CHINA

Question 1

Red wines are significantly more popular in China but which of the black grape varieties is by far the most planted?

Answer 1

Cabernet Sauvignon

Question 2

Briefly explain how the anti-extravagance measures may have had a negative impact on the Chinese wine industry.

Answer 2

Xi Jinping launched ‘Anti-extravagance’ measures in 2012 to prohibit the “lavish gifting” of luxury wines and spirits. Hence, the demand for those wines dropped, and there has been an increase in the sales of less expensive wines due to the growth of the middle class. Hence, Chinese wineries could no longer rely on gifting their production to government officials. Thus, most Chinese wineries shifted to targeting consumers. These measures hit some wineries hard, especially those recently established in 2010 and the majority of wineries in Ningxia since they were spurred by support from the Ningxia provincial government.

Question 3

Almost all of China’s grape-growing regions have (?) climates

Answer 3

1) marked continental climate with very cold and arid winters.

Question 4

However, the country is very large, and they vary dramatically. In the north-east of the country, the Heilongjiang and Jilin regions are particularly (1)

Answer 4

cold, extreme winter cold, making winter burial of vines essential

Question 5

Beijing and Hebei are (1) regions, summers can be (2), and winters (3)

Answer 5

1. Coastal
2. Warm and humid
3. Cold

Question 6

Shandong has a (1), (2) climate with (3)

Answer 6

1. warm
2. maritime
3. high levels of rain during August and September

Question 7

Shanxi and Shaanxi are (1) regions, so the climate tends to be more (2), (3)

Answer 7

1. inland
2. warm
3. dry continental

Question 8

Ningxia is (1) region, that has an (2) climate and hence (3).

Answer 8

1. inland
2. air continental
3. dry

Question 9

Xinjiang and Gansu are (1), (2) is also a problem not only in spring, but also during early autumn.

Answer 9

1. extremely dry (only 80 mm of rain)
2. frost

Question 10

Yunnan has (1) climate

Answer 10

1. sub-tropical humid

Question 11

Vines in China are often buried to avoid damage to the vine during (1), due to (2) conditions. Vines are typically buried in (3) and then dug out in (4) to (5). The cost of labour for this skilled practice (burying the vines) is (6) due to (7) levels of interest in the practice amongst the (8) generations

Answer 11

1) winter (sometimes the end of autumn)
2) very cold and arid
3) November
4) March-April
5) survive low winter temperatures and arid conditions (vines underground retain more water)
6) rising (an issue)
7) low (the older generation of vineyard workers familiar with vine burial practices is not being replaced by a younger generation willing to work in vineyards)
8) young

Question 12

What percentage of China’s total vineyard area is planted with grapes suitable for table grapes or raisins rather than wine grapes?

Answer 12

90%

Question 13

Which of the following French wine regions is most of China’s winemaking modelled on?

Answer 13

Bordeaux red wine

Question 14

In terms of labelling requirements, all wine, whether Chinese or imported, has traditionally been treated as a (1) product

Answer 14

1) food