Bubble up: Ningxia’s Helan Qingxue makes sparkling wine

One of China’s best-known winemakers is making something that fits her personality: bubbly Zhang Jing of Ningxia-based Helan Qingxue is working on her first batch of sparkling wine.

Zhang is using a mix of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes for her ‘traditional’ method sparkling wine.

Best-known for elegant Bordeaux-style blends, Zhang won some fame in the trade when Helan Qingxue was awarded an international medal at the 2011 Decanter awards.

But she has also worked widely with other grapes, including Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Marselan and Malbec. Last year, she tried her hand at basket press Pinot Noir.

The best-known sparkling wine in Ningxia is from Domaine Chandon, though we see a growing number of producers making pet-nat, including Lingering Clouds, Xiao Pu and Mountain Wave.

Grape Wall has no sponsors of advertisers: if you find the content and projects like World Marselan Day worthwhile, please help cover the costs via PayPal, WeChat or Alipay.

Sign up for the free Grape Wall newsletter here. Follow Grape Wall on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. And contact Grape Wall via grapewallofchina (at) gmail.com.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply