Wines of China

Filed in archive Wine News on August 9, 2008

As the world looks to Beijing for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, it's only fitting that we look at China's wine industry. Actually, China has been crafting wines for more than 4600 years, using grapes, rice, Asian plums, and lychees. However, it's only been since the 1980s that China has begun to develop a taste for "western-style" wines. Several European companies, most notably Remy-Martin were early partner with the Chinese and helped to develop their burgeoning wine industry.

Today, China has more than 450 wineries, stretching from Inner Mongolia to the Yellow Sea. Among the most noted of these is Grace Vineyards, founded in 1997 and located in the Shanxi Province.

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