Women In Wine

‘Women hold up half the sky.’ This old Chinese adage originated from China’s rural countryside,  where women’s contribution to agriculture, family and community have always been undeniable and crucial to the foundations of society. Perhaps it is no surprise, then, that the driving forces behind some of China’s most celebrated wineries today are a group of bold and remarkable women.  Their unique experiences and journeys, combined with a shared passion for their home terroir, are the stories we want to share with you through their beguiling wines. To mark International Women’s day, on 8th March, but to celebrate the wonderful women in wine beyond just this date, but every day, we are proud to present a special wine list, curated by wine communicator and international wine judge, Janet Wang, to showcase a selection of premium Chinese wines with Chinese women at the helm of the winery or as chief winemakers.

SILVER HEIGHTS VINEYARD, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia

Emma Gao is the owner and chief winemaker of Silver Heights Vineyard, Ningxia, China.

She has been a leading figure in China’s modern wine scene. Emma studied in Bordeaux, where she obtained the Diplome National d’Oenologue and worked at Château Calon-Ségur of St-Estèphe.

Emma returned to Ningxia in 2007, and started working with her father to launch Silver Heights, where their organic approach combined with traditional Chinese agricultural principles really set them apart and attracted international critical acclaim.

Since 2017, Emma started the conversion to biodynamic viticulture and minimal intervention winemaking, allowing her wines to better express the purity of her terroir and her life philosophy.

KANAAN WINERY, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia

Fang Wang, affectionately known as ‘Crazy Fang’, is the owner and winemaker at Kanaan Winery, Ningxia, China. She earned her ’Crazy‘ nickname because she pioneered the planting of Riesling in Ningxia.

Fang completed her winemaking studies at the Giessen University, Germany, in 2000. There she fell in love with Riesling and felt that it was her destiny to bring Riesling to China.  In 2011, she moved to Ningxia to establish Kanaan Winery. Since then, the winery has received recognition globally, particularly for its Riesling. Fang played no small part in converting many more wineries across China to plant and make wine with Riesling. 

FEI TSWEI WINERY, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia

Lily Zhang is the owner and General Manager of Fei Tswei Winery. Founded in 2012,  Lily’s vision was to produce premium single varietal wines that showcase the Ningxia terroir and varietal characters to their fullest. This was a bold move as most wineries in China were preoccupied with producing Bordeaux Blends, Lily from the outset planted over 20 varieties and made meticulous studies of vineyard plots and their effects on various varieties. Thanks to Lily’s strategic decisions, Fei Tswei wines are often used as benchmarks for varietal characteristics from Ningxia. 

PUCHANG VINEYARD, Turpan, Xinjiang

Mary Cheung epitomises the young second generation family winery owners of China. They are internationally educated, yet deeply attached and proud of their roots. This makes them the best advocates and gives us great optimism in the future of Chinese wines. Mary is the marketing director of Puchang, and shares her parents’ passion in producing organic, authentic wines using rare and characterful grape varieties that best showcase the unique terroir of Turpan Basin, famed for its ‘Flame Mountain’ – one of the hottest places in China.

CHATEAU RONGZI, Shanxi

Huining Zhang, Chief Winemaker and Vice President of Château Rongzi, is a standard bearer for a generation of domestically trained winemakers in China. She graduated from the prestigious Northwest Agricultural & Forestry University – the leading research and education institute for viticulture and winemaking in China. Under her stewardship, Rongzi Winery achieved many international accolades, and introduced the uniqueness of China’s Loess Plateau terroir to the world. The winery name ‘Rongzi’ itself is a tribute to the legend of a remarkable queen.  Rongzi was the daughter of a nomadic tribal chief during the Spring and Autumn Period, more than 2,700 years ago. As a young girl, Rongzi used to pick wild grapes and make wine. Later, in order to promote peace between her tribal people and the neighbouring Dukedom of Jin, she married the Prince of Jin. Rongzi was credited for bringing winemaking knowledge to the Dukedom, and using wine to great diplomatic effects.

Curator

Janet Z. Wang

Janet is the author of The Chinese Wine Renaissance (published by Penguin Randomhouse and shortlisted for ‘the Oscars of Wine’: Louis Roederer Wine Book of the Year 2019 and overall winner of 2020 Gourmand Awards World Wine category).  She has appeared on British national radio and TV (BBC and Channel 4), TEDxSOHO, as well as running wine events for corporate and social occasions, beverage sector investors, universities (Cambridge, Oxford, LSE, SOAS), China-related forums and high-profile private members clubs such as 67 Pall Mall, to introduce wines and wine culture to experts and novices alike.  She is an internationally acclaimed specialist on Chinese wine, the principal Chinese speaking member of the prestigious Circle of Wine Writers and Association of Wine Educators, and Asia Region wine judge at the International Wine & Spirit Competition.

Janet began her wine writing career in 2012. Prior to this, she graduated from the University of Cambridge in Computer Science and was an investment banker in London for ten years. She also combines her knowledge in wine, finance and technology to advise on private wine portfolios.

To purchase The Chinese Wine Renaissance  click here