Located behind the Helan Mountains that shield its vineyards from draughts of freezing northerly air, the wine region of Ningxia has been subject to the greatest amount of growth and ambition of any other wine region in China
Consider these facts: there are already more than 100 wineries in the region, with another hundred on the way. The region’s current area under vine is 40,666 ha, which its wine-obsessed local government aims to increase to around 46,667 ha by 2020. The Barossa Valley has just over 11,000 ha planted. And consider this objective: according to the China Daily its stated ambition is to be worth 200 billion RMB (around 40 billion AUD) per year. To put this into perspective, IBISWorld puts sales of the entire Australian wine industry at around 6 billion AUD per year. So Ningxia’s government has budgeted on it being eight times the value of the Australian wine industry. They do think big in China.
At first glance, Ningxia is not necessarily a great place to grow grapes. However, with the levelling of hills to make its landscape flatter and the application of water, humus and fertilizer to its soils, it has become significantly friendlier to grapevines.
Its soils, which can vary between sandy and granitic, are dry and dusty, receiving a mere 200mm per year of rainfall. Fortunately, the close proximity of the fast-flowing Yellow River provides a reliable source of irrigation.
Ningxia’s summers are typically dry, but the early onset of winter, plus the need to bury the vines beneath 30 cm of soil – without which they would not survive a winter that can reach minus 27oC – often induce a need to harvest grapes earlier than ideal. Truncated seasons like this would suggest the region is better suited to earlier-ripening varieties, but given China’s ongoing predilection for the late-ripening cabernet sauvignon, it is naturally the region’s major variety.
In truth, it is also the source of its major success, with cabernet-based wines from boutique makers Helan Qing Xue and Silver Heights regularly releasing head-turning examples of this variety, which are often blended with merlot and the local favourite of cabernet gernischt, which has been found to be genetically identical to Chile’s carménère. I am not a fan of this grape as it is grown in China, and find that its herbaceous pine needle notes and sappy edges interfere with some otherwise good fruit in blends.
Hard data on wine sales is hard to obtain from China, especially since the most important sales channels can be private and unobserved. That said, there is widespread agreement that the major customer for Ningxia’s wine is actually its own local government, which appears to be purchasing very large volumes from a range of local producers. The aim would appear to be to sell these wines once they have acquired bottle age, and with that gain added value. Given that most of Ningxia’s wine still fits the ‘emerging brand’ category, that there is no export demand, that wine tourism within China remains in its infancy, that Ningxia’s prices are often more than 100 AUD per bottle and that affluent Chinese buyers are still largely focusing on imported wines, this is perhaps rather a brave assumption.
Interestingly, it’s a group of Australian-inspired people who are doing the best to deliver consistently good quality from Ningxia at the most affordable prices. The Helan Mountain brand, created in 1997, is owned by French group Pernod Ricard but is managed by its team based in Australia. The Chinese winemaking group work very closely with their colleagues from Rowland Flat in the Barossa, in both vineyard and the winery, taking advantage of the fact the Chinese vintage is at the opposite time of year to that in Australia.
While Helan Mountain is shortly to release its pinnacle Xiao Feng range for the first time at around 300-400 RMB per bottle (75-100 AUD), Chinese people are typically paying just under 100 RMB (25 AUD) to around 150 RMB (37 AUD) per bottle for its classic and reserve wines, which are primarily based around cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay. Aimed at the emerging Chinese middle class, they sold around 31,000 dozen in China in 2016. It’s very early days.
Helan Mountain reds are typically regional, fine-grained and elegant, with bright mulberry/plum fruits and fine, pliant tannins. Oak is usually restrained, maxing out around 25% new. Its whites reflect a New World brightness and balance. Indeed, I have often attended tastings at which Helan Mountain’s Reserve Chardonnay could rightfully claim to be China’s leading white wine.
Whatever its ultimate fate – and I sincerely hope that Ningxia has a positive future – it remains a fascinating place to watch. It has already advanced plans for a Bordeaux-like classification and one of its sub-regions has its own regulated appellation control scheme. Its government spends large funds on regional promotion and on attracting entrants to the industry. Really, it’s where the freewheeling aspects of Chinese culture have been most closely wedded with wine. Watch this space.
