China winery photo essay: Great Wall in Hebei Province

November 24, 2011 Uncategorized 1

By Jim Boyce

Great Wall is part of COFCO, a Fortune Global 500 company, and produces over 100 million bottles of wine per year. COFCO also buys wineries overseas, with relatively recent purchases in Chile and France, sponsors major events, including the Beijing Olympics and Shanghai World Expo, and is involved in everything from wine clubs to importing wine to local brands Chateau SunGod and Chateau Junding.

I  joined wine maker and professor Li Demei on a trip to the Great Wall operation in Hebei Province, just outside Beijing, a few years ago. Below are eight photos from the journey and of the vineyard. I have two more Great Wall posts coming: one about the cellar and the other about the production facilities.

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No, there's not a second lesser-known wall called “Gret”. It's just a typo. The real thing is straight ahead.
If you are going to be stuck in traffic, you might as well be looking at one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
We had a hearty lunch before heading to the vineyard.
We had a hearty lunch before heading to the vineyard.
Grapes share the land with crops such as corn.
The right canopy has been trimmed, the left one has not, to see the effects.
The rows are far enough apart that a tractor can drive through.
This indicates how high soil must be piled on the vine to protect it during winter.
Inspecting Dragon's Eye grapes...

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More Great Wall posts are coming soon…

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