Wine in China

Use of wild grapes in production of alcoholic beverages has been attested at the Jiahu archaeological site (c. 7000 BC).^[3][4][5] High quality wine called qióng jiāng yù yè (Chinese: 瓊漿玉液) is mentioned in the Complete Tang Poems (Quan Tangshi), an 18th-century collection of around 50,000 poems compiled during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor.^[6] The phrase, which translates literally to "jade-like wine", but has an idiomatic meaning along the lines of "wonderful wine".^[7]

In 1995, a joint Sino-USA archaeology team including archaeologists from the Archeology Research Institute of Shandong University and American archaeologists under the leadership of Professor Fang Hui investigated the two archaeological sites 20 km to the northeast of Rizhao, and discovered the remnants of a variety of alcoholic beverages including grape wine, rice wine, mead, and several mixed beverages of these wines. Out of more than two hundred ceramic pots discovered at the sites, seven were specifically used for grape wine. Remnants of grape seeds were also discovered.^[8] If grape wine consumption was once present in Bronze Age China, however, it was replaced by consumption of a range of alcoholic beverages made from sorghum, millet, rice, and fruits such as lychee or Asian plum. In the 130s and 120s BC, a Chinese imperial envoy of the

French wine was the first foreign wine imported into China. In 1980, at the beginning of Chinese economic reform, Rémy Martin ventured into China to set up the first joint-venture enterprise in Tianjin: the Dynasty (Wang Chao, 王朝) Wine Ltd., which was also the second joint-venture enterprise in China. Over the years, the company developed over 90 brands of alcoholic beverages, and its products won numerous awards both domestically and abroad.

However, most of its products were exported abroad in the first two decades due to the low income of the local population, and it was not until after the year 2000 when the economic boom finally provided the domestic population with sufficient

Also, as globalization has brought China onto the international economic scene, so too has its winemaking industry come onto the international wine scene. China has a long tradition of the fermentation and distillation of Chinese wine, including all alcoholic beverages and not necessarily grape wine, but is one of the most recent participants in the globalization of wine that started years ago in Paris, when several countries such as Canada realized that they may be able to produce wines as good as most French wine.

Quite recently, Chinese grape wine has begun appearing on shelves in California and in Western Canada. While some critics have treated these wines with the same type of disregard with which Chilean and Australian wines were once treated, others have recognized a new frontier with the potential to yield some interesting finds. Others have simply taken notice that China is producing drinkable table wines comparable to wines from other countries. Among the latest developments is the production of organic wine in Inner Mongolia.^[16]

As of 2012, a small number of large companies, such as Changyu Pioneer Wine, China Great Wall Wine Co., Ltd. and the Dynasty Wine Ltd., dominate domestic production. The total production of wine in 2004 was 370 thousand tons, a 15% increase from the previous year.^[15][17] The total market grew 58% between 1996 and 2001, and 68% between 2001 and 2006.^[18][19]

In 2008, wine merchant

Notable wine-producing regions include Beijing, Yantai, Zhangjiakou in Hebei, Yibin in Sichuan, Tonghua in Jilin, Taiyuan in Shanxi, and Ningxia. The largest producing region is Yantai-Penglai; with over 140 wineries, it produces 40% of China's wine.^[22]

Xinjiang

China's

Ningxia

In September 2011,

In the "Bordeaux against Ningxia" wine challenge held in Beijing in October 2011, Grace Vineyard's 2009 Chairman's Reserve, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, was voted best.^[34][31]

Consumption

Market trends

China is among the top ten wine markets in the world. According to a study by Vinexpo and International Wine and Spirits Research (IWSR), China was the world's fifth-largest consumer of wine (both domestic and imported) in 2011.^[35] A study by the same organizations revealed in 2014 estimates that 2.17 billion bottles of wine were consumed in China in 2013, keeping China in fifth place. Because Chinese mostly drink red wine, China is now the world's largest market for red wine.^[36] China's consumption of red wine has grown by 136% since 2008, whereas it has declined by 18% in France, the second-largest consumer.^[37] The United States remains the largest market for all types of wine (red, white, rosé, and sparkling), with total sales of approximately 4 billion bottles, slightly ahead of France and followed by Italy and the United Kingdom.^[36]

The Chinese wine market has experienced a 20% annualized growth rate between 2006 and 2011, and is forecast to grow by another 54% by 2015.^[35]

In 2009, Sotheby's reported that Hong Kong had become the world's largest market for fine wines at auction, surpassing previous leaders New York City, and London.^[38]

Products and availability

Most medium to large restaurants, regardless of the fare, sell wine by the bottle, usually only red. Generally, only high-end restaurants serve wine by the glass. Wine sold by the bottle is also available at large KTV establishments, and major hotels.

Since around 2008, many small convenience stores have begun to carry a small selection of wines, with specialty wine shops emerging in cities throughout the country. These specialize in both foreign and domestic brands. Meanwhile, major supermarkets have steadily increased their selection, from several domestic brands, to a wide variety of wines from around the world. In addition, plenty varieties of wines are also available through online shops and platforms. Among these are sweetened, flavoured wines. These are made of a mixture of grape wine and a sweetened, flavoured drink similar to

Demographics and preferences

A survey conducted with 1,440 respondents reveals that Chinese prefer red wine to white wine. 94% of the respondents consumed red wine, while only 35% of them drank white wine.^[39] This trend is, however, contrasting when measured among younger generations. Chinese young people prefer white to red wine and they consider the latter traditional and outdated.^[40]

Statistics show that the main market for white wine is among females, who prefer it over beer, still the main alcoholic beverage for most males; red wine has become a symbol of the elite and rich and is usually used as a table wine. In 2005, 80% of vineyards produce red wine and 20% of vineyards produce white wine, while 90% of wine consumed as of 2007 is red wine.^[15][19]

Method of consumption

Both red and white wines are commonly served chilled. The wine may be poured into ordinary wine glasses in tiny amounts, or very small, glass baijiu glasses. When served at a table with more than two people, similar to the style of drinking baijiu, it is typically consumed during a group toast, and often with the entire glass being finished at once. This is particularly true when served during restaurant meals.

See also

References

Notes