China's wine industry is increasingly experimenting with grape varieties other than Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. This is what the French Christelle Chene, director for international affairs at the Xige Estate winery in the Ningxia region (picture), explained to the British Harper's trade magazine. Xige Estate was founded in 2017 by investor and former Changyu winemaker Zhang Yanzhi and now counts more than 20 different varieties in its vineyards, including Syrah, Marselan, Dunkelfelder, Chenin Blanc, Ugni Blanc and Welschriesling. According to Chene, the Ningxia region currently works with around 60 grape varieties. She names Cabernet Gernischt, Malbec and Chardonnay as the most important.

After the young Chinese wine industry initially focused on safety, it was mainly Bordeaux grape varieties that were planted. Especially in the extreme climate of Ningxia, where the vines have to be dug in due to the cold winters and yields are low, most producers focused on internationally comparable Bordeaux-style wines.

"This has changed a lot in the last five to six years as winemakers have experimented and made new plantings. Producers are increasingly looking for the best potential combinations of vine and terroir," Chene said. In addition, he said, the consumer trend is towards fresher wines that are better suited to the very different Chinese food and food cultures. The government supports this development of the wine regions. The current 38,000 hectares of vineyards are to be expanded to 100,000 hectares by 2035, and the aim is also to significantly increase exports.