Sichuan being touted as China's next high altitude winemaking region
The Chinese province of Sichuan is being tipped by the local government as being the next big high altitude winemaking region.
At a recent press conference held in Chengdu, the Sichuan government outlined its plans to turn the province into a prototype for high-altitude winemaking in mainland China, following the success of neighbouring Yunnan province where LVMH made its first Chinese high-altitude wine.
Sichuan, which borders Yunnan and Tibet in south west China, currently has about 20 wineries and 4,200 hectares of land under vine, with an annual production of 15,000 tonnes, according to the Chengdu Wine & Spirits Association.
The main wine producing regions in the province are located between 1,500 and 3,200 metres above sea level along the Min, Da Du and Jingsha rivers and An Ning Valley with the main varieties being Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Gernish, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, and Chardonnay, according to Chinese state news portal China News.
“This would not only elevate Sichuan wine’s market influence, but also help bring another economic revenue for local ethnic groups and low income families,” said government official Zhao Hui.
Sichuan’s climate, with long periods of hail free days, are unique advantages of the region compared to Ningxia, China’s key wine producing region in north west China, and reported by local Chinese media The Cover. Sichuan has more than 240 hail-free days a year, and vines in the region enjoy an additional two months of hangtime compared with Ningxia and Xinjiang, according to Zhou Jingsong, head of the Chengdu Wine & Spirits Association.
The news was announced at a time when China’s domestic wine production has been dropping for the past five years, with production in 2017 weighing in at 10 million hectolitres as a result of fierce competition from imported wines.
Sichuan has a wine making tradition, but is much better known for its production of Chinese Baijiu and is the country’s largest producing province. In 2017, it produced a total of 4.3 million tonnes, which accounted for one third of the country’s total production.