Built in 1905, the underground cellar at Changyu company is only one in Asia more than 100 years old. Ju Chuanjiang / China Daily

Strict standards

As a high-profile vintage, the Changyu Century Cellar dry wine has strict standards in both grapes and production. A 20-hectare vineyard in Yantai - the only international vine and wine city in Asia - grows grapes for the wine.

To improve the quality of the grapes, the vines, all over 25 years old, are only allowed to produce a maximum of 150 tons of premium grapes, just enough for 60,000 bottles of top-level wine annually.

Grapes are picked up by hand and sent to fermentation tanks within an hour. The wine then is put in the Century Cellar to age for eight years.

Every bottle of Century Cellar wine is identified with a code on the label and the harvest year.

"Only with strict standards can make wines of high quality. The limited edition creates value and its price keeps rising annually," said Li Jiming, chief engineer of Changyu Pioneer Wine Co Ltd.

Voices from experts

A wine tasting was held for experts from both home and abroad in Changyu's underground cellar on Aug 21 to promote a newly released dry red wine.

"I am very excited to be able to drink this wine. It is a rare fine wine and proves that Changyu is capable of rivaling any other wines of foreign bands," said Zhu Jiyi, director of China's wine and spirits quality supervision and inspection center.

"The wine has a good taste with heavy fruity flavor. The tannin is balanced. The aftertaste is like jam. It has a unique local flavor which is quite different from wines produced in other areas," said Duan Changqing, director of grape and wine research center at the China Agricultural University.

Huang Yali, a wine expert from Hong Kong, was also fascinated by the wine and said it has a high collection value since it will become much smoother and taste better after maturing for 10 to 20 years.

With its top quality, Changyu's wine is frequently served at state banquets and international summits, including the welcoming banquet for US President Obama's visit to China in 2009 and the opening ceremonies of the World Expo held in Shanghai last year.

The Changyu wine financial product is not the only new venture that could boost Chinese wine purchases. China will launch its first wine investment fund, the Dinghong Fund, in September, according to Xinhua News Agency.

It plans to raise 1 billion yuan ($156.5 million) and will invest in vintages from Bordeaux and Burgundy.

Industry insiders said Chinese wine-based investment products are beginning to take off as the wine market has boomed in recent years. It not only shows a rising taste for the good life, but offers investors a new protection from inflation.

"Changyu's new product is a good choice for investors and features decent collection value, with top-quality wine, limited production and a special historic theme," said Zhou Hongjiang, Changyu general manager.

By Wang Qian and Ju Chuanjiang (China Daily)

(China Daily 08/26/2011 page24)