The National Open Development Comprehensive Pilot Zone for Grape and Wine Industry opened on July 10 in Minning Township, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, northwest China.

The municipality lies between the 37th and 39th degrees north and is considered the "golden zone" for growing grapes.

The pilot zone is the first of its kind in China.

On a planned area of ​​more than 500 square kilometers, around 66,667 hectares of vineyards with an estimated production value of 100 billion yuan (about 15.4 billion US dollars) are to be built within five years.

For the next 15 years, the goal of the wine-growing region is to have vineyards covering an area of ​​approximately 100,000 hectares and a total production value of 200 billion yuan.

"If that goal can be achieved, the pilot zone will become one of the largest quality wine-growing areas in the world," said Sui Pengfei of the International Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China at the opening ceremony.

CONTACT TO THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET

In 2021, wineries from the Ningxia wine-growing region won 80 medals, including three large gold medals, 43 gold medals and 34 silver medals, at the Concours Mondial De Bruxelles, which took place in Brussels in mid-June.

With this, wineries from Ningxia took first place in the medal table among all wine-growing regions in China.

Cao He, winemaker at Chateau Vegani in Minning, won the great gold medal at the international competition in Belgium with his Matheran wine.

"The most interesting and fulfilling thing as a winemaker is brewing the wine you want by carefully controlling the grape growing and manufacturing process, and everyone says yes after trying it," said 33-year-old Cao.

Founded in 2014, Vegani Winery currently boasts around 33.33 hectares of vineyards and produces around 130,000 bottles of wine per year.

China's modern wine industry started late compared with the major international wine producers.

The Helan Mountains wine region is even younger.

The first bottle of wine was made in the desert region in 1984.

A Chinese TV drama series showing how viticulture and livestock were part of poverty alleviation measures in the Minning community received millions of views on YouTube.

The Chinese drama "Shanhaiqing" has the English title "Minning Town".

Within a few decades, the edge of the Gobi Desert was reshaped by extensive vineyards irrigated with water from the Yellow River.

Currently, the area of ​​the vineyards in Ningxia makes up a quarter of the total area under vines in China and produces 36 high-quality grape varieties.

There are 211 chateaus that are either completed or under construction, with an annual production of 130 million bottles of wine, which is 60 percent of the wine produced in China.

The Chilean ambassador to China Luis Schmidt Montes conveyed his congratulations on the start of the pilot zone for wine.

The path outlined by this initiative for the grape and wine industry in Ningxia will allow that industry to develop to compete side-by-side with the most prominent wine regions in the world, he said.

Pioneering role

By designating the wine-growing region as a national pilot zone, China hopes to optimize the development of the entire wine-producing industry and introduce measures and standards from the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) to help regulate the sector.

The establishment of the pilot zone, according to Sui Pengfei of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, can encourage government departments and market participants to "boldly try" all measures and models that can contribute to industrial development.

The beautiful architecture of the chateaus and the wine tasting areas have made the wineries popular tourist destinations.

"Over the past year, our winery received an average of more than a dozen visitors a day, including free travelers, wine enthusiasts and traders," said Zhang Xueyan, owner of Ningxia Huangkou Winery.

In 2020, the winery had sales of 13.95 million yuan.

This year, sales of the winery's red wines are more than eight million yuan before the high season.

Zhang stated her belief that the wine-growing region will become more and more internationally competitive with the preferential conditions of the pilot zone.

Christelle Chene from the famous Burgundy wine region in France joined the Xige Estate winery in Ningxia in 2019 to work on promoting the winery's local products in the world market.

"In Ningxia, I have my favorite wine taste, with a rich, fruity aroma and delicate tannins. I want to promote the wines from here around the world," she said.

The wine and grape industry has become an important pillar of Ningxia's sustainable economic development and offers more than 120,000 jobs.

Vineyards grown in deserts also have ecological functions in water and soil conservation.

Qu Dongyu, Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, sent a letter of congratulations on the start of the pilot zone.

"As one of the important origins of ancient farming civilizations in East Asia and because it is at the heart of grape production areas, Ningxia enjoys considerable advantages and enormous potential for developing grape and wine industries with distinct regional characteristics," said Qu in his congratulatory letter .