China has never been one of the important wine-making countries, but in the recent decade, it has emerged on to the global wine scene with unprecedented speed and has become the sixth-biggest wine country in terms of volume. Nobody knew until 1995 that the country has very old wine traditions, confirmed by the discovery of 200 clay vessels with traces of grape wine in them, which dates back to 2600 BC.

Many years after that Marco Polo is writing about wine plantations and excellent wine in the north-eastern region of Taiyuan in the 13th century. At the beginning of the 1880s, more than 100 Vitis Vinifera vines were bought from Europe to China to start its modern viticulture with the first winery established in 1892, which retains a significant position in Chinese wine today.

The climate in the country is extremely various from continental to mountainous with a high average altitude to more humid maritime. Most of the production of the Chinese grape is consisting of table grape varieties and only a small percentage is going for the production of quality (most of the time) red wine. The grape varieties that China has planted are the international Cabernet Sauvignon (considered as King), Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Carménère, Syrah, Riesling and Chardonnay.

Red wine is definitely more popular than white, and the Bordeaux varietals have cult status among the rich Chinese wine lovers. Notable wine-growing regions include Shandong, Hebei, Hong Kong, Ningxia, Shaanxi and Yunnan. China is in the top ten global markets for fine wine consumption. Without any doubt in the next few decades, the country’s wine production and wine consumption will increase tremendously. Already there are many investments from famous French Bordeaux and Champagne estates in China with many more doing still researches.

China has already seen success in the global market. As it is one of the wine industry’s most exciting developing markets, the country will continue to draw increased international attention and eventually become a major player in the future of wine.