Just a few decades ago drinking grape wines grown and produced in China would have been unimaginable. Which isn't logical considering China has a history of grape planting and winemaking stretching back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220).
Although history states modern winemaking started in 1892, it came to notice in 1980 from a joint venture between Remy Martin and Dynasty Wine Ltd. First reports were mixed, a tasting of the wines left me unimpressed.
One of my more memorable experiences of Chinese grape wine came from Huadong winery close to central Qingdao, when it was established by Michael Parry and Gabriel Tan.
Read more...
Showing posts with label China wine tours. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China wine tours. Show all posts
Monday, November 1, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
China Wine Tours recommended on Simonseeks.com
China Wine Tours has recently been recommended on travel website Simonseeks! In her blog 'Wine tourism around the world' Helen Cross explored some of the more unusual wine tourism destinations including Austria and British Columbia. Helen said ‘I chose to include China in my blog as it’s a destination that I don’t think it’s a destination that people typically associate with wine tourism: I know I didn’t before I started researching for the article. What appealed to me about China Wine Tours was the mix between taking in the rich culture of China and experiencing its unique and varied wine scene.’ Head over to Simonseeks.com to read the post!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
2000 years of China wine history gone?
Monday, October 4, 2010
From what I can tell, wine was first recorded in China's northwest region of Xinjiang Province during the Han Dynasty, beginning about 200BC. That's when one of the emperors brought back both grape seeds and wine makers from the Middle East. While the Han emperor enjoyed the flavor of these wines, somehow the plants and techniques were not passed down.
Read more...
From what I can tell, wine was first recorded in China's northwest region of Xinjiang Province during the Han Dynasty, beginning about 200BC. That's when one of the emperors brought back both grape seeds and wine makers from the Middle East. While the Han emperor enjoyed the flavor of these wines, somehow the plants and techniques were not passed down.
Read more...
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...
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Giddy Times for Chinese Wines
From the Wall Street Journal March 20, 2010
By Stan Sesser
Open the suede-covered case and there's another box inside, this one made of cork. That second box contains a black silk bag with gold decorations. Alongside is a rolled-up scroll, with the signature of the chairman of the board, telling you in both English and Chinese that the $586 you've just spent has bought you a "miracle."
After all this, the bottle of wine inside the silk bag could only be an anticlimax. The label just says that it's a Merlot from Dynasty, one of China's three giant wine producers. There's no information on the vineyard or its location. There's no vintage date on the bottle. Asked about the pricing, He Rujun, Dynasty's East China general manager, said: "Merlot is so hard to grow in China. Dynasty spent 20 years to successfully grow it. Also, it was personally developed by our chairman and the quantity is limited."
...more
By Stan Sesser
Open the suede-covered case and there's another box inside, this one made of cork. That second box contains a black silk bag with gold decorations. Alongside is a rolled-up scroll, with the signature of the chairman of the board, telling you in both English and Chinese that the $586 you've just spent has bought you a "miracle."
After all this, the bottle of wine inside the silk bag could only be an anticlimax. The label just says that it's a Merlot from Dynasty, one of China's three giant wine producers. There's no information on the vineyard or its location. There's no vintage date on the bottle. Asked about the pricing, He Rujun, Dynasty's East China general manager, said: "Merlot is so hard to grow in China. Dynasty spent 20 years to successfully grow it. Also, it was personally developed by our chairman and the quantity is limited."
...more
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
China's wine industry in pictures
The BBC recently posted an article that showed some photos of wineries in China. But the better photos are at Janis Miglav's blog! Janis will be accompanying Chine Wine Tours for the Photographer's Tour of China in September.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
China's wine industry sees opportunity amid global downturn
From People's Daily Online
China's wine industry is having a golden opportunity to boost export as consumers worldwide are seeking wine that tastes fine but costs less, Chinese wine expert said Friday.
"The year 2010 can be a golden opportunity for China's wine export as less expensive wine products are becoming more favored by the international consumers as a result of the global economic downturn," said Wang Yancai, president of China Alcoholic Drinks Industry Association (CADIA).
Winery is a sunrise industry in China with steadily rising domestic and world demand, Wang added. China's wine production in the first 11 months of 2009 grew to 812,200 kiloliters, a year-on-year rise of 21.8 percent.
more...
China's wine industry is having a golden opportunity to boost export as consumers worldwide are seeking wine that tastes fine but costs less, Chinese wine expert said Friday.
"The year 2010 can be a golden opportunity for China's wine export as less expensive wine products are becoming more favored by the international consumers as a result of the global economic downturn," said Wang Yancai, president of China Alcoholic Drinks Industry Association (CADIA).
Winery is a sunrise industry in China with steadily rising domestic and world demand, Wang added. China's wine production in the first 11 months of 2009 grew to 812,200 kiloliters, a year-on-year rise of 21.8 percent.
more...
Friday, December 25, 2009
China's Wine Market
Heard on the Street: China's Wine Market
Is it time to pair your Dim Sum with Bordeaux? Heard on the Street Asia editor Mohammed Hadi talks to China columnist Andrew Peaple about opportunities in China's thriving wine market.
Read More
Is it time to pair your Dim Sum with Bordeaux? Heard on the Street Asia editor Mohammed Hadi talks to China columnist Andrew Peaple about opportunities in China's thriving wine market.
Read More
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Vineyard Voyager - Marc Curtis of China Wine Tours
Raised in a military family that was constantly on the move, American Marc Curtis grew up appreciating travel and different cultures. A career in TV production furthered his passion for experiencing new places and after extensive travels around the world he arrived in China four years ago to set up a business in the domestic tourism industry. Today he operates China Wine Tours, a company that organizes wine tours in China. We spoke with him last month about his background, business and favorite Chinese wines.
TheBeijinger.com
TheBeijinger.com
Monday, November 2, 2009
Republic of Wine
Chinese vineyards are the toast of Shanghai’s finest restaurants, and they may soon come to a cellar near you.
By Charles Foran
At a wine tasting on Shanghai’s famous waterfront, the future of Chinese wine is as bright as the chardonnay.
Through the windows of the seventh-floor dining room at the elegant M on the Bund, Shanghai’s past, present and future appear within the same frame. There is the quaint colonial downtown below and the bustling streets running along the Huangpu River. Across the river glows the Pudong skyline, a lurid vision of a 21st-century Asian cityscape. Joining me this evening to nose, swirl and sip the finest on offer from the Chinese wine industry are the owner of the restaurant, Michelle Garnaut, an Indian essayist and a British poet. We’re here for the Shanghai International Literary Festival, which M on the Bund has hosted for several years.
The Australian Garnaut opened her elegant establishment in 1999, and it has quickly become the most admired restaurant along this historic promenade. Appropriately, the Chinese wines that Garnaut’s restaurant manager, Marcus Ford, assembles also belong to the new century.
Gathering to taste Chinese vintages is itself something of a novelty. Though the Chinese have been drinking wine for thousands of years, only in the last two decades have tastes strayed from the indigenous sweet syrups or the potent liquor known as baijiu, which has toppled many a foreign guest at state banquets. An emerging middle class is developing a palate for the relatively sour Western-style reds and whites. That growing affluence, like the appetite for local vintages, has already made China one of the biggest wine producers in the world. Many convenience stores now stock the cabernets, merlots, chardonnays and pinot noirs that are produced on the approximately 160,000 acres of vines cultivated nationwide.
Full story at EnRoute Air Canada
By Charles Foran
At a wine tasting on Shanghai’s famous waterfront, the future of Chinese wine is as bright as the chardonnay.
Through the windows of the seventh-floor dining room at the elegant M on the Bund, Shanghai’s past, present and future appear within the same frame. There is the quaint colonial downtown below and the bustling streets running along the Huangpu River. Across the river glows the Pudong skyline, a lurid vision of a 21st-century Asian cityscape. Joining me this evening to nose, swirl and sip the finest on offer from the Chinese wine industry are the owner of the restaurant, Michelle Garnaut, an Indian essayist and a British poet. We’re here for the Shanghai International Literary Festival, which M on the Bund has hosted for several years.
The Australian Garnaut opened her elegant establishment in 1999, and it has quickly become the most admired restaurant along this historic promenade. Appropriately, the Chinese wines that Garnaut’s restaurant manager, Marcus Ford, assembles also belong to the new century.
Gathering to taste Chinese vintages is itself something of a novelty. Though the Chinese have been drinking wine for thousands of years, only in the last two decades have tastes strayed from the indigenous sweet syrups or the potent liquor known as baijiu, which has toppled many a foreign guest at state banquets. An emerging middle class is developing a palate for the relatively sour Western-style reds and whites. That growing affluence, like the appetite for local vintages, has already made China one of the biggest wine producers in the world. Many convenience stores now stock the cabernets, merlots, chardonnays and pinot noirs that are produced on the approximately 160,000 acres of vines cultivated nationwide.
Full story at EnRoute Air Canada
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Chinese Wine Market Reports
Two new reports on the business of wine in China have been posted at China Wine Tours.
The first is "China Wine Market" which shows the rapid growth of the wine business, particularly in Southern China's Guangdong Province.
The second is "China Wine Industry 2009" which gives an overview of the wine industry in China and its potential.
Both reports are in Adobe PDF format.
The first is "China Wine Market" which shows the rapid growth of the wine business, particularly in Southern China's Guangdong Province.
The second is "China Wine Industry 2009" which gives an overview of the wine industry in China and its potential.
Both reports are in Adobe PDF format.
Monday, August 31, 2009
China Wine Industry Consulting Services
Now Available!
We can help to set up marketing and sales offices in the big cities in China, particularly in Shanghai and Beijing. Establishing a business in China requires knowledge, experience, and contacts with business and government officials. We have extensive expertise in helping with all the documents needed to start a business, and we can make it easier for you to reach the right people to make it a speedy and smooth process.
We will help with public relations in China, working closely with different government departments using our plentiful resources. We have Chinese experts who have experience in the Chinese government and the International Business Bureau, and also wine related education in the US. Our experts know Western and Eastern culture and have experience in US and Chinese companies as well.
Our team can help to hire quality marketing and sales people with both sales abilities and good public relation skills, especially in Chinese marketing. We also offer training classes to the new employees.
Our contacts can help you find the best Chinese wine business partners.
We offer high level Chinese and English translation with MBA and wine related bachelor degrees from China and the US.
For more information please contact us at our main office: 1-909-362-5217
We can help to set up marketing and sales offices in the big cities in China, particularly in Shanghai and Beijing. Establishing a business in China requires knowledge, experience, and contacts with business and government officials. We have extensive expertise in helping with all the documents needed to start a business, and we can make it easier for you to reach the right people to make it a speedy and smooth process.
We will help with public relations in China, working closely with different government departments using our plentiful resources. We have Chinese experts who have experience in the Chinese government and the International Business Bureau, and also wine related education in the US. Our experts know Western and Eastern culture and have experience in US and Chinese companies as well.
Our team can help to hire quality marketing and sales people with both sales abilities and good public relation skills, especially in Chinese marketing. We also offer training classes to the new employees.
Our contacts can help you find the best Chinese wine business partners.
We offer high level Chinese and English translation with MBA and wine related bachelor degrees from China and the US.
For more information please contact us at our main office: 1-909-362-5217
Saturday, May 16, 2009
AFTERQUAKE Music Project
AFTERQUAKE is an album dedicated to the families affected by the Sichuan earthquakes. Produced by American folk artist Abigail Washburn and electronic artist The Shanghai Restoration Project in cooperation with Sichuan Quake Relief, the project remixes voices and sounds from the China earthquake zone to raise awareness for victims still in need. Visit http://www.afterquakemusic.com
Donate to Sichuan Quake Relief
SQR is a tight-knit, flexible and highly effective organization that makes sure donations make a big difference locally. They investigate the specific needs of each school and each individual to make sure donations take care of the most pressing needs. This money will go to a variety of projects to assist those in need. Keep a close eye on their website www.sichuan-quake-relief.org to see what projects are in progress, donate to a specific project, and sign up for the free SQR newsletter. If you have any difficulty completing your donation, or would like to learn more about other ways you can help, please contact SQR at: info@sichuan-quake-relief.org
Donate to Sichuan Quake Relief
SQR is a tight-knit, flexible and highly effective organization that makes sure donations make a big difference locally. They investigate the specific needs of each school and each individual to make sure donations take care of the most pressing needs. This money will go to a variety of projects to assist those in need. Keep a close eye on their website www.sichuan-quake-relief.org to see what projects are in progress, donate to a specific project, and sign up for the free SQR newsletter. If you have any difficulty completing your donation, or would like to learn more about other ways you can help, please contact SQR at: info@sichuan-quake-relief.org
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
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
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Wine in the World’s Largest Market
GrapeWallofChina.com July 18, 2008
By Jim Boyce
Robert Joseph is founder of the International Wine Challenge, author of The Complete Encyclopedia of Wine, editor-at-large for Wine Business International, and a visitor to China since the mid-1980s. I met him in Beijing last Saturday at China World Hotel and asked him about market trends, wine tourism, the pros and cons of blind tastings, and more.
.....
Tourism and wine links are found throughout China, whether in terms of resorts at Bodega Langes (Hebei) and Chateau Junding (Shandong), more modest facilities at Grace Vineyard (Shanxi) and Yunnan Red (Yunnan), harvest festivals at wineries, or the upcoming inaugural visit by California-based China Wine Tours. If you updated your Wine Travel Guide to the World, what would you write about China?
“China is going to be huge in tourism in all sorts of ways - ingoing and outgoing. The wineries have deep pockets, so I think wine tourism will and should develop in China, and this itself will help to boost wine consumption and make drinking wine a lifestyle activity.”
“At that point, it will be interesting to see China overtake France, ironically, in the sophistication of its wine tourism, just as Argentina and Chile already have. France, despite developments in Napa Valley, in New Zealand, and elsewhere in the New World, has not learned tourism lessons significantly. Arguably, China is already offering better wine tourism than France.”
By Jim Boyce
Robert Joseph is founder of the International Wine Challenge, author of The Complete Encyclopedia of Wine, editor-at-large for Wine Business International, and a visitor to China since the mid-1980s. I met him in Beijing last Saturday at China World Hotel and asked him about market trends, wine tourism, the pros and cons of blind tastings, and more.
.....
Tourism and wine links are found throughout China, whether in terms of resorts at Bodega Langes (Hebei) and Chateau Junding (Shandong), more modest facilities at Grace Vineyard (Shanxi) and Yunnan Red (Yunnan), harvest festivals at wineries, or the upcoming inaugural visit by California-based China Wine Tours. If you updated your Wine Travel Guide to the World, what would you write about China?
“China is going to be huge in tourism in all sorts of ways - ingoing and outgoing. The wineries have deep pockets, so I think wine tourism will and should develop in China, and this itself will help to boost wine consumption and make drinking wine a lifestyle activity.”
“At that point, it will be interesting to see China overtake France, ironically, in the sophistication of its wine tourism, just as Argentina and Chile already have. France, despite developments in Napa Valley, in New Zealand, and elsewhere in the New World, has not learned tourism lessons significantly. Arguably, China is already offering better wine tourism than France.”
Friday, July 25, 2008
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.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Made in China -- wine that may soon rival the best of Bordeaux
BORDEAUX, Burgundy… Xinjiang. by scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com 2008-05-26.
The world's wine map may have to be significantly re-drawn with figures showing more than a glass is being raised to China. Such is the pace of wine consumption in China that last year the country produced more than 700 million bottles with new statistics showing that production will outstrip Australia's by 2009.
Supermarket chain Morrisons has already added two wines from the north-west of China to its portfolio, while London fine wine merchants Berry Brothers & Rudd (BBR) has predicted that, by 2058, China will have all the essential ingredients to make fine wine to rival the best of Bordeaux.
Jasper Morris, senior buyer for BBR, says he expects China's current 400 wineries to grow by more than tenfold with up to a quarter producing fine quality wine.
"I absolutely think China will be a fine wine player rivalling the best wines from France. It is entirely conceivable that, in such a vast country, there will be pockets of land with a terroir and micro-climate well suited to the production of top quality wines."
Wine consumption is rocketing in China. More than a 100 wineries have opened since 1996, swelling the number of vineyards to more than 500.
New figures from the Chinese government, showing the production of 700 million bottles of wine in 2007, indicate that it is the sixth largest producer in the world. This figure is expected to increase substantially over the next five to 10 years, driven by demand from China's burgeoning middle class.
At present, there are 310,000 US dollar millionaires in China and 106 US dollar billionaires. Demand for wine, both domestic and imported, has reached unprecedented levels.
According to Alberto Fernandez, general manager of Torres China, a wine importer with offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, there are currently fewer than 10 well-known Chinese labels but they enjoy "huge consumer awareness" in China and often beat better imported labels for shelf space.
Most vineyards in China are state or collectively owned and subdivided into individual plots of less than half a hectare. Shandong, to the south-east of Beijing, is the largest producer. Having the same latitude to California, it is one of the most suitable regions for producing wines.
In the north-west, Xinjiang province is also a major producer but its production is hampered by the bitterly cold winters.
Chinese wine typically sells for 35 yuan (£2.60) a bottle, although some finer varieties can sell for over 400 yuan (£29). For example, China Torres sells a bottle of Chairman's Reserve, a blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot, from the Grace vineyard in Shanxi region, for 405 yuan.
Foreign wines sell for over 100 yuan at the lower end, and fine wines go for thousands of yuan.
Philippe Larue, director of Scottish wine merchants l'Art du Vin, said: "It goes very well with Chinese food. You can grow grapes almost anywhere in the world now, so why not China? But when they like something they are very good at systematically recreating it. If they want to make good wine, they will learn and copy it and try and make it the best in the world.
"They also have to find their own identity. There is no point in just recreating the great wines of Europe. Rather like Argentina made the Malbec grape variety its own, China will have to find something that represents what they are producing."
The news comes as Hong Kong is set to overtake London as the wine market and storage centre of choice for Asia's wealthy. Most of the region's super rich buy and store their fine wines in London, but auction house Bonhams has already held its first auction of wine there in a decade, while New York wine merchant Acker Merrall & Condit is holding one in Hong Kong next Sunday.
The world's wine map may have to be significantly re-drawn with figures showing more than a glass is being raised to China. Such is the pace of wine consumption in China that last year the country produced more than 700 million bottles with new statistics showing that production will outstrip Australia's by 2009.
Supermarket chain Morrisons has already added two wines from the north-west of China to its portfolio, while London fine wine merchants Berry Brothers & Rudd (BBR) has predicted that, by 2058, China will have all the essential ingredients to make fine wine to rival the best of Bordeaux.
Jasper Morris, senior buyer for BBR, says he expects China's current 400 wineries to grow by more than tenfold with up to a quarter producing fine quality wine.
"I absolutely think China will be a fine wine player rivalling the best wines from France. It is entirely conceivable that, in such a vast country, there will be pockets of land with a terroir and micro-climate well suited to the production of top quality wines."
Wine consumption is rocketing in China. More than a 100 wineries have opened since 1996, swelling the number of vineyards to more than 500.
New figures from the Chinese government, showing the production of 700 million bottles of wine in 2007, indicate that it is the sixth largest producer in the world. This figure is expected to increase substantially over the next five to 10 years, driven by demand from China's burgeoning middle class.
At present, there are 310,000 US dollar millionaires in China and 106 US dollar billionaires. Demand for wine, both domestic and imported, has reached unprecedented levels.
According to Alberto Fernandez, general manager of Torres China, a wine importer with offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, there are currently fewer than 10 well-known Chinese labels but they enjoy "huge consumer awareness" in China and often beat better imported labels for shelf space.
Most vineyards in China are state or collectively owned and subdivided into individual plots of less than half a hectare. Shandong, to the south-east of Beijing, is the largest producer. Having the same latitude to California, it is one of the most suitable regions for producing wines.
In the north-west, Xinjiang province is also a major producer but its production is hampered by the bitterly cold winters.
Chinese wine typically sells for 35 yuan (£2.60) a bottle, although some finer varieties can sell for over 400 yuan (£29). For example, China Torres sells a bottle of Chairman's Reserve, a blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot, from the Grace vineyard in Shanxi region, for 405 yuan.
Foreign wines sell for over 100 yuan at the lower end, and fine wines go for thousands of yuan.
Philippe Larue, director of Scottish wine merchants l'Art du Vin, said: "It goes very well with Chinese food. You can grow grapes almost anywhere in the world now, so why not China? But when they like something they are very good at systematically recreating it. If they want to make good wine, they will learn and copy it and try and make it the best in the world.
"They also have to find their own identity. There is no point in just recreating the great wines of Europe. Rather like Argentina made the Malbec grape variety its own, China will have to find something that represents what they are producing."
The news comes as Hong Kong is set to overtake London as the wine market and storage centre of choice for Asia's wealthy. Most of the region's super rich buy and store their fine wines in London, but auction house Bonhams has already held its first auction of wine there in a decade, while New York wine merchant Acker Merrall & Condit is holding one in Hong Kong next Sunday.
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