Northwest China's Ningxia region: From vine to global wine stage

Wine glasses clinked as enthusiasts in New York savored the rich flavors of various red and white wines from the eastern foothills of Ningxia's Helan Mountain.

More than 100 people attended the promotion of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region's specialty industries at the Chinese Consulate General on Monday evening, where they enjoyed wine and a goji berry-tasting.

It was the Ningxia delegation's second visit to the United States this year, as the region in Northwest China is trying to widen its market in the US and internationally.

The Fourth China International Wine Culture and Tourism Expo will be hosted by the regional government from Aug 9 to 11 in Yinchuan, Ningxia's capital, and welcomes winemakers and visitors from around the world to join and taste the wine, the delegation announced.

"I've heard that people who are separated by an ocean can be brought together by a glass of wine," David Adelman, managing director and general counsel of asset manager Krane Funds Advisors and a trustee of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, told China Daily.

"I've been to vineyards in Argentina, South Africa, of course, California. So, I've been lucky enough in my life to taste some nice wine," he said, noting that he is still learning more about wine from China. "I think China will do a magnificent job promoting its wine across the world, including the US," he added.

The wine region lies at Helan Mountain and stretches along the Yellow River, forming a corridor seen as a golden zone for the high-quality growth of wine grapes, with more than 2,800 hours of sunshine a year and less than 8 inches of rainfall.

It is the largest area for growing wine grapes in China, covering 40,133 hectares (99,170 acres), with 128 wineries producing 140 million bottles of wine. The output value is $5.5 billion, and the wine is exported to 40 countries according to data from the delegation.

The region grows grapes for wines such as cabernet sauvignon, merlot, marselan, riesling and others.

Ningxia's wines have won more than 1,000 honors internationally, including the Decanter, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles and the Berliner Wein Trophy.

The region's venture into winemaking began in the 1980s and has since grown significantly, attracting winemakers and companies from China and the West.

"Not only does the wine offer an excellent taste, but it also provides the region with massive job opportunities, lifting residents out of poverty," said Bai Yuzhen, the director-general of the Ningxia foreign affairs office.

"Wine is a great connector, and it's a cultural product in many countries of the world," said Pablo Piñeiro Aramburu, consul general of Argentina in New York. "I think it has a great future.

"It has improved enormously. It has a lot of potential, and today we have a very good wine," he said, recalling that when he started his career in China years ago, the wine industry in Ningxia had just started.

"It needed development; wine needs a lot of time to evolve and become a better product," he said. "And now, today, I was impressed."

"I didn't know anything about it, so it was very educational to understand that. I knew that [in China], we're producing wine, but not to this extent. It's very informative," said Francesco Rizzo Marullo, chairman of the United Nations World Cultural Arts Organization.

"I tried the wine, and I liked it. So, as an Italian, I think it's a compliment," he said. "It's a good wine what we tasted tonight. It was really good. It's something I would drink on a day-by-day basis.''

He said that when people are dining with others of different nationalities and cultures, wine is a good cultural ambassador that connects people easily.

"I've been to China twice. And so next time I can add Ningxia to my bucket list," he said.