China

China has appeared on the international wine map, thanks to extraordinary development in the past couple centuries, in terms of both production and consumption. The nation is now the world’s sixth most important wine-producer, with close to 560,000 hectares under vine. While there is still a wide gap in quality, improvement is underway with the increased interest of foreign winemakers. In this vast country, the wine regions occupy a wide area, from the humid eastern coast, the Shandong, Hebei and Tianjin regions are responsible for a large part of the national production. The Yunnan region, in the south has caught the eye of luxury giant, LVHM and is now home to Ao Yun, China’s first luxury wine. Further inland lies Ningxia and Shanxi provinces which are also gaining a reputation for their high-quality productions, also coming from international winemakers. The main grape varieties include the classic European varieties, including Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, as well as China’s famed mysterious variety, Cabernet Gernischt which has since been identified as Carménère. Thanks to these motivated winemakers, both native and international, China is producing a wide array of wines worthy of attention.