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Willi Klinger

    • Presentation of wine regions
  • 2015

"Chinese Viticulture - Development and Potential

“Chinese Viticulture – Development and Potential

WINE AND VINEYARDS IN CHINA

In 2012:

  • 4th country in the world for surface area planted with vines (665,600 ha)
  • 5th, for its wine production.
  • Local wine consumption doubled between 2006 and 2012.
  • Per capita consumption (2012): 0.35 liters.

History

  • Origins 7000 or 4500 BC
  • In 1892, Zhang Bishi, a Chinese diplomat
  • 1949 – People’s Republic of China
  • 1978 – The economy opens up

GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE – Where are the main plantations?

  • Xinjiang: 21.5
  • Hebei (Beijing): 11.4% sales
  • Shandong (Yantai-Penglai): 5.6%
  • Gansu: 4th largest producer
  • Shanxi: 5.3%
  • Henan 4.5%
  • Ningxia: 4.4%
  • Yunnan: 4.1

Other regions

  • Inner Mongolia
  • Shaanxi
  • Liaoning, Heilongjiang and Jilin in the northeast

Production

  • 980 wineries vinify 1/6 of production
  • 40% of wine production is vinified in : Yantai-Penglai, Shandong Province, with over 150 wineries
  • 2nd province: Hebei (Beijing)

KEY DATES, GREAT WINERIES AND BRANDS

  • 1980 -Rémy-Martin with Tianjin Dynasty Winery
  • 1980s -China Great Wall Wine Co (COFCO, the Chinese state)
  • 1985 – Ch. Huadong-Parry, Shandong – “the 1st château-style winery in China”, Qingdao
  • 1987 – Pernod-Ricard – Dragon Seal

Huadong-Parry Castle, Shandong:

  • 1999 – Domaine Franco-Chinois

Under the presidency of Jacques Chirac and China’s Vice-Premier, Wen Jiabao. (33 ha. 16 varieties of viniferas)

  • 2000 and since – The national market opens up

2007 – Château Changyu (1892) becomes a faux-French château “Disney-like Wine experience destination”.

CEPAGES

  • Red varieties dominate, with 80% of the total, the main ones being :
  • Cabernet Sauvignon +/- 60%
  • Merlot and Cabernet Gernischt (Carmenère): 10% each
  • Syrah/ Shiraz, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Saperavi, Petit Verdot, Carignan,
    Marselan
  • Other varieties – In Yunnan: Rose Honey, French Wild, Dancing in the Clouds…

White varieties

  • Chardonnay 70% of total
  • Welsch Riesling, with a bit of Riesling – 10% – 10% of the wine
  • Muscat blanc à petits grains, Sauvignon blanc, Rkatsiteli, Chenin blanc, Gewürztraminer, Longyan and Muscat de Hamburg, Petit Manseng, Cristal (hybrid, from Yunnan), + Vidal for ice wines
  • Vitis amurensis, resistant to extreme winter cold.

THE CLIMATE

  • East coast provinces – Shandong, Tianjin – latitudes 36-40° N. Temperatures conducive to wine production.
  • No need to bury vines

BUT

  • Thunderstorms, monsoons and typhoons – in summer
  • In Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning etc.
  • The vines must be buried under 40 to 60cm of soil, to protect them from temperatures that can drop to -22°C in winter. or -40°C

Yanhuai Valley Region

Hebei province, North of Beijing, Amethyst Manor estate, Yanhuai Valley

Burying the vines

After harvest

Pruning
Burying the vines (can take 2 to 3 weeks)

  • In 2008, +/- 15% of vines in some regions were killed by early cold.
  • So there is a tendency to harvest early.
  • In spring, the vines need to be straightened up quickly.
  • Costs: 35% to 40% of total viticulture costs, over a year.

VITICULTURE – problems

  • Rootstocks resistant to winter cold are required (Phylloxera does not seem to be present).
  • High yields.
  • Humidity level.
  • Diseases encouraged by thick foliage: Oidium, mildew, anthracnose, white rot, & grey rot, Bitter rot (Greeneria uvicola).

Other problems

  • Difficulty imposing treatment programs.
  • Grape prices often determined by fruit weight.
  • Strong winds in summer, hot sands, winds full of sand.
  • Losses and injuries caused by burying and straightening vines.
  • The productive life of vines is shorter…
  • Wages for vineyard workers in Ningxia have doubled in 3-4 years.
  • Workers move to the cities.
  • Will there be a shortage of manpower?
  • On the other hand, in the north-west and central regions, strong summer winds and heat can reduce the need for treatment, and allow the production of organic wines.

Medium-sized and small establishments

1 – Grace Vineyard, Shanxi

  • Established in 1997 by a Hong Kong entrepreneur.
  • 15 wines, French grape varieties, including a Chairman’s Reserve Bordeaux blend: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, & Cabernet Sauvignon.

2 – Silver Heights, Ningxia, altitude 1100 metres

  • The idea dates back to 1998. Emma Gao, encouraged by her father, was studying wine in Bordeaux.
  • In 2011, his Bordeaux-blend The Summit stood out against Chinese and Bordeaux wines.
  • Target of 50 hectares in production soon.

Shangri-La, Yunnan

Moët-Hennessy Shangri-La (Deqin) Winery

  • LVMH with VATS Group LIQUOR, since 2012.
  • Vineyards in northwest Yunnan, between Yangtse and Mekong.
  • Altitudes up to 2,800 meters. Rainfall: 200 to 300 mm/year. Temperatures 30° to -4°C.
  • No need to bury the vines. 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, latitude 23°…
  • 1,800 families grow 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 10% Chardonnay…

Since 2010, and L’Avenir?

  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Cabernet Gernischt
  • Marselan
  • Syrah/Shiraz, Zinfandel, other viniferas.
  • Vitis amurensis, etc…
  • Mechanized burial.
  • Search for more suitable terroirs.

Cabernet Sauvignon – Xinjiang

Château Glamorn
Cabernet Sauvignon Dry Red 2013
Alc. 13.5%
Price: RMB 80
Region: Wushitala, Heshuo, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region

Cabernet Gernischt – (Carmenere) – Ningxia

XiXiaKing Chateau Global Jade Spring
Quality Cabernet Gernischt 2012
Alc. 12%
Price: RMB 138
Region: East Foothills of Helan Mountain, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region

Marselan – Cabernet Sauvignon x Grenache

Obtained by Paul Truel in 1961, INRA
Domaine Franco-Chinois, Yanhuai Valley, Hebei province
Reserve Marselan 2011
Alc. 14.5%
Price: RMB 1288

Thanks

– Wine in China Magazine, Owner: Professor Weidong Huang, and his team: Constance Zhao and Bruce Guo

– Jancis Robinson MW World Wine Atlas (2013), Oxford Companion to Wine, (3rd Edition Publication: September 2015)

– My faithful interpreter Austin ZHANG, with my other colleagues at Christie’s