After more than 40 years of development, Chinese wines are starting to gain international and domestic recognition for qualities that are increasingly seen as comparable to imported wines. But in a market where imported wines are still viewed as a symbol of social status, local winemakers say the country’s relatively young vineyards and operations still need time to build recognisable and unique brands that can stand up to the output from traditional operators in countries such as France, the…
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00:00 (gentle music)
00:02 This is one of many vineyards in China producing wine.
00:06 It grows a variety of grapes,
00:08 from Cabernet Sauvignon to Mersaline
00:11 to produce wines that have received numerous accolades,
00:14 including wins at the Decanter Asia Wine Awards
00:18 and the London Wine Competition.
00:20 - Not too bad, still need time.
00:27 Probably in seven to 10 days before dessert to pick.
00:31 - Winemaking in China dates back
00:36 to the Han Dynasty in 206 BC,
00:39 but modern winemaking didn't begin here until the 1980s,
00:44 when French companies started to invest in the country.
00:48 After more than 40 years of development,
00:51 China's wine industry has come a long way.
00:54 It started off by experimenting with grape varieties
00:58 and deciding which would grow best.
01:01 Then it went through a stage of imitating
01:03 other wine-producing regions.
01:05 Today, Chinese wineries are developing their own tastes,
01:11 sometimes even earning international acclaim.
01:14 Most of China's vineyards are in the provinces
01:16 of Ningxia, Yunnan, Shanxi, and Shandong.
01:21 (glass clinks)
01:24 - Maybe 15 years or 20 years ago,
01:29 we would be quite nervous
01:32 because we didn't know where we are standing.
01:34 But now, confidence that the quality of our wines now
01:38 is in par with a lot of international brands.
01:40 - Professional critics are not the only ones
01:43 who have started to recognise the quality of Chinese wine.
01:47 Domestic consumers are also becoming more knowledgeable.
01:50 (speaking in foreign language)
02:16 China is the world's eighth largest consumer of wine
02:20 and also the 10th largest wine producer.
02:23 Major Chinese winemakers produced
02:25 about 2.7 million kilolitres of wine in 2022,
02:29 a year when the country also imported
02:31 4.2 million kilolitres of foreign wine.
02:35 Recently, Chinese wine producers have been using Hong Kong,
02:39 a regional wine hub with zero duty,
02:42 as a stepping stone to the international market.
02:45 Chinese President Xi Jinping
02:48 reportedly gave domestically made wine
02:50 to French President Emmanuel Macron
02:53 during his recent state visit.
02:56 But the Chinese wine industry still faces challenges,
02:59 especially when it comes to building
03:01 a brand image of its own.
03:03 Currently, the country's wine-producing regions
03:06 are often described as China's Napa or China's Bordeaux.
03:11 Winemakers like Li would prefer the day
03:14 when places like Linxia and Shanxi
03:16 become recognisable brands in their own right,
03:19 without the need to borrow foreign names
03:21 to impress consumers.
03:23 Because we are not in Bordeaux, we are not in New Zealand.
03:25 We are in China.
03:26 I think the most important thing is that, yeah,
03:27 we are still fairly new in the industry.
03:29 To understand the region a bit more,
03:31 it really take times and take years of experience
03:34 in the vineyards and winemaking
03:36 to set up the standard, I think.
03:38 Others say significant progress is being made
03:41 in China's quest for quality.
03:43 But I think there is still a concept of "local style" in China.
03:47 Even if you go to different regions,
03:48 like Shandong, Ningxia, Yunnan,
03:51 there is still a big difference.
03:53 The style of the same variety, different wineries
03:55 from different regions is still quite obvious.
03:58 I think there is still a "local style",
04:00 but I think it does take time to form a "local style"
04:04 that the market recognises.
04:07 But I think there is still a lot of hope in the future.
04:10 That optimism is blended with a realisation
04:14 that the process of improving wine production
04:17 does not happen overnight.
04:18 The general Chinese industry, besides winemaking,
04:21 things move really fast and things change really fast,
04:24 but not for winemaking market.
04:26 As winemakers, I mean, we can only make wine once per year
04:31 because the grapes only mature once per year,
04:34 and we can't rush it.
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