigmas that natives and outsiders had surrounding China’s products and production. Ultimately, Commented [ES13]: I added onto my ending quite a bit, I had
more to say this time around due to the changes I made. I also
repurposed one of my sources onto this paragraph as it fit the theme
there is a big stigma surrounding the goods of China and how most of it is seen as bad, but more so than any other paragraph.

Perrottet wanted to change that and change others views to a more neutral outlook at the very

least. At first it was the growing rate of wine and how many were surprised of the actual quality

of the wine. Although not surprising as to the growing rate, Nicholas R. Lardy of Peterson
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Institute for International Economics, shows in their article titled “Manufacturing Employment

in China” the growth rate of employment in China was due to the need of Chinese manufactures. Commented [ES14]: This quote was originally used for a
paragraph that dealt with the audiences of Perrottet’s article.

In Lardy’s words “In short, the rapid rise in both domestic and foreign demand for Chinese

manufactures swamped significant productivity gains, leading to a sizable increase in the share

of workers employed in Chinese manufacturing…”. After this came cuisine, in the sense of

homegrown and local places that serve homegrown produce and how many fear the label “made

in China” itself. Perrottet leaves it open to the idea of a quality growing production in China;

making the viewer decide if they want to be optimistic about the label or not. To the effect of

Perrottet’s main purpose of this writing, the purpose of showing his audience the new production

of China and changing his audience’s views on China and their production itself. Ultimately, he

leaves the viewer a more informed version of themselves before they came into “Made in

China”, allowing the viewer to take control of themselves. Whether or not the audience, or more

specifically, a person who has a bad connection towards the Made in China label decides to

change their mind against the label is entirely up to themselves. Perrottet acts like a guide,

showing you the ins and outs of China as a whole not leaving behind the specialty businesses

either. Commented [ES15]: Throughout all drafts I wanted to leave the

ending a bit open ended. Open ended in the sense of Perrottet not
forcing his audience to choose a side but rather forming an opinion. I
thought it captures his meaning more than choosing a side.
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Works Cited Commented [ES16]: I used the same sources throughout all my
drafts. They were one of the first things I looked for when I first
started my paper and were a stepping stone to how it would be
shaped.
de La Hamaide, Sybille. “China wine growers beat France into second place”
reuters.com. Reuters, 27 April. 2015. Access.
22 April 2018.
Hunt, Angie. “How ‘Made in China’ got a bad reputation.”
futurity.org. Futurity, 7 March. 2016. Access
22 April 2018.
R. Lardy, Nicholas. “Manufacturing Employment in China”
piie.com. Peterson Institute for International Economics, 21 December. 2015. Access
22 April 2018.