La dolce Vi.Te: China wineries head to Italy

Set the course due west: China wineries Jiangyu from Shandong and Silver Heights are heading to Italy this week.

Both will participate in the event ‘La Via della Vite: A Natural Wine Journey Across Eurasia’ spearheaded by Wine to Asia (Veronafiere), ahead of its annual trade fair in Shenzhen in May, and by Vignaioli e Territori (VI.TE.), an association focused on natural wines.

The event is slated for April 12 at Vino Esclamativo, in the historical city of Mantua, with nine wineries from Italy, China and Austria, a brewer from South Korea and a cheese partner. Both Chinese wineries have ties to Italy.

Silver Heights CEO Marco Milani, who has helped spread the brand around the globe, hails from Italy.

And Jiangyu is the sole producer I know in China of Grechetto, a grape that originally hails from Greece but is most associated with central Italy, notably Umbria. That connection excites owner Jiangyu,

“It will be very interesting to present my wines, especially Grechetto, in Italy because that is its home country,” he posted online. “I never expected to bring it back to where it comes from, but life is full of surprises, so let’s just rock.”

Given Jiangyu participated in last year’s Wine to Asia, in some sense things have come full circle.

See Wine to Asia’s WeChat post on this week’s event here. And the poster below for more details.

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