The soils east of Helan Mountain are producing wines that are changing the world's impression of Chinese vintages. Ye Jun reports in Ningxia.

When Chinese people hear a mention of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, they think of wolfberry, good lamb and then, barren saline and alkaline soil. But in recent years, the area has become known for one more specialty: Chinese wine.

This is only the fourth year since Wang Fang returned to China, after living as a housewife in Germany for 12 years. But the owner of Kanaan Winery in Ningxia has already won international acclaim for the wines she makes.

One of those, a cabernet sauvignon 2011, was recently recommended by three international judges at the 2014 China Wine Development Summit held in Shanghai in March. The experts were Jancis Robinson, Ian D'Agata and Bernard Burtschy.

Wang says a similar wine from the winery had been very well-received at an event in Adelaide, Australia.

"I'm taking the shade of trees my predecessors planted," she says, citing a Chinese idiom meaning she's getting benefit for what people have done before. That cabernet sauvignon 2011 was made with grapes her father planted 14 years ago in 1999.

Her father, Wang Fengyu, was among the first generation of winemakers in Ningxia's Helan Mountain. He was one of the founders of Helan Qingxue Winery, which won an International Trophy at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2011, for the Jiabeilan Grand Reserve 2009.

Wang Fengyu and Rong Jian, another co-founder of Helan Qingxue, were both in their 60s and retired from official positions when they started to plant grapes and make wine.

"They influenced a batch of people to get into winemaking," she says, but at first it wasn't easy. The first growers of cabernet sauvignon grapes brought from France were ready to scrap the whole idea, she says. "But my father stopped them, saying they would let down their ancestors if they did that."

On her return, the daughter bought new equipment and hired German and Chinese winemakers. They made fewer than 5,000 bottles of cabernet sauvignon with the grape in 2011.

In the three years since, however, there has been rapid growth in winemaking, thanks in part to strong support from local governments.

"In 2011, there were just over 10 wineries," says Yang Zhen, director of Yinchuan's Wine Industry Development Bureau. "Now there are 47.

"Last year, Ningxia produced 80,000 metric tons of wine. If one ton of wine can be put into 1,330 bottles of 750 ml, then the whole region produced 106.4 million bottles."

The story has been more about quality than volume. Jancis Robinson and her fellow tasters chose seven among 53 Chinese wines in Shanghai. Four of their choices are from the eastern foot of Helan Mountain.

Besides Kanaan's red wine, there were Ningxia Red Shapotou's Cabernet Gernischt 2012, Lanyi Classic Merlot 2011 and Yuan Shi Winery's Soul Mountain 2012.

The fact that these wineries are relatively unknown and small seems to imply an evenly high level of winemaking in the area.

Feng Qing, owner of Leirenshou Winery in Ningxia, says his winemaker told him this year it is not so easy for their wines to win awards like before, because many wines in the area have reached a similar level of quality.

"I told him not to worry. I feel happy about that," he says, "because I think it would be easier for the whole region to emerge collectively."

Feng says people who drink good wine will notice how much effort goes into the product.

"Winemakers here are people who really love wine," says Feng.

While they are serious about the business, he adds, they understand they may not get profits very soon.

Winemaking has matured here in some particular ways. One is irrigation and reclamation of the local saline and alkaline land. Another is a common use of the saignee (French for bleed) method, removing some of juice to concentrate the wine. Also, the vineyards bury the grape vines to keep them alive in winter, because it is harshly cold.

The local wine bureau's Yang notes that the area has been active with international wine circles. Many experts have been invited to give lectures, including winemakers from France and Germany. Many Chinese people studied winemaking overseas.

The wine-growing area is 30 kilometers west of Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia. Among the wineries, there are big State-run companies, such as COFCO, Great Wall and Changyu. Some companies such as Xixia King and Helan Mountain have been here for 30 years. International big names such as Pernod Ricard and Hennessy have also built wineries here.

The main wine-production area covers 30,667 hectares. Ningxia plans to more than double that by 2020, according to Yang. The area has very hot summers and big temperature differences between day and night, while the sandy soil is rich in minerals.

"The soil has good air permeability, allowing grape roots to grow deep and gather energy, which increases the complexity of the wine," says Kanaan Winery's Wang Fang. "The color of the wine is bright, and the aroma naturally concentrated. The body of the wine is very powerful."

"It is probably the first wine-producing county in China to have its own style," says Li Xinxin, general manager of Chateaux Haut-vallee, a wine trade company based in Beijing.

The most common grape varieties in the area are cabernet sauvignon, cabernet gernischet, chardonnay and merlot.

Although her red wines have been praised, Wang Fang says she plans to focus more on whites. Good white wines, she says, are less dependent on the amount of available sunlight, and the area's terrior suits them. She says Ningxia doesn't produce as much white wine because it sells for a lower price than reds, and it's more complicated to produce.

Helan Mountain's chardonnay and Xixia King's Italian riesling already have won international awards, she says.

"I hope in the future when people drink white wine, they will automatically think of Ningxia and Kanaan, just like the area's great reputation for wolfberry."

Contact the writer at yejun@chinadaily.com.cn

Wine experts and consumers attend a Ningxia wine tasting held at Green Goat Wine Club in Yinchuan,capital city of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region. Photos by Ye Jun / China Daily

Wang Fang,owner of Kanaan Winery in Ningxia,plans to focus on white wines.

(China Daily 06/08/2014 page8)