Asia
You would certainly be forgiven for not being aware that HUGE quantities of wine are being produced in China…it’s not exactly like it’s lining the shelves in Sainsbury’s. However, in recent years Chinese wine has emerged on to the scene at a fairly insane speed – in terms of vineyard surface area, China now actually parallels Spain. That said, it seems the Chinese are probably more in the vain of consuming wine than producing it given that studies recently predicted that by 2021 China will be the biggest wine consuming market after the USA.
The wine regions are spread across the country from east to west; on the humid and often monsoonal east coast is Shandony Peninsula in the Bohaibay Area and the Hebei province in the Shacheng District. These two areas are responsible for over half of China’s national wine production, tending to favour red wines made from Cabernet Gernischt.
Vines in China are by no means lacking in history, grapes have been cultivated there for more than 1500 years, however it was only at the end of the 19th Century that wine production became a formal practice. Come 2000, and there was an estimated 1.1 million acres under vine in China, with varities including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Many international wine companies now have interests in China too, the renowned Bordeaux families of Lurton (Cheval Blanc) and Barons de Rothschild (Lafite Rothschild) amongst them.
If you want to delve a little deeper, click on the regions highlighted on the map to find out more...
The wine regions are spread across the country from east to west; on the humid and often monsoonal east coast is Shandony Peninsula in the Bohaibay Area and the Hebei province in the Shacheng District. These two areas are responsible for over half of China’s national wine production, tending to favour red wines made from Cabernet Gernischt.
Vines in China are by no means lacking in history, grapes have been cultivated there for more than 1500 years, however it was only at the end of the 19th Century that wine production became a formal practice. Come 2000, and there was an estimated 1.1 million acres under vine in China, with varities including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Many international wine companies now have interests in China too, the renowned Bordeaux families of Lurton (Cheval Blanc) and Barons de Rothschild (Lafite Rothschild) amongst them.
If you want to delve a little deeper, click on the regions highlighted on the map to find out more...
