Updated Monday, January 22, 2024-00:05
Although Yantai sounds Chinese to most of us (and rightly so), the truth is that it is
one of the oldest and most powerful wine regions in China
.
A cultivation area of 19,000 hectares, 204 wine companies and
63 prestigious wineries
make up an emerging destination in wine tourism with a long wine tradition behind it that dates back to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), when Italian monks established missions Catholics in China and planted European varieties.
Although commercial expansion would not arrive until the end of the 19th century with the help of what is today
the most important winery in the country: Changyu
, founded in 1892 by Zhang Bishi in Yantai, Shandong, the cradle of the Chinese wine industry.
Last December, the
first official presentation of Chinese wines in Spain was held in Madrid.
A tasting attended by representatives of the Yantai wine industry chain with a clear objective: to move forward hand in hand and promote dialogue to open a new chapter to international exchanges and cooperation in the sector and, why not, begin prepare the ground to gain a place in our cards.
Because the expansion of Chinese wine is silent but no less ambitious.
Barrels in the Changyu Wine winery.© Changyu Wine
China has the third largest area of vineyards in the world,
behind Spain and France, with more than 780,000 hectares, it ranks sixth in world wine production and fifth in terms of consumption.
An unstoppable market that, inspired by the Western model, concentrates all its efforts on wine tourism and exports.
Until now, 80% of Chinese wine was drunk in the country.
Until now.
China aspires to be the largest wine producer and the country with the largest vineyard area on the planet.
They already own a hundred Bordeaux chateaûx and
nearly 300 Chinese wines have won medals in the most prestigious international awards.
Not to mention the construction of the New Changyu International Wine City, the most spectacular wine theme park in the world, with more than 400 hectares and a mega winery capable of producing 400,000,000 bottles a year.
So why have they been slow to approach the West?
The answer is obvious for Ziyang Zhang, official ambassador of the Yantai region and director of the Peñín China Guide: "Because it was not the right time. The Chinese wine industry is young and historically has a lot of relations with France, but
the mentality of the sector of Chinese wine is changing
and is beginning to understand that it is necessary to travel to learn from other countries with a great wine culture like Spain. The quality of Spanish wines is increasingly known in China. We come to present our wines, but also to listen to the opinion of the experts.
Panoramic of the city of Yantai.SHUTTERSTOCK
So it was.
During the tasting, experts from the national sector such as
José Ramón Lisarrague, oenologist, professor
and head of viticulture research at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, did not hesitate to express their opinion on what they consider a "lack of identity" of the wines. Chinese wines: "I am not sure that French varieties are the most suitable for this region, but the problem is 'the whole': the climate, the viticulture, the style of wine, the market, etc. They are not isolated facts. No matter how much you try to imitate the Bordeaux model, it is a set that can and must be defined," he stated.
China's curiosity about the Spanish market is not new, although it has been increased by an improvement in the quality and image of the national product that, for a few years, has been reaching the Asian continent.
As a result of this renewed interest in our wines, in 2015, Yantai Changyu Pioneer Wine Co.
announced the acquisition of the Spanish winery Marqués del Atrio
, which marked the beginning of accelerated development of cooperation between both parties.
In 2022, Yantai successfully joined the Madrid-based Global Wine Tourism Organization (GWTO), further deepening the cooperation between Madrid and Yantai in the wine industry.
Bottle of wine from Changyu Wine.© Changyu Wine
"The Yanta
i region seeks to strengthen its presence in Spain through Chinese gastronomy
, offering fans the possibility of trying oriental wine in their favorite restaurants," adds the also oenological advisor to the Chinese Embassy in Spain.
"It is not a competitor but a complement to the Spanish wine market. We are aware that the quality of Chinese wine is still not as high as that of Spanish or French wines for many reasons. In addition, the cost of Chinese wine is higher because most of the wineries are young, as are the vineyards. This means that the prices are not going to be cheap, they are not going to be able to compete with European wines directly.
Hence, the pairing with Asian gastronomy is going to be the clue
".
Be that as it may, the truth is that to try the wines of the Chinese region in our country we will still have to wait.
"At the moment, we do not have importers of Chinese wines in Spain, but in foreign Asian markets such as South Korea, Japan or the United States, they are, although in small quantities," concludes Ziyang Zhang.
Long Dai, the Chinese Château Lafite that costs 300 euros
If there is a milestone that champions and contrasts both the quality and possibilities of Chinese wines, it is the interest that led the
Bordeaux giant Château Lafite to produce wines in the Yantai region
a few years ago .
Located in northeast China, near the city of Penglai, Shandong province, Domaine de Long Dai is the Asian whim of Chateau Baron de Rothschild.
The vines were planted in 2011 in accordance with the agricultural practices of the region, on terraces and on mostly granite soils.
The temperate climate with mild winters makes this
the only place in China where it is not necessary to bury the vines to protect them from the cold
. The winery's flagship, Long Dai, is made there, whose first vintage appeared in 2017. A
coupage
of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Marselan (the Chinese grape that has earned the label of native) aged in French barrels built in Lafite, whose price in hospitality exceeds 300 euros without breaking the bank.