The Wild, Wild East

As the landscape of Chinese wines has expanded considerably over the last decade, it’s time to meet the ambitious vintners who are defining the taste of a nation

- Sarah Heller MW

Writing concisely about Chinese wine is much like trying to write about China itself—a task for the foolhardy. This wouldn’t have been the case a mere decade ago, when producers worth mentioning might have been counted on two hands (and perhaps a foot). The 2009 book The Vineyards of Greater China by Houghton Lee featured a mere 14 producers. However, every passing year makes the topic less appropriate for an article than a tome.

Today, about 450 wineries span the Chinese landscape in 12 regions, from lush plateau to blazing desert.

This is not to say that the story of Chinese wine has been an unbridled success, as profitability has remained elusive for many wineries. Production has actually dropped in China every year since 2015, when it hit a peak of 1 billion litres, to 450 million litres in 2019. However, what seems to have accompanied this drastic drop is a substantial hike in quality. Still, much is yet to be determined: a signature grape or style; whether to focus on quality, volume or national distinctiveness; whether to court domestic consumers alone or strive for plaudits overseas.

Thus, attempting to create a “best of” list—my original goal for this piece—felt like an act of hubris. Instead, I chose to highlight a handful of wineries from across the nation to deliver something of a snapshot of where the Chinese wine industry is heading today. Their stories are about origins, the “why” of each extraordinary person or group that embarked on an undertaking to make wine, and also how they are achieving their next set of goals.

The name Ao Yun, appropriately enough, means “flying above the clouds.”