China winemakers get better with age
By Wine Atlas, Monday 31 October 2005 :: Wine - China :: #79 :: rss
By Emma Graham-Harrison,
MANAS, China, Oct 31 (Reuters) - A slice of onion or lemon, some ice-cubes or a mixer of lemonade are some of the tricks Chinese wine drinkers use to help a glass of red slip down.
The traditionally spirit- and beer-drinking nation only began turning grapes into alcohol on a large scale in the last few decades and is still getting used to drinking the results.
But as the industry matures, and the thirst of China's newly affluent middle classes for wine grows, ambitious Chinese vineyards are trying to educate their countrymen's palates so as to win their cash.
Among the contenders to banish the garnishes that make sommeliers' hair stand on end is Suntime Winery in remote western Xinjiang province. It used two billion yuan of investment to import European technology and employs a French winemaker.
"China is a new country to wine-making, particularly out west. Quality is a problem because the industry is young and the vines are young, but there is some good wine," said Suntime deputy manager Robert Wu as he leaned over to smell the Cabernet Sauvignon fermenting in an oak barrel.
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