D3 - China Flashcards
Examines the regions, grapes, methods of production, and styles of China.
What is the most planted grape varietal in China?
Cabernet Sauvignon.
What 2 other red grape varietals are highly planted in China?
- Merlot;
- Carmenère.
What is Carmenère locally known as in China?
Cabernet Gernischt.
What wine styles are generally made in China?
- 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.
To what century can China trace its wine roots?
Late 19th century
Who founded the Changyu winery in Yantai (Shandong Province)?
Zhang Bishi, a businessman and Chinese government consul in Asia.
He imported ~150 vinifera varieties into China.
In what decade did China’s wine production really start to take off?
1980s.
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.
Dynasty
The Chinese brand Dragon Seal was developed by which global entity?
Pernod-Ricard.
LVMH’s Chandon operates in which province in China?
Ningxia Province.
In the 1990s, why did China release a health campaign encouraging consumption of wine and fruit-based drinks over cereal-based spirits?
To address a shortage of grain.
Nearly all grape-growing regions in China have this kind of climate.
Continental.
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?
Bury their vines, sometimes as early as November.
Most, but not all, wine regions in China experience light or heavy summer rainfall?
Heavy rainfall.
Name a wine region in the northeast of China.
- Heilongjiang;
- Jilin.
Both are subject to extreme winter cold; burying vines is essential here.
Name a wine region in the south of China.
Yunnan.
What is the climate of Beijing and Hebei?
Humid continental (warm, humid summers and cold winters).
Both regions are coastal.
Even though Beijing and Hebei have overall low rainfall (200-300 mm/year), they often experience torrential rains during which months?
August and September.
What helps reduce the humidity level and moderate the warm, humid summers in Beijing and Hebei?
Cool Pacific breezes.
Older vineyards in Beijing and Hebei were planted on flat land with poor drainage and fertile soils.
What does this result in?
Excessive yields and poor fruit quality.
What 3 challenges face the vineyards which are planted closest to the ocean?
- Excessive short-term rain;
- Humidity;
- Over-rich soils.
In China, where is the Shandong wine region?
On the east coast.
What is the climate of Shandong?
Warm maritime.
Shandong’s high level of precipitation makes ____ a persistent problem.
Rot.
- What are the 2 inland, central wine regions of China?
- What is their climate and annual rainfall?
- Shanxi and Shaanxi;
- Dry continental climate; < 500mm annual rainfall.
What is the climate of Ningxia?
Arid continental.
Ningxia has very windy conditions, exacerbating the dryness.
What is the annual rainfall of Ningxia?
~200mm/year with monsoon rains.
Water from which river provides essential irrigation for Ningxia?
Yellow River.
The best area of Ningxia is considered to be in the _____ region where mountains protect from the worst of the northwest desert winds.
Helan Shan (Helan Mountains).
Name 2 regions in the far northwest of China.
- Xinjiang;
- Gansu.
Xinjiang is extremely dry with only ___mm of rain in many areas.
80mm
Why does Xinjiang have a relatively short growing season?
Winter snows can arrive as early as the beginning of October.
Name 2 weather hazards Xinjiang suffers from.
- Very windy conditions;
- Frost in spring and early autumn (in southern Xinjiang vines at high elevation {1,100m asl} are especially prone).
What 3 factors contribute to Xinjiang producing high volumes of wine?
- Dry conditions;
- Good water availability from snowmelt in the Tian Shan mountain range;
- Warm climate.
Much of the wine made in Xinjiang is sold to wineries in China’s _____ regions.
Eastern regions.
Gansu is slightly cooler or warmer than Xinjiang?
Slightly cooler.
What is the climate of Yunnan?
Humid, sub-tropical.
At what elevation are vineyards planted in Yunnan?
1600-2900m asl
Some vineyards are even planted in the foothills of the Himalayas.
How does the high elevation at which Yunnan’s vineyards are planted help allow grapes to grow in this humid, sub-tropical climate?
- Moderates temperatures;
- Reduces humidity.
What is the main reason why Yunnan’s vines do not have to be buried over winter?
It has a long, frost-free season.
How do large, traditionally run vineyards in China typically train their vines?
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.
Both the Multi Cordon Fan system and the Single Dragon system are designed to carry low or high yields?
What does this lead to?
High yields, which lead to uneven ripening.
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.
- Chang shaped;
- The trunk is trained in a bent form allowing for easier burial while at the same time ensuring a unified fruiting zone.
Name 5 reasons why viticulture for wine has been so challenging for China.
- Poor vineyard management: dense canopies, extensive use of irrigation and excessive use of fertilisation which contribute to poor fruit quality;
- Leaf roll virus is prevalent, leading to underripe fruit;
- Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenère are prone to green flavors if not fully ripe;
- Lack of viticultural training;
- Lack of good quality planting material.
Who or what determines all agricultural practices in China?
The Chinese government.
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?
20-30%
Describe how cost and availability of labor are big issues for China’s vineyards.
- 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.
- What is China’s own indigenous vine species?
- What is it resistant to?
- V. amurensis (named after the Amur Valley of Liaoning Province);
- Resistant to cold.
China uses which French wine region as their model for making wine?
Bordeaux.
What are the 3 companies that dominate China’s domestic wine industry?
- Changyu;
- Great Wall (owned by government agricultural arm COFCO);
- Dynasty.
What do many of the Chinese wines bottled by the top 3 companies rely on to satisfy increased consumer demand?
Blending with imported wine.
Name 3 smaller Chinese wineries and their region.
- Grace Vineyard (Shanxi);
- Silver Heights (Ningxia);
- Ao Yun (Yunnan).
Name the retail locations where wine can be sold in China.
- Convenience shops;
- Supermarkets;
- Hospitality sector (restaurants, clubs, KTV venues, i.e. Karaoke bars, tobacco stores).
