You don’t find a lot of Müller-Thurgau in China. And to find it in single-varietal skin-contact form? Well, I’ve only tasted such a wine once, earlier this month at Canaan winery just outside of Beijing, and it was delicious. And that was far from the only tasty orange wine served.
I tagged along with Shuai Zekun, a senior editor for jamesuckling.com, to taste 50-plus wines from the sibling / neighboring operations Canaan and Domaine Franco-Chinois (DFC) in Huailai County, with chief winemaker Zhao Desheng and his team.
(A side note that should be a headline: Zhao is marking 20 years with DFC, a milestone that should merit some kind of anniversary blend, no?)
These wines are good across the board: skillfully balanced mergers of fruit, wood and complexity. And the combination of Canaan and DFC wines means plenty of options for aficionados.
Still whites such as Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Reds from Syrah, Cabernet and Pinot Noir to Merlot, Tempranillo and Marselan, with DFC the first place in China that latter variety was planted. An Ehrenfelser! And always near the finish is that delectable late-harvest Petit Manseng, which has long been one of my all-time favorite Chinese wines.
Even better, we also tasted some wines from fellow Huailai operations Amethyst, Martin and SunGod.
But what really caught my eye, and my taste buds, were those skin-contact wines.
It started with a Riesling, a fresh light juicy easy-drinking number that gave me different aromas each time I stuck my nose in the glass. Gingerbread. Tangerine. Nuts. “Mango,” said Shuai. And cloves that lingered at the finish. When your tasting notes say “super fun”, it gives you an idea of a mood evoked.
The Muller-Thurgau offered refreshing acidity and light easy tannins, with ripe stone fruit and hints of tropical fruit and candied ginger. Refreshing, with a pleasant stone fruit tartness at the finish. Simply a nice mix of fruit, acidity and tannins.
And there were more, including a Chardonnay (the juiciest one tried, a party in a glass with some fresh tangerine offsetting orange peel and clove), a Muscat Blanc (with six weeks of skin contact and slightly less playful than that Chardonnay) and a Chenin Blanc (I picked up more subtle fruit aromas and flavors here, including melon and pear).
These are going to be released in small quantities–we are talking about hundreds rather than thousands of bottles each–and to likely retail at around RMB300 (don’t quote me on that!).
I hoped to buy a few bottles on the way out, but no such luck, so it’s just a matter of waiting. But it will be interesting to try that Riesling and Müller-Thurgau again, especially as they rank among the better orange wines I tasted this year, up there with Puchang’s Rkatsiteli, a delectable wine that deserves its own post!
One of the China’s top wineries is getting into the spirt, literally. Shanxi-based Grace Vineyard, which has ranked among the country’s leaders in blending quality wine and good value for more than two decades, is on the verge of launching a series of gins.
Grace CEO Judy Chan posted a video this month of the team doing an outdoor photo shoot of a bottle and wrote, “Looking forward to sharing our gin with you.”
The gin in the photo above is called ‘Twilight’, with a blend of botanicals unique to Grace. Word is there are a handful of gins in the works, including ones inspired by passionfruit and one by jasmine tea.
The gins are made in Fujian province, where Grace bought a distillery with the aim of making whisky, but that has the capacity for other spirits, too.
The spirits project got an extra push in late 2020 when Grace announced it would ease development on its Ningxia operation and use funds to speed up progress on gin and whiskey. That decision worked well given the Ningxia winery already had enough scale to be unaffected.
Chan wrote about adding the new whisky and gin production line in her annual report for 2019, adding that it would boost Grace’s product range and help open a new market, Fujian, although she also noted that the times were difficult given the COVID crisis.
Chief winemaker Lee Yeanyean has seen his job description expanding with these new projects while he still continues to oversee the Shanxi and Ningxia wine operations. He told me learning about whisky has been an eye-opener.
“Winemaking is more about terroir while whisky is more about controlling processes,” he told me. “For distilling, controlling for factors such as malt, wort clarity, temperature and so on can be done much quicker.”
In the end, the gin and whisky will give Grace a greater footprint in the alcohol market, and also spread risk at a time when China’s wine sector is undergoing major stress.
And it doesn’t mean Grace has lost focus on wine, either. The company has been steadily introducing new products for two decades, from a range of sparkling wines to grape varieties like Aglianico and Marselan to a new multi-vintage Chairman’s Reserve red blend. That continues today, with vineyard experiments on varieties such as Sangiovese, Saperavi and Tempranillo.
“Flying winemaker” sounds like a high-falutin’ job with trips to exotic destinations and saving-the-day — and vintage — heroics. But “driving winemaker”? Not so much.
But that’s the life of Deng Zhongxiang, a wine consultant in Ningxia who averages some 200 kilometers per day on that region’s lonely roads.
Last month, I wrote a Wine-Searcher profile of Deng, who studied at University of Burgundy and spent time at a trio of French wineries before settling in Ningxia in 2012, where he consults for seven wineries, including some that rank among China’s best.
And where makes wines unique to each operation’s soil, climate and owner demands, while working with grapes from Viognier and Vidal to Marselan and Malbec to Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. That includes orange wines and pet-nats, too. He’s a busy guy, one that one wine bar owner called “The Michel Rolland of China.” (If Rolland only sped about to his clients in a car. And sometimes on a bicycle. See below.)
A few quotes from the article:
“Domaine Charme’s Marselan is often broodingly concentrated but structured due to the rocky soils in Jinshan [sub-region],” explains Shuai of jamessuckling.com. “This is different from, let’s say, Lansai’s Marselan, which is a lot more expressive and silkier. The same can be said for the Cabernets. Deng highlights the characteristics of the terroirs in different appellations.”
At Mountain Wave, one of Deng’s newer clients, his first project was blending three grapes rarely planted together: Pinot Noir, Marselan and Malbec. The resulting ‘PMM’ turned out well and this year Deng is also making pet-nats for each of those three grapes. “We always had some idea of doing sparkling wines,” says owner Melvin Li. “Deng was deeply involved and gave really good suggestions about the quality and design of our tanks while building our winery.”
With winter coming, Deng will again find himself alone on those roads, although it will be easier than during the past three years when “zero COVID” regulations forced him to shift at times from “driving winemaker” to “bicycling winemaker” or even “walking winemaker” to reach his clients. (“I had to do it,” he says. “There are so many wines for which I need to take responsibility. My job needs to get done.”)
Check out the full Wine Searcher story here, with quotes from Shuai Zekun of jamesuckling.com, Zhang Pai of Domaine Charme, Melvin Li of Mountain Wave, Yu Xiaojia of Lansai and Isabella Ko of wine bar / restaurant The Merchants.
“Images of vineyards beneath blue skies, of grape-stained hands at a sorting line; of vividly colored must; of tired but happy people sharing meals after a long day. This all offers a sense of wine far beyond the tasting notes on a back label.”
Check out my Wine-Searcher story about the trend of bar and restaurant owners in China heading to the country’s vineyard and wineries to make private labels.
While the total volume of these wines is small, the trend is about more than simple production. It is also about sharing the wine-making experience via social media and creating stories that intrigue customers.
And, IMHO, it is also another example of the wine bar business finding success in much the same way as craft beer, namely, exclusive products.
One attraction of brew pubs is you can only get a given producer’s beers at that site. This makes the visit more fun and intriguing for more adventures drinkers.
The same can be said for “craft wines.” Many brands can be found across wine bars, which often leads the consumer to start scanning the label to check prices! But with this DIY wines, consumers will only be able to get them at the specific wine bar, thus giving them another reason to visit and to then possibly try and by some other wines.
Anyway, the story includes quotes by Ian Dai of Xiao Pu and Luo Yuchen of FARMentation, both working with bars and restaurants on such wines.
Plus, Jiro Hsu of BASTARD and Andrew Moo of Yaya’s Pasta House, both in Shanghai, who are creating their own private labels.
Plus, Wang Shenghan aka “Lady Penguin”, a top wine KOL making her first wine with consultant Deng Zhongxiang. (Also see my profile of Deng in a recent Wine-Searcher story.)
A few quotes:
“The great thing is [these natural wines bars] introduce a lot of nontraditional consumers to wine, maybe because of the fruitiness or the nice labels or for whatever reason,” says [winemaker] Luo, who sees growth tied to more easy-drinking” wines.
“We made a blend of red (Pinot Noir) and white (Chardonnay),” says Hsu. “It represents Bastard and is also a ‘glou-glou’ daily drinking wine. It’s not funky at all.”
“If it’s possible, [the clients] pick the fruit or definitely help crush the fruit,” says Dai. “We prefer they stay until the wine is ready to go into a barrel, which is a seven-day process at least.”
“It’s turned into wine,” wrote Wang in one post while holding a glass with a tank sample. “It’s like a mother watching her daughter grow up… It is our hope that our wine can offer a good example of Chinese ‘affordable fine wine’ to a bigger crowd.
“In our collaborations with restaurant and bars, we find they are willing to make more experimental stuff,” says Dai. “They might make a Marselan rose while blending in a little Italian Riesling. Or make an Italian Riesling while adding a little Marselan for color.” That gives winemakers the green light for projects that might otherwise exist only in a notebook.’
According to the data, exports of Australian wine to mainland China for the year ending September 30 totaled just 1 million liters (down 80 percent) worth US$7.3 million (down 65 percent). That put China behind more than two dozen markets, including Finland, India, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.
That was also down from USD20.9 million in exports to China one year earlier. And a distant cry from 30 October 2019 when Wine Australia posted that exports to China, including Hong Kong and Macau, then topped USD1.25 billion. More than USD1.1 billion of that was for Mainland China alone.
US, Asia top markets
The top export markets for Australia this past year were the United States (USD366.3 million), United Kingdom (USD353.9 million), Hong Kong (USD205 million), Canada (USD147.5 million) and Singapore (USD116.6 million).
Looking at the bigger picture, Australian wine exports declined globally by over 10 percent. Per Wine Australia’s summary:
“In the year ended September 2023, Australian wine exports declined by 11 per cent in value to $1.79 billion and 4 per cent in volume to 604 million litres (67 million 9-litre case equivalents). The average value declined by 7 per cent to a to $2.96 per litre free on board (FOB). Total export value has been on a downward trend since peaking at $3.1 billion in the 12 months end October 2020.”
Despite almost zero exports to mainland China, Asia still had a slight lead as top regional destination, with a 33 percent share of value versus Europe at 30 per cent and North America at 29 per cent.
Market Turmoil
The data comes at a time when the China market itself is struggling, with decreasing overall imports as well as local production the past half-dozen years. Given the uncertain economy, and the presence of stocks of Australian wine in China even three years after the tariffs hit, retaking a significant amount of market share in the near term is bound to be a daunting task for Australian producers.
Australia’spowerhouse Treasury Wine Estates and its Penfolds brand, which had more import value than individual countries such as Spain, Italy and the United States in 2019, have kept a steady China presence during the past three years by holding tastings, making wines, importing Penfolds labels from France and the United States, cooperating with the China Alcoholic Drinks Association, which spearheaded the tariffs in the first place, and more. Most recently, Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago visited Yunnan in China, where the company is working on a top-end wine.
“I will be doing events while I’m here [in Yunnan] this week, with locals, with government and hopefully with the China Alcoholic Drinks Association,” said Gago, per a recent article in The Australian. Referencing Penfolds nearly 180-year history, he also was quoted as saying, “We are looking at the next 180 years. There are going to be blips and hurdles–tariffs was one of them–but when you look at that across 180 years it’s just a blip.”
Finally, I’ve been talking to a lot of people about the prospects for Australian wine in China should the tariffs be lifted and will be posting more about that soon.
[This info originally appeared in the Grape Wall newsletter. Sign up here.]
There is a chill in the air these days, due to both the coming winter season and the continued stagnation of the wine scene.
But one area is hot: Ningxia.
This promising north-central region just finished fourth in a “top wine regions” list, besting places such as Napa, Barossa, Tuscany and Champagne and trailing only Bordeaux, Rioja and Mendoza. Burgundy finished a distant eleventh. A second list of “The Best Wines of the World” saw 19 Chinese producers rank in a “top 100” headed by DBR Lafite (see below).
Source: Ningxia News
“The Top Wine Regions of the World” was spearheaded by the International Wine Brand Center, a project launched last year in Ningxia via the International Academy of Brand Sciences, the China Brand Building Promotion Association and Helan Mountain East Foothill Wine Industry Park, per a Ningxia News report.
The list was revealed during the awards ceremony last month for the Third Ningxia Helan Mountain East International Wine Competition and the First Ningxia Marselan Selection, organized in cooperation with Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, which faced issues this year when it distanced itself from the results of a contest in Xinjiang it was involved in with regular wine event partner Beijing International Wine Exchange and that included judges who represent some of the top international brands in China.
According to Ningxia News, input on the wine regions list was sought from about 30 experts from China, the United States, France and elsewhere, standards were established for ranking wine regions, and, long story short — boom! — Ningxia is umber four.
Not surprisingly, the results were met with bewilderment and snark from some trade people, particularly those from regions that finished worse than fourth. Meanwhile, one person familiar with Ningxia told me the list was simply a way to pump up the region.
Source: Ningxia News
There was also a second list announced, “The Best Wine Brands of the World”, with Chinese producers Changyu and Great Wall taking third and sixth place respectively.
The other top-six producers were DBR Lafite (first), Moet Chandon (second), Penfolds (fourth) and Concha y Toro (fifth), although the latter was initially mistakenly listed as from Australia.
There were a total of 19 producers from China in the top 100.
(Long-term readers likely know I have been involved with some Ningxia projects, including bringing winemakers for two-year contests in 2012 and 2015. I have nothing to do with either of these current lists nor the recent competitions, although I am in contact with about Ningxia 50 wineries directly for our World Marselan Day efforts.)
Veteran China wine operation Grace Vineyard is teaming up with a new partner for restaurant sales.
Hong Kong businessman C.K. Chan launched Grace Vineyard in Shanxi in 1997, with daughter Judy Chan taking over in 2002 and expanding the operation to include vineyards and a winery in Ningxia, a distillery in Fujian, a listing on Hong Kong’s stock exchange and an ever-diversifying range of grape varieties, wine styles and price points.
The new distribution partner, which is finalizing staffing and other details, is headed by Cary Zhen. Zhen brings ample experience to the venture as she was most recently head of on-trade sales for Summergate after spending nearly six years at COFCO. She also brings wine and spirits experience from time spent at Watson’s, ASC, Bacardi and Jebsen.
From its first vintages, made by French winemaker Gerard Colin, Grace built a reputation for combining quality and value, and found a place in China’s hotels and restaurants at a time when such local wines were rare. Grace partnered with Torres in 2004, with then-managing partner Alberto Fernandez being a major advocate, then moved to ASC in late 2016 where it plugged a gap in the portfolio by being that distributors’ only Chinese winery partner at the time.
Given growing interest in quality local wines by bars, restaurants and hotels, having dedicated staff to promote Grace should mean we see more of its Deep Blue, its Aglianico, its Angelina Brut Reserve, its Marselan and more showing up on restaurant menus soon.
East Meets West is celebrating its twentieth anniversary so I got in touch with founder Shirley Tan, who started the company in 2003, left in 2012 and still keeps a foot in China’s wine scene as a consultant for Decanter in the UK.
Tan talked about the wine scene when she started in 1990s with LVMH, about her decision to go out on her own with EMW (“I was 29, young, dynamic, naive and had no fear at that time”), the key challenges she faced over the years (“We had an amazing portfolio but sales of wine and Champagne were very slow”), how Edouard Duval and Gregory Bielot came on board (they all first met a restaurant called ‘A Future Perfect’), and her current view of the market (“Chinese wine consumers are getting a lot more mature and sensible”).
1 Grape Wall:What got you involved in wine as a profession?
Shirley Tan: I was looking for a job after graduating from university and the China office for LVMH Wines & Spirits was recruiting at a Beijing talent fair. I knew nothing about wine back then, but I was attracted by the job description and the people, so I went for an interview and they hired me on the spot.
2 What was the wine market like for a newcomer in those days? What brands were you handling in China?
The joint venture for LVMH Wines & Spirits was mainly focused on spirits in the 1990s, with a limited wine portfolio. But after I joined, they introduced a few of their key wine brands, such as Veuve Clicquot, Cape Mentelle, Cloudy Bay and Chateau d’Yquem.
Other brands such as Marques de Riscal, E. Guigal, Mouton Rothschild and Casa Lapostolle were also imported by them.
We had an amazing portfolio but sales of wine and Champagne were very slow. The joint venture was not profitable, so in the early noughties, the management decided to merge the sales force of Moet Chandon and Veuve Clicquot.
I had become so passionate about Veuve Clicquot and did not want to sell Moet Chandon, so I became surplus to requirements.
3 You started East Meets West in 2003. What gave you the confidence to go out on your own, especially as the wine market was (and is) quite risky?
After leaving LVMH, I worked for one year at the Summergate Shanghai office, as their on-trade sales manager for East China. There were only a handful of importers back then, each having an impressive portfolio, but they were full of big commercial brands.
The on-trade market of East China was booming. Hotels and restaurants were looking for something different for their wine lists. I was inspired to try and develop a distribution business focusing on niche, boutique and family-owned wineries.
I was 29, young, dynamic, naive and had no fear at that time, believing I had enough knowledge and contacts. I was also confident if East meets West failed, I could easily find another job. I really did not think too much about risk and growth at that time.
4 As you noted, China already had some major distributors by 2003, such as Montrose, ASC, Aussino and Summergate. What was your strategy for taking on these big guys?
ST: Back in 2003, the main distributors had the huge commercial brands in their portfolio. I knew the-on trade customers were looking for something different and the market needed a small company like East meets West. We initially tried to concentrate on selling to restaurants, hotels, high-end wine retailers and direct to customers. Our focus was away from off-trade
I was passionate about wines and loved working with family-owned wineries, I had a lot of support from F&B management at that time also, by being a bit of a lone ranger, and I believe I am truly a lucky lady.
5 Who were some of the first clients of East Meets West? How did you meet them? And how did you decide what wines to represent?
Matt Sutter was the F&B manager of Grand Hyatt Shanghai, Eduardo Vargas arrived in China and opened Che in Xintiandi, Walter Zahner was the General Manager of T8, Paolo was General Manger of Va Bene in Xintiandi — they truly supported me and East meets West.
As mentioned, I was the sales manager of LVMH North China for three years, then relocated to Shanghai as the sales manager of East China for Summergate, so my relationships were built and strengthened over those years.
Our imported wines were from niche, boutique and family-owned wineries. The wine business needed a lot of capital for stock and therefore we had a very small portfolio in the very beginning. The sales were mainly on red wines back then; Champagne sales were small although I loved Champagne.
I went to the London Wine Fair, where I was fortunate to meet with Carol Duval-Leroy. She liked me as we were both female business owners and allowed me to distribute Duval-Leroy Champagne in China. I also gained a number of unique producers from the New World that were intrigued to get distribution in China.
6 Edouard Duval and Gregory Bielot later came on board as partners at East Meets West. How did that happen?
East Meets West was distributing Champagne Duval-Leroy and Edouard Duval contacted me while on holiday in Shanghai. Edouard asked me many questions in regards to the wine market during our first meeting in Xintiandi. I became a bit impatient as I was not sure what he wanted from me.
He then invited me for a dinner at [restaurant] A Future Perfect, where he introduced Gregory Bielot to me. Edouard and Greg were best friends, and Greg was working for the ASC Shanghai office then.
After the dinner, Edouard called and asked me if I was looking for a business partner. Edouard and Greg explained they wanted to establish a wine business in China and to work with a Chinese partner, so they asked if I consider working with them. We then became partners in East meets West. It was a good match to push EMW to the next levels.
At that time, East meets West was a 100-percent Chinese company. The whole process of becoming a joint venture with Edouard and Greg becoming official business partners took nearly a year.
7 You left EMW in 2012. What would you say were the highest and lowest points of that nine years. And what are you most proud of in terms of your legacy?
EMW greatly benefited from China’s economic growth between 2006 to 2012. Our business expanded and we enjoyed very good success. We sealed the nationwide wine supply contract with IHG hotels and had over 100 employees by the time I left in 2012.
We encountered some problems with Shanghai customs back in 2008. As I was the legal representative, I was held responsible, which swayed my decision in the end to leave.
I am very proud that East meets West is still going strong in China. A few old colleagues from my days are still working there, including Madame Wang, Nancy Shang and Liz Li.
8 You are still involved in wine as a consultant on China for Decanter. Which means you now have 25 years of experience in China’s wine industry. What is your perspective on the current state of the wine scene?
Chinese wine consumers are getting a lot more mature and sensible. The wine lovers are young and their wine knowledge is impressive. However, the majority of the population still does not understand wine and price is the only point they care about.
The global economy as well as the Chinese economy are facing challenges, but the Chinese wine market is already following the trend of well-developed wine markets, where the wealthy buy well-established and top estates and the majority goes for cheap and cheerful bottles.
“China has agreed to review the tariffs it imposed on Australian wine in another major breakthrough for the relationship between the two countries.
“The decision comes ahead of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Beijing, which will take place in November, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Gough Whitlam’s visit to China.
“The tariffs of up to 220 per cent on Australian wine were imposed in 2020, as relations deteriorated. Australian wine exports to China were worth more than $1 billion at the time.
“China has now agreed to a five-month review. Australia has agreed to suspend action in the World Trade Organisation as a result.”
And confirmation comes from the top, according to the Sydney Morning Herald:
“Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday confirmed the tariffs deal while revealing he would head to China for a three-day visit early next month in what would be the first visit by an Australian leader since 2016.”
~
There is lots packed into those ABC paragraphs:
A visit on a 50th anniversary. Auspicious dates are always a good reason / excuse to do something here. It makes for good speeches and soundbites, too.
The “$1 billion” mention. Yes, that was the high point — AU$1.2 billion in one year was the highest, I believe — and raises hopes it might be reachable again.
Long story short, Australia aims to get back something it once had, but has got nothing so far for its wine trade so far.
~
Frankly, this whole tariffs situation has seemed like a “lose-lose” to me.
Australian lost a lucrative wine market, though an insanely high percentage of the Aussie imports were from Treasury Wine Estates / Penfolds, on par with the value of some individual countries in late 2019.
Since the tariffs, China’s wine market has continued to decline, and the hopes local brands would get a major boost by replacing Australia ones in areas like banqueting were dashed.
The major battle for Chinese wine isn’t wine from other nations, it’s diverting consumers from areas like baijiu, beer and cocktails to wine, and Australia was at least helping to do that.
Anyway, I think I will focus an upcoming newsletter on this topic, including what the last 30 months of tariffs has taught us, the odds Australian can become the import leader again, and the Penfolds factor.
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Tea and wine. Two beverages involving complex tastes, terroirs and histories. One with a long enduring story in China and the other now emerging.
It makes perfect sense that some winemakers might pair the two. And Jianjun ‘Johnny’ Liu of Lingering Clouds in Ningxia ranks among them. Liu made a trio of pet-nat Chardonnays — jasmine, oolong and Longjing– last year.
Liu is taking things up a couple of notches this vintage by adding two more tea infusions: White Peony and a blend of red leaves from Anhui, Guangzhou and Yunnan, both in tandem with Chardonnay.
Liu has made wine in Ningxia for over a decade and released his first two commercial pet-nats in 2021, a Riesling and a Muscat, the latter ably capturing the grape’s floral character.
He also made two ‘natural’ wines that year, a Pinot Noir with pure red berry flavor and a delicate Viognier with plenty of stone fruit. This was in addition to more the typical red wines and blends, including the Red Beard, Moby Dick and Blue Iguana labels, he started making in his earlier days.
For the infused wines, Liu puts sachets of tea into cold fermentation tanks with the Chardonnay, and then does daily taste tests until he gets the desired result. This took about a month last year.
While each of the three 2022 Chardonnays was distinct, Liu learned plenty of lessons from that first foray and says he will get even more tea typicity this vintage.
(He is also busy working on other wines this year, from Pinot Noir to Riesling to Petit Manseng.)
I tasted each of the three 2022 Chardonnays over a half-dozen times, including at a dinner I organized at Peach (TRB Group) restaurant in Beijing’s Houhai lakes district in early 2023. A few quick notes:
Longjing is also known as ‘Dragon Well’ and named for the town in Hangzhou most associated with this green tea. This Chardonnay was lively, with creamy bubbles, and lightest of the three infusions we tasted. It had grassy green tea character with touches of orchard fruit — think nectarines — and citrus peel.
Ooling is partially oxidized and made for a milder, heavier and more fragrant wine. This one had ripe apple character and touches of biscuit and malt at the finish. This seemed to be the general favorite at the dinner.
The Jasmine pet-nat lived up to its namesake tea in terms of aroma, with a distinct rich scent. It fell between the Longjing and oolong in terms of style, with some of the former’s liveliness and latter’s body.
Overall, these made for a fun tasting, with the foam lasting for an impressively long time after pouring.
Liu himself ranks among the rising number of “winemakers without wineries”, who source grapes and rent equipment and create brands for both the general trade and their individual followings.
He also symbolized for me the challenges of the wine trade during the COVID crisis, as wineries struggled to get workers, equipment and supplies such as bottles, dealt with regulations, regular testing and, in some cases, quarantine, and faced a tough consumer market. (Liu ended up quarantined at his winery for nearly a month during fermentation last year.)
Thankfully, life is much smoother this vintage and Liu can focus his energy of making wine, including the tea-infused Cha-rdonnary — “Cha” is the pronunciation of tea in Mandarin. I’m looking forward to trying this new series of pet-nats, which should have appeal for those interested in tea, sparkling wine, or both, and serve as a fun addition to occasions like brunch or afternoon tea.
