D3 - China

Question 1

What is the most planted grape varietal in China?

Answer 1

Cabernet Sauvignon.

Question 2

What 2 other red grape varietals are highly planted in China?

Answer 2

1. Merlot;
2. Carmenère.

Question 3

What is Carmenère locally known as in China?

Answer 3

Cabernet Gernischt.

Question 4

What wine styles are generally made in China?

Answer 4

• Red wines, most of which tend to be dry, with or without new oak influence (dependent on price), though some off-dry and sweet reds exist;
• Rosé and white wine are made in small quantities.

Question 5

To what century can China trace its wine roots?

Answer 5

Late 19th century.

Question 6

Who founded the Changyu winery in Yantai (Shandong Province)?

Answer 6

Zhang Bishi, a businessman and Chinese government consul in Asia.

He imported ~150 vinifera varieties into China.

Question 7

In what decade did China’s wine production really start to take off?

Answer 7

1980s.

Question 8

CITIC, the Chinese government’s foreign investment arm, partnered with the French government and Remy Martin to create a Sino-French winery in Huailai (near Beijing) with wines being sold under the _____ label.

Answer 8

Dynasty

Question 9

The Chinese brand Dragon Seal was developed by which global entity?

Answer 9

Pernod-Ricard.

Question 10

LVMH’s Chandon operates in which province in China?

Answer 10

Ningxia Province.

Question 11

In the 1990s, why did China release a health campaign encouraging consumption of wine and fruit-based drinks over cereal-based spirits?

Answer 11

To address a shortage of grain.

Question 12

Nearly all grape-growing regions in China have this kind of climate.

Answer 12

Continental.

Question 13

Winters in China can be very cold and arid.

What must some winegrowers do to help the vines survive the low winter temperatures and arid conditions?

Answer 13

Bury their vines, sometimes as early as November.

Question 14

Most, but not all, wine regions in China experience light or heavy summer rainfall?

Answer 14

Heavy rainfall.

Question 15

Name a wine region in the northeast of China.

Answer 15

• Heilongjiang;
• Jilin.

Both are subject to extreme winter cold; burying vines is essential here.

Question 16

Name a wine region in the south of China.

Answer 16

Yunnan.

Question 17

What is the climate of Beijing and Hebei?

Answer 17

Humid continental (warm, humid summers and cold winters).

Both regions are coastal.

Question 18

Even though Beijing and Hebei have overall low rainfall (200-300 mm/year), they often experience torrential rains during which months?

Answer 18

August and September.

Question 19

What helps reduce the humidity level and moderate the warm, humid summers in Beijing and Hebei?

Answer 19

Cool Pacific breezes.

Question 20

Older vineyards in Beijing and Hebei were planted on flat land with poor drainage and fertile soils.

What does this result in?

Answer 20

Excessive yields and poor fruit quality.

Question 21

What 3 challenges face the vineyards which are planted closest to the ocean?

Answer 21

1. Excessive short-term rain;
2. Humidity;
3. Over-rich soils.

Question 22

In China, where is the Shandong wine region?

Answer 22

On the east coast.

Question 23

What is the climate of Shandong?

Answer 23

Warm maritime.

Question 24

Shandong’s high level of precipitation makes ____ a persistent problem.

Answer 24

Rot.

Question 25

• What are the 2 inland, central wine regions of China?
• What is their climate and annual rainfall?

Answer 25

• Shanxi and Shaanxi;
• Dry continental climate; < 500mm annual rainfall.

Question 26

What is the climate of Ningxia?

Answer 26

Arid continental.

Ningxia has very windy conditions, exacerbating the dryness.

Question 27

What is the annual rainfall of Ningxia?

Answer 27

~200mm/year with monsoon rains.

Question 28

Water from which river provides essential irrigation for Ningxia?

Answer 28

Yellow River.

Question 29

The best area of Ningxia is considered to be in the _____ region where mountains protect from the worst of the northwest desert winds.

Answer 29

Helan Shan (Helan Mountains).

Question 30

Name 2 regions in the far northwest of China.

Answer 30

1. Xinjiang;
2. Gansu.

Question 31

Xinjiang is extremely dry with only ___mm of rain in many areas.

Answer 31

80mm

Question 32

Why does Xinjiang have a relatively short growing season?

Answer 32

Winter snows can arrive as early as the beginning of October.

Question 33

Name 2 weather hazards Xinjiang suffers from.

Answer 33

1. Very windy conditions;
2. Frost in spring and early autumn (in southern Xinjiang vines at high elevation {1,100m asl} are especially prone).

Question 34

What 3 factors contribute to Xinjiang producing high volumes of wine?

Answer 34

1. Dry conditions;
2. Good water availability from snowmelt in the Tian Shan mountain range;
3. Warm climate.

Question 35

Much of the wine made in Xinjiang is sold to wineries in China’s _____ regions.

Answer 35

Eastern regions.

Question 36

Gansu is slightly cooler or warmer than Xinjiang?

Answer 36

Slightly cooler.

Question 37

What is the climate of Yunnan?

Answer 37

Humid, sub-tropical.

Question 38

At what elevation are vineyards planted in Yunnan?

Answer 38

1600-2900m asl

Some vineyards are even planted in the foothills of the Himalayas.

Question 39

How does the high elevation at which Yunnan’s vineyards are planted help allow grapes to grow in this humid, sub-tropical climate?

Answer 39

• Moderates temperatures;
• Reduces humidity.

Question 40

What is the main reason why Yunnan’s vines do not have to be buried over winter?

Answer 40

It has a long, frost-free season.

Question 41

How do large, traditionally run vineyards in China typically train their vines?

Answer 41

Either Multi Cordon Fan system (multiple cordons grown from a very low trunk, popular in the table grape industry) or the Single Dragon system (single trunk at a slight angle as a spur-pruned cordon).

Both lack a single fruiting zone.

Question 42

Both the Multi Cordon Fan system and the Single Dragon system are designed to carry low or high yields?

What does this lead to?

Answer 42

High yields, which lead to uneven ripening.

Question 43

Many wineries in China have converted from the Multi Cordon Fan system and the Single Dragon system to this spur-pruned system.

Describe this system.

Answer 43

• Chang shaped;
• The trunk is trained in a bent form allowing for easier burial while at the same time ensuring a unified fruiting zone.

Question 44

Name 5 reasons why viticulture for wine has been so challenging for China.

Answer 44

1. Poor vineyard management: dense canopies, extensive use of irrigation and excessive use of fertilisation which contribute to poor fruit quality;
2. Leaf roll virus is prevalent, leading to underripe fruit;
3. Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenère are prone to green flavors if not fully ripe;
4. Lack of viticultural training;
5. Lack of good quality planting material.

Question 45

Who or what determines all agricultural practices in China?

Answer 45

The Chinese government.

Question 46

Approximately how much does the advanced manual labor of burying vines over winter (and digging them back up again in the spring) add to the cost of wine?

Answer 46

20-30%

Question 47

Describe how cost and availability of labor are big issues for China’s vineyards.

Answer 47

• The older generation of vineyard workers familiar with vine burial practices is not being replaced by a younger generation willing to work vineyards (many young workers move to urban areas instead);
• The older generation is asking for higher pay for their specialised skills.

Question 48

• What is China’s own indigenous vine species?
• What is it resistant to?

Answer 48

• V. amurensis (named after the Amur Valley of Liaoning Province);
• Resistant to cold.

Question 49

China uses which French wine region as their model for making wine?

Answer 49

Bordeaux.

Question 50

What are the 3 companies that dominate China’s domestic wine industry?

Answer 50

1. Changyu;
2. Great Wall (owned by government agricultural arm COFCO);
3. Dynasty.

Question 51

What do many of the Chinese wines bottled by the top 3 companies rely on to satisfy increased consumer demand?

Answer 51

Blending with imported wine.

Question 52

Name 3 smaller Chinese wineries and their region.

Answer 52

1. Grace Vineyard (Shanxi);
2. Silver Heights (Ningxia);
3. Ao Yun (Yunnan).

Question 53

Name the retail locations where wine can be sold in China.

Answer 53

• Convenience shops;
• Supermarkets;
• Hospitality sector (restaurants, clubs, KTV venues, i.e. Karaoke bars, tobacco stores).