Ch. 33 – China Flashcards
Most planted grape in China
Cabernet Sauvignon
followed by Merlot and Carmenere
Key developments in the history of wine in China
1980s
- Government partnered with French government and Remy Martin to create Sino-French winery near Beijing
- Dynasty label
- Pernod Ricard joint venture
1990s
- government encourages wine industry to replace cereal-based spirits (health and shortage of grains)
Anti-extravagance measures force producers to target consumers, no longer being able to offload to government
Climate in China
Nearly all regions have marked continental climate
- very cold and arid winters
- vines have to be buried
- many areas are very dry, may need irrigation (Yellow River or melted snow)
- Heavy summer rains
- e.g. Jilin and Shanxi
Regions can have very different climates
Reason to bury vines over winter in China
When?
Problems
- winter freeze
- vines underground retain more water
Typically done in November and dug out again in March-April
Needs advances manual labour skills
- adds 20-30% to production costs
- parts can be mechanized but never entirely
- availability of labor is an issue
Beijing and Hebei regions
Coastal regions
- humid continental climate
- warm humid summers and cold winters
- torrential rain in August and September
- total rainfall is low
Cool Pacific breezes moderate the warm temperatures and reduce humidity levels
- still enough to make fungal diseases challenge
Older vineyards
- flat land
- poor drainage and fertile soils
- high yields, poor quality
Newer vineyards on better sites
Vines close to coast do not need to be buried (saving cost)
Xinjiang and Gansu
Extremely dry (only 80mm in many areas)
- winter snow as early as October
- short growing season
- very windy
- frost is a problem
Positives that enable high-volume production:
- very warm summers
- availability of water from snow
- lack of fungal disease
Yunnan
Sub-tropical humid climate
- vineyards on slopes (1600-2900m)
- foothills of Himalayas
- moderate temperatures and less humidity
- vines do not need to be burried
Vine training in China
Traditional
- Multi Cordon Fan system
- Single Dragon system
- both designed for high yields
- lack a single fruiting zone (uneven ripening)
Modern
- spur-pruned Chang shaped system
- trunk in bended form, allowing for easier burrial
- unified fruiting zone
Vineyard management issues in China
Dense canopies
Excessive use of irrigation and fertilization
leaf roll virus (under-ripe fruit)
relative lack of viticultural training
Winemaking in China
modeled after Bordeaux
Premium
- prolonged maturation (18 months) in barriques
- standards have significantly improved
- reduction of technical faults
Riper tannins due to better canopy management and more attention to picking dates
Wine business in China
Domestic market continues to grow
- 70% in the last decade
- still very low consumption per capita
- but 5th largest consumer of wine in the world
Market dominated by
- Changyu, Great Wall, Dynasty
- bulk operations
- many rely on blending with imported wine
Importance of online sales
Most of the wine is consumed domestically
