Hong Kong-born private members’ wine club Club Bâtard is expanding into Shanghai, setting up a three-storey clubhouse in the city’s upscale Jing’an district at a moment when competition for China’s wealthy wine drinkers is heating up.
The opening, scheduled for end of 2026 at Cha House in HKRI Taikoo Hui, comes just weeks before London-founded private members’ wine club 67 Pall Mall is expected to open its own Shanghai branch, setting up a rare direct rivalry between two international wine club operators betting on China’s premium consumer despite the country’s prolonged wine market downturn.
Despite headline news of China’s slowing economy and government’s heavy-handed crackdown on alcohol consumption and luxury spending, both clubs are wagering that a niche audience of affluent collectors, younger professionals and experience-driven consumers remains willing to spend heavily on access, community and rare bottles.
Club Bâtard, founded in Hong Kong in 2024 and backed by wine merchant The Fine Wine Experience, said in a press release its Hong Kong membership sold out within months and now carries a long waiting list. The Shanghai club will replicate much of the Hong Kong formula: retail-priced wines sourced through direct relationships with top estates, private tastings, vineyard trips and chef collaborations reserved for members.
Unlike traditional private clubs centred on networking or business entertainment, both Club Bâtard and 67 Pall Mall are positioning themselves around wine culture itself, offering members access to deep cellars, sommelier-led experiences and restaurant-quality dining without standard luxury hotel markups.
Club Bâtard’s Shanghai venue will occupy all three floors of Cha House, a heritage villa in the heart of Jing’an. The club said members will be able to browse multiple wine cellars throughout the building and purchase bottles at retail pricing rather than restaurant prices.
“Quality is at the front of our mind, but so too is value,” says co-founder Mike Wuin the press release. “One reason Club Bâtard succeeded in Hong Kong was the trust we built with members, that we would always reward their loyalty by repaying it in kind. We show that through menu prices, wine prices, and access to special offers.”
The Shanghai clubhouse will also house five dining concepts, including Blanc, a contemporary French restaurant led by an unnamed three-Michelin-star chef from Asia, alongside a Cantonese restaurant Cha Xuan, an all-day dining venue Cabotte and a whisky bar called OBE.
Membership is priced at a one-time joining fee of RMB 100,000 (US$13,900), plus a monthly subscription of RMB 1,250.
That’s a higher than 67 Pall Mall. In comparison, the latter is aggressively pursuing scale and early adoption ahead of launch, offering pre-opening annual memberships at RMB 14,000 with no joining fee. After launch, its standard pricing will rise to an annual fee of RMB 50,000 plus a RMB 25,000 joining fee.
The simultaneous arrival of two international-style wine clubs in Shanghai reflects how parts of China’s premium wine scene are evolving away from volume-driven consumption toward more curated, community-focused experiences.
But it also raises questions about how much depth truly exists in the market for ultra-premium wine memberships.
Shanghai remains home to one of China’s largest concentrations of wealthy collectors and fine wine buyers, but the city’s luxury hospitality sector has also become increasingly crowded, with private clubs, whisky bars and chef-driven restaurants all competing for the same affluent clientele.
The challenge for both operators may not simply be attracting members, but convincing them to use the clubs regularly in a market where consumers have become markedly more cautious with discretionary spending.
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