Photographic visit to 12 wineries in China's hottest wine region

Get a sense for the impressive growth and intensity of investment over the past several years by visually visiting 12 of the more than estimated 50 wineries that have sprouted in the Ningxia desert. 

This will give you an insight into why China is booming.

Moët Hennessy's Domaine Chandon Ningxia

Moët Hennessy broke ground on April 2012 on Domaine Chandon Ningxia of this modern winery to produce sparkling for the Chinese market. Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China.

Pinot noir in the desert anyone?

Formal tasting and dinning room at Domaine Chandon Ningxia. You can see the stainless steel tanks through the glass windows. Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Chin

Silver Heights Winery, Ningxia

French-trained winemaker, Emma Gao and her father working pump-over hoses at family-owned Silver Heights winery, Yinchuan, Ningxia Wine Country, China.

Tired of depending on local farmers, Emma Gao and her family of Silver Heights Winery have purchased land parcels near Helan Mountain to plant their own vineyards. Did you happen to see Chairman Mao staring skyward from the mountain ridge in the background? Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China.

Masked against the dust, a female worker harvests Cabernet Sauvignon grapes destined for Silver Heights winery from a farmer near Yinchuan, Ningxia Wine Country, China.

COFCO's Great Wall Winery, Ningxia

COFCO's Great Wall Winery at the base of Helan Mountain.  State owned, COFCO  is China's largest food processing, manufacturer and trader.  Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China.

Pernod Richard's Domaine Helan Mountain, Ningxia

From the informal front entrance, Pernod Richard's Helan Mountain winery looks like a Soviet-era factory. Inside is a different story. Ningxia Province, China.

Pinot noir grapes on sorting line at Pernot Ricard's Domaine Helan Mountain winery, Ningxia Wine Corridor, China.

The scale is impressive. Stainless steel fermenting tanks at Helan Mountain winery, Ningxia Wine Region, China.

Nothing goes to waste in China. That's about a quarter mile of grape seeds from Helan Mountain winery this Worker spreads to dry for sale to the cosmetics and aromatherapy industries. Ningxia Wine Region, China.

Ningxia Chateau Lanny Winery and Resort

Local government-owned estate chateau Lanny (sometimes seen incorrectly spelled Lanyi) Winery and Resort near Yinchuan, in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China.

Chateau Lanny uses a trellising system to support vines that looks more like those used for table grapes. If you look carefully, you might see Chairman Mao's profile in Helan Mountain. Ningxia Wine Corridor, China.

If you get tired of tasting wine or have a few too many "ganbeis" (the Chinese bottoms up way of drinking), you can sleep the night away in one of Chateau Lanny's guest rooms. Ningxia Wine Corridor, China.

  Changyu Moser XV, Ningxia

Changyu is China's largest winery. So naturally they have a huge presence in Ningxia. This is the nightly light show at Chateau Changyu Moser XV just at the outskirts of Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China.

Just to make sure that visitors get the idea that they are at a winery, Chateau Changyu Moser XV placed this huge grape sculpture as a not-so-subtle hint.  Yinchuan, Ningxia Wine Region, China.

No winery should be without Medieval-era armored guards. Obviously, no shoplifting here.  Regardless, Changyu provides a Disney-like experience at Chateau Changyu Moser XV in Yinchuan, Ningxia Wine Corridor, China.

Changyu believes in educating visitors at their newer chateaux. Chateau Changyu Moser XV is no exception.  Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China.

An interactive video game in the visitor's center is very popular among the younger visitors. On another note, the Chinese seem to enjoy photographing foreigners and I happened to be the only one available that day at the chateau. Chateau Changyu Moser XV in Yinchuan, Ningxia wine region, China.

And what would a chateau be without vineyards.  Chateau Changyu Moser XV in Yinchuan, Ningxia Wine Region, China.

Dragon's Hollow Vineyards, Ningxia

David Henderson, founder of Dragon's Hollow Vineyards, started a number of business and schools before in 1988 creating Montrose Food and Wine to become obtain the first direct license to import wines into China. Then he started Dragon's Hollow with the novel idea of exporting all of his wine. All of the vines he harvests fruit are part of the Helan Shan (Helan Mountain) estate. Ningxia Wine Country, China.

Henderson currently uses the Pernod Richard's Helan Mountain facility, to make his wine. Here Ms Zhou, in light tan coat and head winemaker at Helan Mountain winery, checks one of Dragon's Hollow's rented tanks.  Ningxia Province, China, Asia

Imperial Horse, Ningxia

While Dynasty has been making Imperial Horse wine in Ningxia for many years, every time I go by the facility, there doesn't seem to be much activity. Perhaps I visited only on some surprise national holiday. Imperial Horse winery, Ningxia, China

HeLan Qing Xue Winery, Jai Bei Lan wine, Ningxia

This is where the Ningxia buzz started. At the 2011 Decanter World Wine Awards, their Jia Bei Lan (also spelled JiaBeiLan) Grand Reserve 2009 was awarded the International Trophy for Red Bordeaux Varietals over £10. There was lots of speculation about how a Chinese winery beat some of the world's best Bordeaux-style wines – including those from the Médoc and St-Emilion.  HeLan QingXue Vineyard and Winery, Yinchuan, Ningxia Wine Region, China.

Founded in 2005, Helan Qingxue Vineyard and Winery was the first demonstration vineyard in Ningxia. The idea was to be a government-based, winery-funded association and role model for new owners considering a wine operation in Ningxia. No longer a winery association, its founders now run the estate as viticulturist, winemaker and manager. Controversy swirled who was the actual winery of the 2009 Decanter awarded wine as Li Demei, a professor at Beijing Agriculture College was a consultant there at the time.  HeLan QingXue Vineyard and Winery. Yinchuan, Ningxia Wine Region, China.

As at many Chinese wineries, labels are hand glued onto the bottles at HeLan QingXue Vineyard and Winery. Yinchuan, Ningxia Wine Region, China.

Ningxia XiXiaKing Chateau Yuquan Winery 

Chinese style Yuquan International Wine Chateau of Xixia King fronts one of their vineyards. Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China.

After seeing dozens of Chinese wineries in all sorts of architectural styles, I found it refreshing to see more traditional Chinese design used at Chateau Yuquan. Ningxia Wine Region, China.

The grandious lobby of Chateau Yuquan.

Opened in 2014, the lobby of Chateau Yuquan's hotel gives a hint of the rest of the interior. Besides guest rooms, there are all sorts of game rooms. The hotel complex is next to the Chateau.  Chateau Yuquan, Yinchuan,  Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China.

In the display area, traditions are integrated. Here ancient Chinese businessmen drink Chateau Yuquan wine in tea cups. Chateau Yuquan, Ningxia Wine Region, China.

Chateau Yuquan, Ningxia Wine Region, China.

Ningxia Daylong Winery

With it's fairytale castle-like architecture, Ningxia Daylong Winery, run by the Thailand-based Daysun Investment group, has the Ningxia Chateau Lanny Winery and Resort's young vineyard in the front yard and Helan Mountain as a background. Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China.

Ningxia XiXia King

XiXia King has great plans to build an entire wine complex on the property. Some of those plans have been built—Chateau Yuquan and the nearby hotel. According to the company president, future plans call for Huang Yangtan Xixia Culture Grape Town and Nuan Quan Holiday Grape Town.

Established in 1982, Xixia King is the oldest and probably still the largest winery in Ningxia, with over 130,000 mu (that's more than 21,000 acres) of vineyards. (Mu is the Chinese measure of land area with approximately 6 mu to an acre.) That's nearly one-half the total vineyard acreage of Napa Valley AVA. Ningxia Wine Region, China.

Production area XiXia King winery.

Bottling line XiXia King winery.

Chateau Yuanshi, Ningxia

This is one of my favorite Chinese wineries as it is built from natural stone taken from the site, built in a local architectural style and crafted by local masons.  Here sunrise touches the natural stone buildings of Chateau Yuanshi Winery near Yinchuan city in Ningxia Wine Region, China.

All of the buildings are made of natural stone found on the property. The owner grew up on the site. Chateau Yuanshi Winery near Yinchuan city in Ningxia Wine Region, China.

This stone mason told me that it would take him two days to carve this single stone for a new building at Chateau Yuanshi Winery near Yinchuan city in the Ningxia Hui Province wine region next to Helan Mountain.

Worker topping off French oak barrels at Chateau Yuanshi Winery near
Yinchuan, in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China.

One of the tasting rooms.

Chateau Yuanshi (Yuan Shi) Winery designed in local Chinese architecture style and build from local stone near Yinchuan, in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China.

All photographs and text © 2015 Janis Miglavs

www.jmiglavs.com

janis@jmiglavs.com

Is that Chairman Mao above Ningxia vineyards and wineries?

While strolling through Chateau Lanny's vineyard near Yinchuan, Ningxia, I looked up to scan the nearby Helan Mountain. Wait, what is that? There at the mountain's highest point, like a sleeping giant, I saw Chairman Mao Zedong's profile staring skyward. 

Don't you see him?  Honestly, that was before I tasted any Chinese wine that day.

 

View of Helan Mountain from local government-owned estate Chateau Lanny (sometimes seen incorrectly spelled Lanyi) Winery and Resort near Yinchuan, in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China. China Wine.

 The Chairman actually promoted grape wine so that locals would not waste rice to make the alcoholic beverage.

How China's largest winery markets to the nouveau middle class in Ningxia.

China's largest winery, Changyu, uses a one-two-three punch to market their wine.

First, reel in the camera-toting Chinese nouveau middle class visitors by building Disneyland-like photogenic chateaux. 

Their collection includes four and a half European-style chateaux scattered all over China:
• Chateau Changyu AFIP Global about one hour out of Beijing;   
• Chateau Changyu Moser XV, in Yinchuan city, Ningxia Province; 
• Chateau Changyu Baron Balboa in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region;   
• Chateau Changyu Reina in Shanxi province;   
• and finally, the not-quite so Disneyesque Chateau Changyu-Castel near Yantai, Shandong province.

These photos are from my recent visit to Chateau Changyu Moser XV, which sits like an oasis among industrial complexes.

Every night a light show flashes across Chateau Changyu Moser XV in Yinchuan, Ningxia, China.

Not only do tourists use the Chateau Changyu Moser XV as a Disneyland-like background for their personal happy snaps, but professional wedding  photographers, like those seen in black T-shirts in the above photograph, also flock to the site posing bride and groom between the tourists. Please remember this chateau sits like an oasis out in the Ningxia desert.

Second, trying to capitalize on the middle class thirst for wine knowledge, Changyu teaches visitors the ways of the alcoholic beverage made from fermented grapes. 

After all, an educated population will more likely buy wine and then show off their knowledge to family, friends and coworkers. All of these newly educated will in turn buy more wine—hopefully Changyu's wine. 

Wine education at Chateau Changyu Moser XV begins in a 180 degree surround theater where visitors are fully immersed in an overhead multi-projector cartoon-character video of the wine making process. A bearded European character guides the audience from harvest to bottle. Chateau Changyu Moser XV, Yinchuan, Ningxia province, China.

The visitor then winds through a labyrinth of diplays and environments at Chateau Changyu Moser XV, Yinchuan, Ningxia province, China.

Two visitors in the background are using hand movements to control an interactive display. Under the mushroom-like overhead wine aroma wheel are tubes where visitors can smell various scents associated with wine. Chateau Changyu Moser XV, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China.

Vineyard manager at Chateau Changyu Moser XV, who also doubled as my photography assistant, touches the "bitter" sensory area of the large tongue display. Sorry Changyu, although still widely taught, scientists have disproven the belief that specific areas of the tongue are sensitive to various tastes like bitter, sour, salty, sweet. Chateau Changyu Moser XV, Yinchuan, Ningxia province, China.

Here we see the overhead aroma wheel, the sniff tubes, two hand motion interactive displays and the story of the bottle at Chateau Changyu Moser XV, Yinchuan, Ningxia province, China.

Of course, no wine education program would be complete without guards dressed in iron. Chateau Changyu Moser XV, Yinchuan, Ningxia province, China.

This scluptured display has the traditionally dressed worker pressing whole cluster, including the leaves, grapes in a wooden hand crank press at Chateau Changyu Moser XV, Yinchuan, Ningxia province, China.

Naturally, photo opportunities abound while learning about wine at Chateau Changyu Moser XV, Yinchuan, Ningxia province, China.

Even a foreign photographer (actually the only foreigner that entire day) makes for a curious  subject at Chateau Changyu Moser XV, Yinchuan, Ningxia province, China.

No wine eduaction would be complete without a Happy Nose. Chateau Changyu Moser XV, Yinchuan, Ningxia province, China.

Chateau Changyu Moser XV, Yinchuan city, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region is a partnership between state-owned China wine giant Changyu wine company and Austria's "Grüner Man" Laurenz (Lenz) Moser, 15th generation (XV) member of famous Austrian wine family.