Winemakers Without Wineries: A Three-Man Show at Wine to Asia

A trio of China’s most intriguing winemakers will headline a Wine to Asia forum and tasting in Shenzhen this Friday titled, “Wine on the Go: Nomadic Winemakers, Local Terroir & The Rise of Chinese Style.”

Wines from two of the speakers–Ian Dai of Xiaopu and Luo Yuchen of FARMentation—entered the New York Market last week. The panel is rounded out by Ma Jie of Petit Mont.

All three have spent extensive time over the past half-dozen years as “winemakers without wineries”–visiting over a half-dozen regions, sourcing grapes, renting equipment, and creating small-batch brands.

This trend is at odds with much of the Chinese wine sector, which features operations with ornate chateaus and cellars focused on making wines with Bordeaux varietals that appeal to contest judges and wine critics in the hopes that the ensuing medals and scores will appeal to consumers. So far, sales have been fleeting.

Winemakers like Dai, Luo and Ma are blazing a different path, carving niches and creating consumer followings with quirky wines made nationwide. Along with appealing to younger wine consumers in search of new experiences, I also see such wines at coffee, whisky and craft beer festivals.

This trio will share their wine and experience this Friday at 11 AM in Shenzhen–Grape Wall of China is a supporter of this project.

(Get the free Grape Wall newsletter here. Follow on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Grape Wall has no sponsors: help support the mission, including World Marselan Day via PayPal, WeChat or Alipay. Contact Grape Wall at grapewallofchina (at) gmail.com.)