Hello Ninhao: ‘America’s First Chinese Only Wine Menu’

Chinese restaurant Ninhao in New York has launched what it bills as the first U.S. wine menu focused solely on Chinese brands.

Based in Brooklyn, Ninhao features dishes from around China, including Hunan, Sichuan and Fujian provinces, plus ten wines by the glass starting from USD15. A trio of three-ounce pours is USD48.

Though modest in size, the by-the-glass menu offers diversity.

It covers four regions / provinces of China, plus a range of styles, from a pet-nat and a skin-contact wine to still whites and reds.

More impressively, ten grapes are represented, and show that China is now beyond simply focusing on Bordeaux varieties.

The lineup includes Black Muscat, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Grasevina (Welschriesling), Marselan, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Roussanne, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier.

This feels like a something-for-everyone kind of menu!

The ten wines, from seven producers, hail from China Wine Club, which began to import to New York about one year ago. The producers include:

• Canaan (Hebei)
• Shofang (Hebei)
• Cellar Project (Ningxia)
• Xianghai (Xinjiang)
• Farmentation (multiple regions)
• Petit Mont (multiple regions)
• XiaoPu (multiple regions)

For more about China Wine Club, check out these links:

• Start Spreading the News: Chinese Wines Enter New York Market

• Keep Spreading the News: More Chinese Wines Head for New York

• Q&8: Buoyed by Success, Camden Hauge Brings More Chinese Wine to New York

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