Wine in China

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Two bottles of Chinese grape wine

Wine in China (葡萄酒; pinyin: pútáo jiǔ) refers to grape wines that are produced in China. Grape wine has a long history in China, along with other Chinese alcoholic beverages.

Beginning in 1980, French and other Western wines began to rise in prominence in the Chinese market, both in mainland China and Taiwan. French-taught Chinese winemakers introduced wine to a market dominated mostly by beer, and have quickly expanded in scale such that China, with its immense population, is set to become the largest wine market in the world.^[1]

[edit] History

The history of Chinese grape wine has been dated back more than 4,600 years. In 1995, a joint Sino-USA archeology team including archaeologists from the Archeology Research Institute of Shandong University and American archaeologists under the leadership of Professor Fang Hui (方辉) investigated the two archaeological sites 20 km to the northeast of Rizhao, and discovered the remnants of a variety of alcoholic beverages including grape wine, rice wine, mead, and several mixed beverages of these wines. Out of more than two hundred ceramic pots discovered at the sites, seven were specifically used for grape wine. Remnants of grape seeds were also discovered.^{[citation needed]} However, due to the inferior quality of Chinese grapes, for centuries, grape wine was not as prominent as other alcoholic beverages until Han Dynasty, following Zhang Qian's exploration of the country's western region in the 2nd century BCE, when high quality grapes were finally introduced into China.^[2]

Thus, grape wine is one of a range of traditional Chinese alcoholic beverages, with others made from sorghum, millet, rice, and fruits such as lychee or ume.

[edit] Modern revival and French wine in China

French wine was the first foreign wine imported into China. In 1980, at the beginning of Chinese economic reform, Rémy Martin ventured into China to set up the first joint-venture enterprise in Tianjin: the Dynasty (Wang Chao, 王朝) Wine Ltd., which was also the second joint-venture enterprise in China. Over the years, the company developed over 90 brands of alcoholic beverages, and its products won numerous awards both domestically and abroad.

However, most of its products were exported abroad in the first two decades due to the low income of the local population, and it was not until after the year 2000 when the economic boom finally allowed the domestic population to have the disposable income needed to support the domestic market; this relatively recent occurrence coincided with the increased popularity of French wine in China. Other companies, including China Great Wall Wine Co., Ltd, Suntime and Changyu, have also risen in prominence, and by 2005, 90% of grape wine produced was consumed locally. ^[3]

Also, as globalization has brought China onto the international economic scene, so to has its winemaking industry come onto the international wine scene. China has a long tradition of the fermentation and distillation of Chinese wine, including all alcoholic beverages and not necessarily grape wine, but is one of the most recent participants in the globalization of wine that started years ago in Paris, when several countries such as Canada realized that they may be able to produce wines as good as most French wine.

Quite recently, Chinese grape wine has begun appearing on shelves in California and in Western Canada. While some critics have treated these wines with the same type of disregard with which Chilean and Australian wines were once treated, others have recognized a new frontier with the potential to yield some interesting finds. Others have simply taken notice that China is producing drinkable table wines comparable to wines from other countries.

In 2006, a U.S. based company, China Silk Wines began exporting wines to the United States that were made at the Suntime winery in Northwestern China, near Urumqi in the Appellation region of Xinjiang. The company used a former Kendall Jackson winemaker to blend their wines for the western palate. They currently have five varietals; Marco Polo White, which is 90% Chardonnay with 10% Riesling; Marco Polo Red, a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 5% Syrah; Dragon's Kiss Riesling, Emperor's Delight Rose and Reserve Cabernet, which is French vanilla oak aged for one year. Both of the Marco Polo wines were awarded medals in the San Francisco International Wine Competition and the Rose won an award in the Grape Expectations International Wine Competition sponsored by the Dallas Morning News in 2007.

The Xinjian region is on the same latitude as the Loire region in France and Napa Valley in California. It is located near the Tian Mountain range and overlooking the Zhungeer plain, the landform is located in a montane, plain and dessert step, containing the main rivers of Bentoutin and Santun Rivers.

[edit] Market

The Chinese domestic market for wine is projected to become the largest in the world in a few decades, even though the current yearly consumption of wine in China is only 0.35 litres per person. At the moment, a few large companies, such as Changyu Pioneer Wine, China Great Wall Wine Co., Ltd. and the Dynasty Wine Ltd., dominate the market, with 50 thousand tons of wine produced annually under the Great Wall label; the total production of wine in 2004 was 370 thousand tons, a 15% increase from the previous year. ^[4][5] Total market grew 58% between 1996 and 2001, and 68% between 2001 and 2006. ^[6][7] Notable wine-producing regions include Beijing, Yantai, Zhangjiakou Hebei, Yibin Sichuan and Tonghua Jilin.

Statistics show that the main market for white wine is among females, who prefer it over beer, still the main alcoholic beverage for most males; red wine has become a symbol of the elite and rich and is usually used as a table wine. In 2005, 80% of vineyards produce red wine and 20% of vineyards produce white wine, while 90% of wine consumed as of 2007 is red wine. ^[8][9]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• China Wines Information Website
• Chinese grape wine article
• China Great Wall Wine Co. page
• China Great Wall Wine Co. page
• Changyu Pioneer Wine Co. page

[edit] See also

• Chinese wine
• Huangjiu
• Baijiu
• Maotai
• Kaoliang
• Globalization of wine