The emerging Chinese wine region of Ningxia in the country’s northwest has launched an innovative idea to better connect it to the international winemaking community and to get a bit of PR on the side. It is shortly to conduct a competition for ten aspiring and adventurous foreign winemakers. The Ningxia Wine Challenge is funding ten winemakers to travel to and stay in Ningxia this coming Chinese autumn to make a red and a white wine each. The makers will arrive early September, at the start of the vintage, and will hand-select grapes from the same vineyard and produce one red wine and one white wine at the same facility. The grape varieties to be used will only be revealed once the winemakers have arrived. The organisers have arranged for the winemakers to be able to make three trips to the region before their efforts are evaluated a year later by a panel of international and Chinese wine experts. There’s a prize pool available to the winemakers of around AUD30,000.
