AFP - In a country where the wine industry is dominated by mass-production vineyards producing mediocre wine, the Silver Heights winery perched at 1,200 metres (about 4,000 feet) is creating a buzz.
Located on the eastern slopes of Mount Helan in the northern Ningxia region, China's first garage wine, or micro-winery, has won applause from wine lovers and support from the trade.
Read more here...
Showing posts with label China wine tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China wine tour. Show all posts
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Will Shanxi Become the Next Napa?
Wine Country Minute..
Before Hong Kong returned to China, expats there debated whether the 21st century would be a Chinese or an American one. Winemaking wasn't part of the conversation then, but might be today.
About the time that terracotta warriors were being cast in Xian, the first grape seeds were being planted at the Imperial Palace (~130 BC). Today there are thousands of grape varieties in China, including high yielding ones, like Dragon's Eye, used to make sweet table wine.
Read more...
Before Hong Kong returned to China, expats there debated whether the 21st century would be a Chinese or an American one. Winemaking wasn't part of the conversation then, but might be today.
About the time that terracotta warriors were being cast in Xian, the first grape seeds were being planted at the Imperial Palace (~130 BC). Today there are thousands of grape varieties in China, including high yielding ones, like Dragon's Eye, used to make sweet table wine.
Read more...
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
China Vineyard Photos by Janis Miglav
During the past year I have become friends with vineyard photographer Janis Miglav and have enjoyed helping him arrange visits to the wineries in China. You can see some of his photos while he continues his tour of China for an upcoming book. His blog address is http://janismiglavs.blogspot.com/
Marc Curtis
Founder
China Wine Tours
Marc Curtis
Founder
China Wine Tours
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Happy New Year!
To all our Chinese friends, xin nian kuai le! (Happy New Year). This being the year of the ox, and ox in Chinese is "niu" it's appropriate to say "Happy Niu Year!"
Saturday, November 22, 2008
StartupNation Honors Nation’s Top Home-Based businesses
StartupNation Honors Nation’s Top Home-Based businesses
China Wine Tours Wins Top Honors in Business Competition under the Yummiest category.
Redlands, CA –November 22, 2008– China Wine Tours has been recognized by StartupNation (http://www.startupnation.com) as one of the top businesses in its annual Home Based 100 competition under the category of “Yummiest”.
Many of the StartupNation Home-Based 100 submissions revealed that business owners are bucking the current economic downturn and finding business success in these tight times. Historically some of today’s most well known businesses started in a downturn, including Microsoft and General Electric.
“The 2008 ranking shows that the home-based business is more relevant than ever. The current recession has spurred a new wave of home based businesses as a response to loss of jobs, the need for supplemental income and the sheer passion for blazing your own trail and running your own show,” said Rich Sloan, co-founder of StartupNation.com, one of the leading small business networking and advice websites. “Home based businesses are the biggest block of all businesses in existence and we expect numbers to grow ever greater as extra bedrooms, kitchen tables, basements and garages become host to the innovative thinking and pursuit of success by millions of Americans.”
“Marc Curtis, founder of ChinaWineTours.com is proud to accept 8th place in the top 10 Top Home based businesses of 2008 by StartupNation.com.”
The StartupNation Home-Based 100 highlights 10 top-ten lists making it not just your ordinary business ranking. From the wackiest, to the most innovative, to the best financial performers – this unique and diverse list highlights the home-based businesses that usually go unrecognized, but still play a vital role in the economy today. The ten categories for 2008 include:
• Best Financial Performers
• Most Innovative
• Boomers Back in Business
• Greenest
• Yummiest
• Wackiest
• Grungiest
• Recession Busters
• Most Slacker-Friendly
• Most Glamorous
In addition to StartupNation staff, judges for this year’s Home Based 100 ranking included Adam Lowry, co-founder of Method Products, Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks North America, John Jantsch, founder of Duct Tape Marketing, Mel Robbins, host of Make It Happen radio show.
The full results of the Home-Based 100 ranking are available on StartupNation’s website at http://www.startupnation.com/hb100.
###
About StartupNation
StartupNation (www.startupnation.com) provides over 175,000 pages of business advice and networking for entrepreneurs and serves millions of entrepreneurs annually.. . StartupNation is a free service founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs with the intention of providing a one-stop shop for entrepreneurial success, including blogs from a host of experts, podcasts, webcasts, eBooks, award-winning step-by-step advice, and more. .
About the Startupnation’s Founders – The Sloan Brothers
StartupNation co-founders and “chief startupologists,” Rich and Jeff Sloan, are two of the country’s leading small business experts and ran their business from home for eight years. The Sloan brothers speak frequently at entrepreneurial forums and act as sources for top media venues nationwide. They are authors of StartupNation: Open for Business, published by Doubleday, and provide their insight online at www.startupnation.com. The Sloan brothers are regularly quoted and featured in media such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune Small Business, Entrepreneur Magazine, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, FOX News and many others.
China Wine Tours Wins Top Honors in Business Competition under the Yummiest category.
Redlands, CA –November 22, 2008– China Wine Tours has been recognized by StartupNation (http://www.startupnation.com) as one of the top businesses in its annual Home Based 100 competition under the category of “Yummiest”.
Many of the StartupNation Home-Based 100 submissions revealed that business owners are bucking the current economic downturn and finding business success in these tight times. Historically some of today’s most well known businesses started in a downturn, including Microsoft and General Electric.
“The 2008 ranking shows that the home-based business is more relevant than ever. The current recession has spurred a new wave of home based businesses as a response to loss of jobs, the need for supplemental income and the sheer passion for blazing your own trail and running your own show,” said Rich Sloan, co-founder of StartupNation.com, one of the leading small business networking and advice websites. “Home based businesses are the biggest block of all businesses in existence and we expect numbers to grow ever greater as extra bedrooms, kitchen tables, basements and garages become host to the innovative thinking and pursuit of success by millions of Americans.”
“Marc Curtis, founder of ChinaWineTours.com is proud to accept 8th place in the top 10 Top Home based businesses of 2008 by StartupNation.com.”
The StartupNation Home-Based 100 highlights 10 top-ten lists making it not just your ordinary business ranking. From the wackiest, to the most innovative, to the best financial performers – this unique and diverse list highlights the home-based businesses that usually go unrecognized, but still play a vital role in the economy today. The ten categories for 2008 include:
• Best Financial Performers
• Most Innovative
• Boomers Back in Business
• Greenest
• Yummiest
• Wackiest
• Grungiest
• Recession Busters
• Most Slacker-Friendly
• Most Glamorous
In addition to StartupNation staff, judges for this year’s Home Based 100 ranking included Adam Lowry, co-founder of Method Products, Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks North America, John Jantsch, founder of Duct Tape Marketing, Mel Robbins, host of Make It Happen radio show.
The full results of the Home-Based 100 ranking are available on StartupNation’s website at http://www.startupnation.com/hb100.
###
About StartupNation
StartupNation (www.startupnation.com) provides over 175,000 pages of business advice and networking for entrepreneurs and serves millions of entrepreneurs annually.. . StartupNation is a free service founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs with the intention of providing a one-stop shop for entrepreneurial success, including blogs from a host of experts, podcasts, webcasts, eBooks, award-winning step-by-step advice, and more. .
About the Startupnation’s Founders – The Sloan Brothers
StartupNation co-founders and “chief startupologists,” Rich and Jeff Sloan, are two of the country’s leading small business experts and ran their business from home for eight years. The Sloan brothers speak frequently at entrepreneurial forums and act as sources for top media venues nationwide. They are authors of StartupNation: Open for Business, published by Doubleday, and provide their insight online at www.startupnation.com. The Sloan brothers are regularly quoted and featured in media such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune Small Business, Entrepreneur Magazine, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, FOX News and many others.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Wineglasses Rising
China's newfound obsession with wineby Mike Steinberger - Slate Magazine
A specter is haunting Western wine geeks: the prospect of 1 billion Chinese people besotted with wine. As China becomes an economic colossus, its increasingly voracious appetite for scarce natural resources will inevitably extend to the world's most sought-after wines. If even a tiny fragment of China's population acquires the means and desire to regularly drink the likes of Haut-Brion and Romanée-Conti, the effect on (already high) prices and (already tight) supplies will be profound. And, in fact, the balance of wine-buying power is already shifting eastward: Chinese collectors have furiously sought out one first-growth Bordeaux, Château Lafite; and Hong Kong, which recently lifted all duties on wine, is now poised to rival London and New York as a hub of the global wine trade. Of course, there is always the possibility that China could eventually slake its own growing thirst for cabernets and merlots. China has a long viticultural heritage, and on the back of the country's economic gains, the local wine industry is booming: China is now the world's sixth-largest wine producer. But output is one thing, and quality is another. Might there soon be truly fine wines bearing the "Made in China" label?
The complete story at Slate Magazine
A specter is haunting Western wine geeks: the prospect of 1 billion Chinese people besotted with wine. As China becomes an economic colossus, its increasingly voracious appetite for scarce natural resources will inevitably extend to the world's most sought-after wines. If even a tiny fragment of China's population acquires the means and desire to regularly drink the likes of Haut-Brion and Romanée-Conti, the effect on (already high) prices and (already tight) supplies will be profound. And, in fact, the balance of wine-buying power is already shifting eastward: Chinese collectors have furiously sought out one first-growth Bordeaux, Château Lafite; and Hong Kong, which recently lifted all duties on wine, is now poised to rival London and New York as a hub of the global wine trade. Of course, there is always the possibility that China could eventually slake its own growing thirst for cabernets and merlots. China has a long viticultural heritage, and on the back of the country's economic gains, the local wine industry is booming: China is now the world's sixth-largest wine producer. But output is one thing, and quality is another. Might there soon be truly fine wines bearing the "Made in China" label?
The complete story at Slate Magazine
Monday, June 30, 2008
Winery Taps into the Chinese wine market
Filippi brand to be sold on far-off shelves
Wendy Leung, Staff Writer
San Bernardino Sun: 06/29/2008 07:42:09 PM PDT
The Chinese straying from tea as their beverage of choice shouldn't be hard to believe.
It didn't take long after the red curtain was raised in the late 1970s for China to embrace Coca-Cola.
And when the Germans settled into the eastern port town of Tsingtao, beer quickly reached the lips of those used to rice wine.
But a goblet of cabernet to go with the kung pao?
.....
Marc Curtis started the Redlands-based China Wine Tours, which will have its first group tour in October bringing American wine enthusiasts to visit the wineries in China. Curtis said the wine scene has changed dramatically, and small boutique wineries are popping up in the provinces of Shandong, Shanxi and Xinjiang.
"Right now, China is the sixth-largest wine producing country in the world and experts say by 2058, they'll be No. 1," Curtis said. "I think it's going to be sooner than that."
If that's the case, Chateau China doesn't seem so odd after all and as the country develops a generation of wine snobs, Cucamonga wines could play a role.
Wendy Leung, Staff Writer
San Bernardino Sun: 06/29/2008 07:42:09 PM PDT
The Chinese straying from tea as their beverage of choice shouldn't be hard to believe.
It didn't take long after the red curtain was raised in the late 1970s for China to embrace Coca-Cola.
And when the Germans settled into the eastern port town of Tsingtao, beer quickly reached the lips of those used to rice wine.
But a goblet of cabernet to go with the kung pao?
.....
Marc Curtis started the Redlands-based China Wine Tours, which will have its first group tour in October bringing American wine enthusiasts to visit the wineries in China. Curtis said the wine scene has changed dramatically, and small boutique wineries are popping up in the provinces of Shandong, Shanxi and Xinjiang.
"Right now, China is the sixth-largest wine producing country in the world and experts say by 2058, they'll be No. 1," Curtis said. "I think it's going to be sooner than that."
If that's the case, Chateau China doesn't seem so odd after all and as the country develops a generation of wine snobs, Cucamonga wines could play a role.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
China Wine Tours on CNBC
Check the gallery page of China Wine Tours to see the news story that CNBC's Mike Hegedus did about Chinese Wine and China Wine Tours!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
New report predicts boom in China wine producers
It's the crystal ball of all things wine, the Future of Wine report by London based merchants, Berry Brothers and Rudd. Their prediction? That China's wine producers will lead the world by 2058, rivallling the best of Bordeaux.
Presenter: Bo Hill
Speakers: Marc Curtis, founder China Wine Tours; Steve Clarke, president, China Silk Imports.
HILL: Champagne, Bordeaux, Napa Valley, the Rhine, the Barossa Valley - the names of old and new world wine regions slide over the tongue as easily as, well, a good red. But what about Shanxi?
CURTIS: In Shanxi province is what's considered to be the best wine in China right now is Grace Vineyards and they've become the house wine in such hotels as the Peninsula, and some other very high end hotels, they're so good."
Full article and audio stream at: Radio Australia
Presenter: Bo Hill
Speakers: Marc Curtis, founder China Wine Tours; Steve Clarke, president, China Silk Imports.
HILL: Champagne, Bordeaux, Napa Valley, the Rhine, the Barossa Valley - the names of old and new world wine regions slide over the tongue as easily as, well, a good red. But what about Shanxi?
CURTIS: In Shanxi province is what's considered to be the best wine in China right now is Grace Vineyards and they've become the house wine in such hotels as the Peninsula, and some other very high end hotels, they're so good."
Full article and audio stream at: Radio Australia
Monday, April 28, 2008
China Winery Visit: Bordeaux Style
In March I had the opportunity to visit Chateau Bolongbao in Hebei Province, about an hour outside of Beijing. Also along on the visit was Jim Boyce, author of The Grape Wall of China blog who posted a story and some photos about our visit.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Global Warming to Help China
http://www.indianwineacademy.com/item_1966.aspx
Whether it is toys, computers or silk sarees from India, China can make more and cheaper. Now Mother Nature is also benevolent. With global warming to its aid China is set to become a prominent wine producing country in a few decades.
Speaking at the Climate Change and Wine Conference in Barcelona which was reported in the previous issue of delWine, the Australian consultant on viticulture, Dr Richard Smart said: "In 30 years time, China will be a country better able to adapt to global warming." He was talking on 'global warming and its impact on vines and viticulture' at the conference.
Dr. Smart is already involved in advising Chinese investors looking to purchase suitable wine producing land and they are currently looking at an area close to Beijing.
Smart said that while China, currently 8th largest producer of grapes in the world is very wet near the coast and more arid towards the inland, would provide exciting opportunities in the future, going northwards.
Southern hemisphere regions like Chile, Argentina, Tasmania and New Zealand, as well as Northern Europe and even some parts of China are 'lucky', Smart suggested, as there was room for growers to move to cooler or higher areas to plant grapes.
Growing new varieties of grapes especially for hotter regions would be a crucial industry response to ongoing global warming, he said. Smart also suggested harvesting at night and the utilization of classical breeding rather than molecular techniques as a potential solution.
The conference kicked off with an address from Pancho Campo, President of the Wine Academy of Spain, and local politicians. A spokesman from the Catalan department of climate said, 'There is no point crying over spilt milk. We have to find solutions for our problems and that is exactly what we intend to do today."
President of OIV, the International Organisation for Vine and Wine, Peter Hayes said the challenges being posed by climate change to the wine sector were reflected across the world. 'I hope we might see action on regional planning" adding that it was a question of allocation of resources.'
Whether it is toys, computers or silk sarees from India, China can make more and cheaper. Now Mother Nature is also benevolent. With global warming to its aid China is set to become a prominent wine producing country in a few decades.
Speaking at the Climate Change and Wine Conference in Barcelona which was reported in the previous issue of delWine, the Australian consultant on viticulture, Dr Richard Smart said: "In 30 years time, China will be a country better able to adapt to global warming." He was talking on 'global warming and its impact on vines and viticulture' at the conference.
Dr. Smart is already involved in advising Chinese investors looking to purchase suitable wine producing land and they are currently looking at an area close to Beijing.
Smart said that while China, currently 8th largest producer of grapes in the world is very wet near the coast and more arid towards the inland, would provide exciting opportunities in the future, going northwards.
Southern hemisphere regions like Chile, Argentina, Tasmania and New Zealand, as well as Northern Europe and even some parts of China are 'lucky', Smart suggested, as there was room for growers to move to cooler or higher areas to plant grapes.
Growing new varieties of grapes especially for hotter regions would be a crucial industry response to ongoing global warming, he said. Smart also suggested harvesting at night and the utilization of classical breeding rather than molecular techniques as a potential solution.
The conference kicked off with an address from Pancho Campo, President of the Wine Academy of Spain, and local politicians. A spokesman from the Catalan department of climate said, 'There is no point crying over spilt milk. We have to find solutions for our problems and that is exactly what we intend to do today."
President of OIV, the International Organisation for Vine and Wine, Peter Hayes said the challenges being posed by climate change to the wine sector were reflected across the world. 'I hope we might see action on regional planning" adding that it was a question of allocation of resources.'
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Now, Super-wine to boost your lifespan
London, Jan 8 (ANI): The health benefits of wine have since long been known, but now fans of the fruity cocktail may have something new to cheer about, for Chinese scientists have made a wine made from genetically engineered grapes which might help boost the drinkers longevity.
Yuejin Wang and colleagues at the Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University in Yangling, Shaanxi province, China, have produced a grapevine six times richer in resveratrol the compound in red wine associated with health benefits.
The researchers made the wine equipped it with an extra gene from a wild Chinese vine, reports New Scientist.
Vitus pseudoreticulata has an unusual variant of the stilbene synthase gene, which triggers resveratrol production.
The team plans to make wine from the GM (Genetically Engineered) vine, although their major goal is to make grapevines more resistant to fungus, which is kept in check by resveratrol. (ANI)
Yuejin Wang and colleagues at the Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University in Yangling, Shaanxi province, China, have produced a grapevine six times richer in resveratrol the compound in red wine associated with health benefits.
The researchers made the wine equipped it with an extra gene from a wild Chinese vine, reports New Scientist.
Vitus pseudoreticulata has an unusual variant of the stilbene synthase gene, which triggers resveratrol production.
The team plans to make wine from the GM (Genetically Engineered) vine, although their major goal is to make grapevines more resistant to fungus, which is kept in check by resveratrol. (ANI)
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
New China Wine Tours Video
We have just added a beautiful new video to the China Wine Tours site. Please visit the gallery page and enjoy! You will need to have Quicktime installed in your browser, so be sure to click the "install" link at the top of the page if it opens. If you are unable to do that, you can click the individual file for your internet speed (or right-click to download to your computer)
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
China Wine Tours on "Let's Dine Out" radio show
China Wine Tours appeared on the "Let's Dine Out" radio show on August 11, 2007 to talk about Chinese wine and the tour coming up in March of 2008.
To hear the interview click here. (17.5mb mp3 file)
To hear the interview click here. (17.5mb mp3 file)
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
CHINA WINE TOURS CREATES A UNIQUE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE
Los Angeles, California June 18, 2007 - “Taste the Culture of 5,000 Years™” --China Wine Tours is the first travel organization in the United States with a focus on this exciting new way to visit China. Travelers are introduced to the history and culture of China and to what promises to be more than just the ‘talk of the town’, it will be the talk of the world for those who want to enjoy a unique wine-travel experience. “Our tours are designed to showcase the rapidly growing wine industry in China, along with the ancient sites everyone is familiar with,” said George Aballi, CWT travel agent.
The March 2008 China Wine Tour will feature Sommelier Paolo Wakham who will lead the tour into Chinese wineries. Paolo is a member of the International Court of Master Sommeliers & the Sommeliers Society of Washington, D.C.. He has been passionate about wine, food, tradition, culture & history for decades. He teaches classes on the history & evolution of wine on a regular basis and has toured with many groups throughout the wine regions of the world. “The ‘new frontier’ of the international wine world IS China” according to Paolo. Mr. Wakham's taste buds want to blow the cellar doors off of this once forbidden land so everyone can experience the emerging world of Chinese wine.
It is worth noting that China has good capabilities for vine growing and wine making. It has a wide variety of soils, many different climates and micro-climates, indigenous and imported grapes, as well as a huge population that constitutes a tremendous potential market for wine. China has 5,000 years of history and culture that travelers already enjoy and a 2,000 year history of wine making. China Wine Tours has combined both by inviting travelers to “Taste the Culture of 5,000 Years™.”
The first China Wine Tour is now available for reservations for the March 2008 journey. Details are available at http://www.chinawinetours.com/ or by calling George Aballi at
1-909-793-0328 ext. 311.
ABOUT CHINA WINE TOURS – China Wine Tours travel agents have created unique travel experiences in China for more than 20 years. Visit our website at http://www.chinawinetours.com/.
# # #
B-roll video will be available in late summer of 2007. Contact 1-888-USPLANB or 1-818-998-8833.
The March 2008 China Wine Tour will feature Sommelier Paolo Wakham who will lead the tour into Chinese wineries. Paolo is a member of the International Court of Master Sommeliers & the Sommeliers Society of Washington, D.C.. He has been passionate about wine, food, tradition, culture & history for decades. He teaches classes on the history & evolution of wine on a regular basis and has toured with many groups throughout the wine regions of the world. “The ‘new frontier’ of the international wine world IS China” according to Paolo. Mr. Wakham's taste buds want to blow the cellar doors off of this once forbidden land so everyone can experience the emerging world of Chinese wine.
It is worth noting that China has good capabilities for vine growing and wine making. It has a wide variety of soils, many different climates and micro-climates, indigenous and imported grapes, as well as a huge population that constitutes a tremendous potential market for wine. China has 5,000 years of history and culture that travelers already enjoy and a 2,000 year history of wine making. China Wine Tours has combined both by inviting travelers to “Taste the Culture of 5,000 Years™.”
The first China Wine Tour is now available for reservations for the March 2008 journey. Details are available at http://www.chinawinetours.com/ or by calling George Aballi at
1-909-793-0328 ext. 311.
ABOUT CHINA WINE TOURS – China Wine Tours travel agents have created unique travel experiences in China for more than 20 years. Visit our website at http://www.chinawinetours.com/.
# # #
B-roll video will be available in late summer of 2007. Contact 1-888-USPLANB or 1-818-998-8833.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
