UNCORKING POTENTIAL
An international winemaking contest taps Ningxia’s bottled-up possibilities. Zhang Zefeng reports.
South African winemaker Justin Corrans embarked on a journey into the unknown to practice his craft in September 2015. He flew over half of the hemisphere to take part in a two-year winemaking challenge in a country he knew nothing about. His destination was the Helan Mountains’ eastern foothills in Northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region, which hosts some of the country’s bestknown wineries.
“I was very much overwhelmed by the size of the wine industries and the quality of the wines,” Corrans recalls.
“There were some very good wines, very good vineries and very passionate Chinese people making wine.”
Corrans was one of 48 winemakers from 17 countries who took part in the Ningxia Winemakers Challenge.
Contestants were paired with local wineries. He worked with Domaine Lanxuan and received a 3-hectare parcel of grapes to make cabernet.
He harvested the fruit by hand during the first two months. He selected the best grapes and used high-temperature fermentation to enhance extraction.
He returned to Ningxia twice to perfect his creation.
Corrans describes his wine as elegant, fruity and wellstructured.
“I want people to be able to taste my wine and say: ‘This is a world-class wine.’”
The contest’s final round took place in Beijing on Aug 29.
A panel of 10 judges, including International Organisation of Vine and Wine President Monika Christmann, reached a verdict.
Corrans and four other winemakers from Australia, Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom received gold medals. Another 10 won silver.
Winners were awarded 100,000 yuan ($15,300) and 20,000 yuan, respectively.
Christmann says: “I found it very difficult to find a difference between the quality of the five gold medals. The ones which won silver are very close to that. I didn’t expect that high of a level.”
The International Federation of Vine and Wine of Helan Mountain’s East Foothill organized the contest to fill in knowledge gaps and bring diversity to this emerging winemaking region.
“When you compare Ningxia with other traditional areas in the world, there is a lot of information and a lot of history given from father to son and so on,” Christmann says.
“You need to build some experience and history there. And you need some guidance from some experienced people.”
China is poised to overtake the UK and France to become the world’s second-largest wine-consumption market after the US by 2020, International Wine and Spirits Research reported in April.
But the country’s drinking culture and consumption habits are still developing.
Australian winemaker Tony Kalleske, who also won a gold medal, has been selling and promoting wine in China for about 12 years.
He believes Ningxia should promote its wine culture and encourage people to enjoy wine not only on special occasions but also with friends and family in daily life.
“It needs to be educational,” he says.
“The best way is to get them to actually drink and try wines, and understand what they are drinking.”
The Ningxia Winemakers Challenge also offered contestants experience, especially those from emerging winemaking regions.
“Like China, India is a small winemaking country,” Indian winemaker Priyanka Kulkarni says.
“It’s very interesting for me to see what kind of challenges China is facing.”
The region’s unique climate, sandy soil and dry air are ideal for growing quality grapes.
But such conditions as cold winters and high elevations require vines to be buried to protect them against harsh winters.
“ln spite of such extreme weather conditions, people are really dedicated to making good wines,” she says.
Priyanka is also inspired by the local winemakers, who are eager to learn new skills from others while maintaining high standards.
Ningxia has developed its winemaking since the late 1990s.
There were 35,000 hectares of wine grapes in the region by the end of 2015. Ningxia is planning to establish a 67,000-hectare vineyard and over 100 quality wineries by 2020.
German wine expert Joerg Philipp, who served as a judge in the contest, believes the region has potential.
He visited 64 Ningxia wineries last year and found the wines to be unique due to variations in soil, climate and terrain.
Philipp says wines from the north are more structured. Those from the south are fresher and more complex.
He suggests Ningxia should produce special and regional products, and find its own style and identity.
“The most important thing is to say it tastes like Ningxia,” he says.
“There’s no region around the world doing something similar to Ningxia.”