‘My Way’: ASC Founder Don St Pierre Sr., RIP

Don St Pierre Sr., one of the Chinese wine industry’s iconic characters, has died at age 82.

St Pierre made his claim to wine fame with importer and distributor ASC Fine Wines, founded in China in 1996 with his son Don Jr. But by then he was known here due to his time as leader of Beijing Jeep in the 1980s — the first joint venture in China’s modern auto industry — and for his rock ‘em sock ’em attitude.

Born in 1941 in Canada to a “dirt poor” family, St Pierre dreamed of playing baseball but instead led a life of global adventures that took him to Egypt, Indonesia, Iran and Japan, among many other places. And, of course, ultimately led him to wine in China, which might seem curious for a car industry executive. But St Pierre was looking far ahead.

When I asked in a 2018 interview why wine, he said, “My French name and being tired of ordering wine in restaurants [in China] that was on the list but not in stock.”

He added: “And we heard that Premier Li Peng was discouraging the drinking of grain-based alcohol and encouraging the drinking of fruit-based alcohol, i.e. wine. I also believed that China would accede to the WTO [it did in 2001] and that would mean lower duties. Wine was a no-brainer, even for me and my son, non-wine people.”

As it turned out, his car industry background was incredibly helpful.

“Strangely, our first four wineries all came from casual contacts with automotive friends. Walt Klenz at Beringer was the first to say okay, followed by Bollinger, Petaluma and Col D’Orcia. All through automotive contacts.”

On top of that, his knowledge of auto parts distribution allowed him to apply similar principles to wine and make ASC known for efficiency and quality.

“We lost money on some of these deliveries but it built our reputation for service,” he would write.

In those early wine days, the main competitors were Montrose and Summergate, but ASC ultimately ran ahead of them and everyone else, eventually selling to Suntory in 2009. But not without overcoming lots of obstacles.

In what was symbolic of the topsy-turvy nature of China’s business scene, St Pierre Jr. was detained nearly one month in a high-profile Customs investigation in 2008. St Pierre Sr. called it “the toughest time in my life.”

Then, shortly after his release, ASC hosted critic Robert Parker on his first trip to continental China, which included a dinner on the Great Wall. Talk about downs and ups.

St Pierre faced many obstacles in building ASC. From what he calls the “hijacking” of his first wine stock by a partner to a devastating warehouse fire to facing massive cash flow challenges early on. ASC got much-needed funding from Gernot Langes-Swarovski, of Swarovski crystal fame, after St Pierre Sr. met him by chance during a smoke break in Beijing–Swarovski bought 49 percent of the company just four months later.

(Then again, before getting into wine, the St Pierres were importing ammo to the US and had 74 million bullets confiscated by US officials in a huge raid that looked like it would mean serious jail time. But in what was an embarrassment for the government, it turned out the ammo was legally imported and had to be returned to the St Pierres. Frankly, if you can handle that, a warehouse fire must be child’s play.)

St Pierre covered these and many other stories in his memoir, Jeeps, Pretty Ladies & Wine, featuring no holds barred business fights, skirt-chasing and calling people out or praising them highly. No one familiar with St Pierre would be surprised by the book’s title or tone. The blurb:

“This story is one of business adventures, baseball, international travels, escapades with the fairer sex, and most of all the love between a father and son. Across 4 continents, 20 countries and 5 different businesses [St. Pierre] moved himself from the dirt floor farmhouse on an island in Quebec, Canada where he was born, to becoming the largest importer and distributor of wine in China.”

(It serves as a good bookend to Beijing Jeep by Jim Mann, a book in which St Pierre played a central role and that contains business lessons still relevant today.)

The memoir covers both the good and the bad, victories and defeats, business and personal affairs. And includes an intense scene with a golfing foursome, complete with a three-star general, St. Pierre accused of cheating during a Beijing tournament.

The book ultimately reveals St Pierre as a doer, with a sharp learning curve, who solves problems with gusto and is willing to take calculated risks.

At one point, he and St Pierre Jr. created their own label, Chateau Saint Pierre, in an attempt to drum up sales at a time when wine was still a rarity for most consumers.

“Don Jr and I had to come up with a name, label design, capsule design, cork type and quality, bottle design and a few other details to make a brand,” he wrote. “Of course, we knew shit about any of those things, but we dove in.”

At one point, Chateau Saint Pierre was selling more than 200,000 12-bottle cases per year.

A memorial was held for Don St Pierre Sr. in Beijing last night, with current ASC employees like Dorian Tang — who just marked her 21st year with the company — and former ones like Louie Li giving heartfelt remarks alongside friends such as vintner Jean-Charles Boisset, former Capital Club GM Bertrand Petton and former Beijing Jeep associate Rick, who St Pierre taught to golf in the 1980s — the pair played their final round together in January in Phuket and, even at age 81, St Pierre was still driving and putting well.

Carrie Xuan, ASC’s former vice president and part of the team from the beginning, sent a video message from France, talking about her memories of St Pierre Sr. and playing clips from Bob Seger’s ‘Like a Rock’ and Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ as symbolizing his spirit.

Don St Pierre Jr. also spoke at length during the memorial, describing his father as his “best friend”, who taught him “resilience and perseverance.” He told the packed room how his father had grown up poor — the family had no electricity and used an outhouse — but became a successful businessman. And that the two had very different styles — the operation headed by his father in Beijing and the one headed by him in Shanghai were like two different companies — but they made it work.

“We ended up doing something that most foreigners struggle to do in China,” he said. “We made some money and we took it out.”

He also said he was proud of the team he built with his father: “There are not a lot of people in this room who are still with ASC but we are all still family.”

The guests then spent the night catching up and sharing memories of Don St Pierre Sr.

As for my own memories, I first talked to St Pierre at length when I joined an ASC Napa dinner featuring Phelps and Shafer wines nearly 20 years ago. He said to stick around afterward and, when everyone left, said I “didn’t know shit” about wine and proceeded to give me insights while we smoked Marlboro Reds and shared a bottle of Bollinger Champagne in the former Aria restaurant in the China World Hotel.

I also attended that Robert Parker dinner on the Great Wall in 2008. This was shortly after the Customs case ended, to everyone’s great relief, and St Pierre was enjoying wine and smoking cigarettes while a harpist played ‘My Way.’ (In the photo below, you can see the harpist at right.)

Beyond that, I occasionally met or spoke with St Pierre. One time, I introduced him to a friend Ed, another veteran car industry executive, and we drank St Pierre’s preferred tipple — Johnnie Walker Blue — while they told me to get my act together. Another time, I was summoned to the Capital Club, once the see-and-be-seen venue for Beijing’s businesspeople, to talk about possibly editing St Pierre’s memoirs — the club had a “no jeans” rule and I was given a sarong to wrap around my legs, which amused him. And I would occasionally run into him at his favorite haunts, like the bar at The Capital Club or TRIO restaurant or Capone’s.

In 2018, I got an email out of the blue from Don that he had finally published his memoirs.

“I’m living well on Phuket and golfing 2-3 times a week, and drinking too much wine once a week,” he added. Don St Pierre Sr spent those final years of his life how he had always tried to live: “My Way.”

Note: There were many responses to this post, often referring to St Pierre as a “legend.” Here are ten:

RIP Uncle Don. He was truly a legend.
Don was a true legend and a visionary in China. We had the blessing of introducing his first winery from Chile and visiting several of his brunches in China, years before the rest of the industry. RIP Don
Thanks so much for sharing, Jim! Don was a friend, neighbor, mentor, major China auto pioneer & loveable curmudgeon. Rest in Peace, Don Sr.!
I was leaving [the Beijing bar] Frank’s one night after 12 and just about to pull out into traffic when my Cherokee was stopped by a guy flanked by a “bevy of broads.” I wound down my window — “sup?” — and was requested / required to drive Don and flock to his next destination. I had neither met nor heard of him before but when he told me I was driving his Jeep, I thought “fair enough”, and off we went. I can’t remember what time I got home. The first of many interesting and fun times with Senior.
Don Senior was a legend and a great human being… always telling it the way it is. And had a great sense of humour to turn things into a laugh. I will certainly miss him.
I drove his wines and I drank his Jeep. Or it could have been the other way around. Hard to recall, it’s all a bit fuzzy.
A moment of silence will not be held as Don never seemed to fancy the stuff! Rather a glass will be raised for a man who made untold and uncountable contributions to Beijing and our community that called it home. To Don!
RIP Don what a legend. Danny Kane
Don Sr, you were a fabulous mentor and great boss. Thanks for believing in me.
Don was a legend, a great friend and a mentor to many of us. Rest in peace, old mate. You were truly loved by many.

Fair game: Grape Wall, Wine to Asia partner for Marselan tasting

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Mission complete: the first World Marselan Day event at a trade fair.

Over two dozen Marselan from across China–and one from Spain!–were featured in the themed tasting area at Shenzhen International Wine & Spirits Fair organized by Wine to Asia / Veronafiere in May.

The Marselan hailed from regions like Shandong, Hebei and Shanxi, with a wide selection of Ningxia wine we separated into sub-regions like Qingtongxia, Yinchuan and Yongning.

The brand name of the lone imported Marselan, from Spain’s Neleman, especially helped attract people — I asked passers-by if they wanted to try some “Just Fucking Good Wine” and they almost invariably said yes.

One highlight was the rep from Scurek, who uses his Marselan in Slovenia to make pet-nat, coming over from his booth to taste the lineup and chat with winemaker Zhao Desheng of Domaine Franco-Chinois in Huailai County about this grape.

Another was a trade fair exhibitor bringing over a Marselan that she imports from Serbia’s BT Winery.

And yet another was the enthusiasm of those who had not tried Marselan being surprised by the quality and diversity of the wines. Check out this video to see the people and wines on hand.

This is the second time Wine to Asia and World Marselan Day have partnered in Shenzhen, following last year’s consumer tasting at Wine Universe.

Wine to Asia also sponsored the Marselan blending class at The Merchants in Beijing in 2021.

Since arriving in China two decades ago, Marselan has spread across the country and is seen by many as an equivalent to Argentina’s Malbec, South Africa’s Pinotage and California’s Zinfandel.

Marselan, a cross of Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache, is capable of everything from soft fruity easy-to-drink wines many newcomers enjoy to the more sophisticated drops that appeal to aficionados. And has earned the local wine trade hundreds of contest medals and some of its highest scores from critics.

Grape Wall of China launched World Marselan Day in 2018 as an annual event officially held on April 27, the birthday of Paul Truel, who created this grape near the town of Marseillan in south France in 1961. Truel hoped to marry the best of two grapes, including the structure of Cabernet Sauvignon and higher yields and heat resistance of Grenache. Marselan is now commercially made in over two dozen nations, with China among the leading producers.

This year saw World Marselan Day events across China, from Ningbo to Xi’an to Beijing to Shanghai to Guangzhou to Shenzhen, with a strong focus on reaching consumers.

China grapes: Grechetto at Jiangyu in Yantai

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Boutique operation Jiangyu, not to be confused with mega producer and Shandong neighbor Changyu, was founded in 2019 and is quickly making a name for itself.

Jiangyu is a tiny winery based in Qiushan Valley, a fast-rising area near Yantai City, alongside producers such as Runaway Cow, Longdai (Lafite), Mystic Island and, first to literally set down roots, Treaty Port.

Jiangyou is also the rare winery in China using Grechetto, a grape native to Greece but most common in central Italy, where it is usually used in blends. In China, it is known as Ge Tu: ‘a journey accompanied by song,’

Winemaker Jiangyu–same name as the winery–says 7 mu of Grechetto (half a hectare) were planted in China in 2014, with production of just four barrels of wine in 2022. (He adds that there were originally 9 mu but that 2 mu were lost due to a new rail line.)

Jiangyu’s 2022 version uses handpicked grapes that are gently pressed, with the juice clarified in stainless steel tanks before being barrel fermented, then aged for 7.5 months in oak barrels.

The result is a smooth easy-drinking medium-bodied wine with white flower, pear and apple character, and a touch of lime and celery salt at the finish. This one weighs in at 12.5 percent alcohol and lists for RMB378 on jd.com.

The bottle photos above are from the Shenzhen International Wine & Spirits Fair last May, organized by Wine to Asia, where I tasted Jiangyu’s Chardonnay, Riesling, Petit Manseng and Petit Verdot, too. (I also dragged about a dozen people, including a handful of Italians, over to the booth to try them.)

The Petit Verdot was a real attention grabber. Fragrant, with aromas of dark berries, cedar and a touch of mint, this soft and ripe wine had restrained tannins from old oak.

The two Chardonnays are distinct, with the juicy 2022 showing yellow fruit (peaches?) and a slight nutty / toasty character, while the 2021 had livelier acidity and more elegance, with pleasant tropical fruit flavors alongside citrus and light toasty notes.

The semi-sweet Petit Manseng offered aromas of sweet flowers, ripe apple and honey but I found it a bit too light, perhaps because I am used to drinking China’s heavier late-harvest Petit Mansengs.

In any case, Jiangyu’s wines are starting to pop up in bars and restaurants in major cities in China. That’s incredibly fast progress given he started by brewing two barrels of Cabernet Sauvignon, using borrowed facilities, in 2019, and just five barrels total of Cabernet and Chardonnay in 2020. It also a testament to the growing power of China’s niche producers and to the growing curiosity of consumers in these wines.

Wine club: China expected to soon join OIV

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Look for China to soon join the OIV–International Organisation of Vine and Wine–a 49-member group that “deals with technical and scientific aspects of viticulture and winemaking.” That means not only wine but also table grapes and raisins.

(China, the world’s top table grape producer, has the third-highest vineyard surface at 785,000 hectares, behind Spain at 955,000 and France 812,000 and ahead of Italy 718,000, per the OIV.)

The political machinery for China joining the OIV is over a decade old and has revved in recent months.

In April, a joint statement after a meeting of China’s Xi Jinping and France’s Emmanuel Macron stated, “France will support the application that China will submit to join the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) as swiftly as possible….”

(There is also talk of Geographical Indications. China is interested in protecting and promoting “Helan Mountain” as a GI. This would boost the region’s status internationally and make it easier to promote wines both at home and abroad. But that’s a whole other post.)

In June, OIV sponsored the International Conference on Grape and Wine Industries (ICGWI) in Ningxia. Along with OIV delegates presenting at the forum, Director General Pau Roca sent a video message and said, “we now look forward to having China as a full member very soon, with all the rights and influence that the nation deserves.”

At the same time in Spain, at the OIV General Assembly, guests saw a video message by Sui Pengfei of China’s Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, who said, “China looks forward to joining the OIV as a full member as early as possible and along with other members advancing high-quality development in the vine and wine sector.”

The municipality of Yantai and region of Ningxia are already OIV observers–see below for more on these two and why Ningxia is especially important–and now the time is ripe for China to join as a full member.

“China will launch the application to be an OIV member soon,” says Ma Huiqin, a professor at Beijing’s China Agricultural University and the OIV coordinator for Ningxia, which she helped join the OIV as an observer 11 years ago.

“This will put China on the same stage with other big grape and wine producers in OIV, the largest inter-governmental organization for these sectors.”

Ma says it will especially help with technology and standards. She noted that 20 or 30 years ago, some products labeled wine in China had non-grape liquids, but since then producers have steadily adopted global standards.

“China has a very long table grape-growing history but the modern wine-making one is quite short,” Ma said, adding that OIV is a good platform for communicating about topics such as sustainable production and boosting “vertical” wine business opportunities, such as those related to culture and tourism.

As noted, China currently has two entities as observers in OIV.

The first is Yantai, a coastal municipality in Shandong province was recognized by the OIV in 1987 as an “International City of Vine and Wine.” Yantai is home to Changyu, founded in 1892 and China’s biggest wine producer, plus boutique operations like Longdai (Lafite), Runaway Cow, Treaty Port, Longting and Jiangyu. As a port city, Yantai is also a hub for imported bulk wines and has faced criticism as a source of fakes.

The second is Ningxia, a region in north-central China that became an observer in 2012 and has emerged as the country’s leading producer in recent years.

“Several people involved with [Ningxia’s] OIV application told me a key motivation is to improve Chinese wine quality via greater access to winery management, wine-making and wine standards info,” I posted in 2012. The aim was for Ningxia to be “the first region in China to fully realize the need to use international standards for the local market.”

Since that time, OIV and Ningxia have regularly interacted. In 2012, after Ningxia joined as an observer, then-OIV President Claudia Quini and then-OIV Director-General Federico Castellucci visited that August for the region’s wine conference. The two sides have been exchanging high-level delegations ever since.

(Then-OIV President Monica Christmann even served as a judge for the second Ningxia Winemakers Challenge in 2017.)

Ningxia has been an especially important player for China’s OIV membership for several reasons.

First, it has emerged in the past dozen years as the country’s leading producer. Back in 2012, when Jancis Robinson visited, the region was still a faint blip on the wine world’s radar. But Robinson, as part of a ten-person panel, rated 35 of the 39 wines as good or better, and it added to the evidence that Ningxia had a lot going for it.

At that time, most wines were generally modeled on a Bordeaux style, with ample oak, despite Ningxia having little in common in terms of climate, soil and general terroir with that region. Since, then, we have seen a blossoming in terms of the grape varieties and styles pursued by producers, and a steady rise in overall quality.

Second, Ningxia has also drawn increasing attention from the central government. A Bureau of Grape and Floriculture Industry was established in 2012 and helped get things going, with the region quickly organizing trade fairs, conferences and contests, and undertaking initiatives such as creating a central nursery from which new and established wineries could source rootstock.

Things accelerated in 2021, with a press conference in Beijing announcing central government support for –it’s a long title–the Ningxia National Open Development Comprehensive Pilot Zone for Grape and Wine Industry.

The 2025 targets include 1 million mu / 160,000 acres / 66,000 hectares) of vineyards, 300 million bottles of wine annually and RMB100 billion (USD13.8 billion) of revenue by 2025. The 2035 stretch goals were even more ambitious: 1.5 million mu / 250,000 acres / 100,000 hectares of vineyards, 600 million bottles and RMB200 (USD27.6 million) of value by 2035.

It should be noted the region also has special significance for Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who first visited in 1997 as part of an anti-poverty mission from Fujian province, where he was a high-ranking official. That trip included some of the regions where vineyards and wineries now sit, such as the Minning area–‘Min’ is another name for Fujian while ‘ning’ refers to Ningxia.

Given that Ningxia has traditionally had one of the lower GDP per capita rates in China, boosting a value-added industry such as wine fits governmental goals of spreading the wealth of the country’s economic growth.

In any case, I’ll stop there, except to say that it seems only a matter of time before China is a full member of the OIV.

As the OIV posted on Twitter, the joint statement after the Xi-Macron meeting in April was, “A decisive step in China’s long march towards the OIV.”

Bubble rap: Devo is newest made-in-China sparkling wine

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China’s wineries offer an ever-growing selection of styles, grape varieties and brands, and the sparkling wine niche is no exception.

While pet-nat is trending, due to producers like Lingering Clouds, Xiao Pu (Petit Garden) and Mountain Wave, we also see new players making bubbly the traditional way.

The newest is Devo, billing itself as China’s first independent producer of such wine and joining notable brands like Domaine Chandon (Ningxia), Grace Vineyard (Shanxi) and Chateau SunGod (Hebei).

Devo is in the north of the Yinchuan sub-region, in the Jin Shan / Gold Mountain area, near wineries like Chateau Mihope, Silver Heights and Yuan Run. Its vineyards feature Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

The project is headed by winemaker Jin Gang, a professor of food and wine at Ningxia University, while Zhang Xuan, active in the Yinchuan Wine Association, is making still red wines yet to reach market. The brand consultant is Stanley Yip.

Devo presented three bubblies—and Mimosas!—at the recent ProWine show in Beijing.

Those included a 2018 Blanc de Blancs, with 36 months aging on lees, and notes that cite lemon, honey, peach and bread. I enjoyed the bright acidity and hints of nuts, honey and white flowers.

MV01 is a dry sparkling wine, equal parts Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with 18 months on lees. Smooth and balanced, this one offers nice stone fruit character, with hints of brioche and berries.

We can expect more players to join the traditional method game. Winemaker Zhang Jing at Helan Qing Xue, which is known for its elegant reds, currently has a Chardonnay and Pinot Noir bubbly in progress.

Paddles Up! Grape Wall launches Dragon Boat Day

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Grape Wall of China is launching a new project to help promote wine in China.

Dragon Wine Day / Dragon Wine Festival will celebrate two grapes with the word ‘dragon’ in their names, and with strong ties to China, during the annual Dragon Boat Festival.

Longyan aka Dragon’s Eye makes white wines and has over 1000 years of history in China.

Cabernet Gernischt aka Snake Dragon Ball makes red wines and came to China in the 1890s at the start of the country’s modern wine age.

This ‘double dragon’ blend offers twice as many reasons to enjoy local wine during the festival next week.

The project aims to reach consumers, which seem to be the missing player in a scene where the quality of Chinese wines increasingly improves even as production and sales stagnate or fall. And where the figures for imported wine are also sobering, despite China having an ever-growing wine education bureaucracy along with more and more wine contests, wine fairs and critics.

This is the latest in a number of Grape Wall projects, including the Grape Wall Challenge, which sees wine consumers serve as judges, and World Marselan Day, which saw more events than ever this year. I will be doing a long overdue update of those Marselan parties soon.

And look for more details on Dragon Wine Day / Dragon Wine Festival soon, too.

Grape & grain: Grace Vineyard barrels first whisky

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They say the longer you wait for something, the more you appreciate it.

The Grace Vineyard team seemed quite appreciative last weekend after barreling its first whisky in China, the latest step in a grain-based mission seeded over a dozen years ago.

“Finally, the first whisky,” posted CEO Judy Chan on social media on Sunday.

That special drop was made at Grace’s Fujian-based Dexi distillery, bought nearly five years ago.

Grace, founded in 1997 in Shanxi’s Taigu area, and with a winery in nearby Ningxia, is arguably the biggest wine success story in China over the past 20 years. With the distillery, it aims to diversify both its portfolio and reach.

“Last year, we acquired a new whisky and gin production line,” Chan wrote in her annual report for 2019, adding that it would boost the product line and help open a new market, Fujian, though she also noted the difficult times.

“The management is working around the clock to make sure we stay on schedule. As I’m writing this statement, we are still in the middle of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.”

First Barrel

Fast forward three years, and with the zero-COVID era in the rearview mirror, the project has now taken a crucial step.

Grace winemaker Lee Yeanyean also posted on social media about this first barrel, done with whisky consultant Mike Nicolson on hand: “Exciting moments when we can get fruits, balance and complexity in flavors!”

Lee told me has learned a great deal about whisky the past few years.

“Winemaking is more about terroir while whisky is more about controlling processes,” he said. “For distilling, controlling for factors such as malt, wort clarity, temperature and so on can be done much quicker.”

“We are just starting with these baby steps,” Lee added. “There are many more before this becomes a finished whisky.”

Growth market

Grace is not alone is pursuing made-in-China whisky. Major local and global spirits players like Luzhou Laojiao, Yanghe, Pernod Ricard and Diageo are making their own moves, in sites as distant as Sichuan, Yunnan and Fujian. And other projects are also underway, including Nine Rivers Distillery, also in Fujian and not far from Grace’s project.

This isn’t surprising given the rise in disposable income and resiliency of China’s spirits market, including whisky, in recent years. That includes the COVID era.

“[In 2021], the value of China’s whiskey imports nearly doubled to USD460 million and the volume soared 43.8 percent,” reported Yicai Global. Yicai also noted that imported whisky value and volume was up 19.6 percent and 9.6 percent respectively in the first five months of 2022, despite overall spirits imports falling.

Beyond the numbers, anyone who frequents bars in China has witnessed a swift rise in both the range of whisky choices and–especially when it comes to Japanese brands–prices.

Family legacy

As for Grace, while the project means expanding the family business, it is also about family legacy.

“I suggested whisky to my daughter [Judy] more than a decade ago,” wrote Grace founder and Chan’s father Chen Jinqiang nearly five years ago.

While he lobbied to make the whisky in Longyan, the family’s ancestral home, the momentum was for another part of Fujian. But a steady flow of difficulties opened the door.

“Thankfully, Chen Fang and her team struggled for five or six years to get the project off the ground in Wuyishan, giving me the opportunity to successfully lobby my daughter to build the winery in Longyan,” he wrote. “I hope that my children and grandchildren, no matter where in the world they live, with this winery in Longyan, they will not forget that their roots are in Longyan.”

[Also see Judy Chan on 25 Years of Grace and Lee Yeanyean on Grapes, Burgers & Ganbeis.]

Ningxia terroir: Shocking dinner with Winemaker Deng

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The most shocking thing at a recent wine dinner with Deng Zhongxiang wasn’t that he consults for a whopping eight wineries in Ningxia.

Or that he ably captures the ‘terroir’ of each with grapes that range from Syrah and Viognier to Malbec and Vidal to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Or that he demonstrated this firsthand by presenting five Marselan wines from five wineries during the dinner at The Merchants in Beijing.

Nope. Most shocking is Deng said this was the first such dinner he had headlined! Especially given how good are these wines.

Deng trained in Burgundy, worked in Bordeaux and ranks among China’s best consultants following over a decade of exploring Ningxia’s terroir. And he delivered an all-star lineup of Marselan wines at The Merchants, including bottles from Charme, Mountain Wave, Lansai, Rong Yuan Mei and United Winery.

Guests got a crash course on Ningxia as each winery has its own blend of soil, climate, vineyard setup and wine-making goals. Charme, for example, has rocky vineyards near the Helan Mountain and an especially good reputation for Viognier, while Rongyuanmei, further away in Qingtongxia, is windier and sandier and has produced inky reds, including Malbec.

Anyway, I joined Deng two years ago for a late spring tour of four of these wineries and learned about these factors: still to windy, sandy to rocky, hot to cold, and everything in between. Not to mention the challenges of irrigation during the growing season and vine burial for the cold dry winters at each one.

We planned to showcase this at the Wine to Asia fair in June of 2021—a session called ‘One Man, One Mission: Explore Ningxia Terroir with Deng Zhongxiang‘—but COVID nixed those plans.

So, finally, on the official date of World Marselan Day, April 27, at a dinner organized by The Merchants, Deng gave a current draft of a story he is still writing. Here is a video of clips / photos from that dinner:

You can also find the original event info here in English and in Chinese. And a Q&8 with Deng here.

Bubble up: Ningxia’s Helan Qingxue makes sparkling wine

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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.

Double down: Grape Wall & Merchants host Marselan fests in Beijing & Shanghai

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Good wine, good music, good weather, good people. That all added up to good vibes at this year’s World Marselan Day party on April 22 at The Merchants in Beijing.

The festival featured 50 different Marselan wines from across China and the world, and led to a follow-up party at The Merchants in Shanghai on April 30 (see below).

First, Beijing: last year’s zero-COVID era festival was raucous but held at a point when the city was on the verge of a restaurant dining ban. Given this, the event–held indoors over two floors–had a dogged ‘live life while you can” vibe that saw not a drop of Marselan left by the time the last imbibers left.

With the zero-COVID era five months behind us, this year’s party inspired a much more free-loving vibe. And it was held outside, on the terrace at The Merchants. Add a DJ and we had an afternoon of tasting wine, listening to music and chatting.

The local Marselans hailed from across the country, with a large delegation from Ningxia, while imported labels came from Spain, France, Bulgaria, Israel, Chile and Uruguay.

Check out this video: the first part shows the festival’s start when people are still arriving; the second part is when the tasting is well underway; and there are also shots of all of the labels from China and abroad.

Heading to Shanghai

While Grape Wall and The Merchants have teamed up in Beijing for World Marselan Day since 2019, this year was the first time to do so in Shanghai. The site: The Merchants sprawling new two-floor restaurant and bar in the former French Concession.

The plan: take advantage of the beautiful spring weather and hold the party streetside.

The added bonus was that along with people who bought tickets in advance, passersby saw the fun and decided to join.

Once again, a big lineup of Marselan—over 40 labels—made for a fun afternoon of enjoying wine, music and fellowship. Check out this video to see the action.

Kudos to Isabella Ko and the team at The Merchants, to the participating wineries and to the consumers who joined two afternoons of fun and helped to bring Marselan to the people. Special hat tip to Simone Incontro of Wine to Asia who flew up to Beijing for the event.

World Marselan Day is a project by Grape Wall of China, launched in 2018 to celebrate a grape gaining much traction in China here but that is also commercially produced in more than two dozen nations.