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| Trade Tasting of the New Trio by Grace Vineyard |
8 July: Since its establishment in 1997, Grace Vineyard, the first family-owned boutique winery in China, has focused on making quality wine with international grape varieties such as the classic Bordeaux trio of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay, in styles familiar to consumers and has garnered awards and wide acclaim for its wines such as Tasya’s Reserve Chardonnay, Deep Blue and The Chairman’s Reserve. Tasya’s Reserve, named after the first grandchild of the founder of Grace Vineyard, represents a range of wines that are unique expressions of single varietals married to the specific soils and micro-climates of the vineyards located in Shanxi and Ningxia provinces in the NorthWest of China, with distinct continental climate and wide diurnal range.
Ningxia, an autonomous region of the PRC, is bordered by Shaanxi to the east, Gansu to the south and Inner Mongolia to the north, and 1200 km from the sea. Mostly desert-like conditions, Ningxia lies partly on the loess plateau and partly in the vast plain of the Yellow River. Climate is continental, with extremes like 39 degrees Celsius in the summer and -30 degrees Celsius in the winter. Wide diurnal ranges in excess of 15 degrees Celsius are common in the spring and summer. Annual rainfall ranges from 190 to 700 mm, depending on the exact location in Ningxia. The Grace Vineyard plots in Ningxia have about 200 mm rainfall per year, mainly during the months July to November. The soil is sandy, with low water holding capacity, low fertility and organic matter in soil. Irrigation is definitely required for young vines. For established vineyard, it will still need minimum of 5 times during the growing season to ensure proper ripening. Ningxia's GDP is third lowest in all of China's provinces.
As for Shanxi, the Yellow River forms the Western border with Shaaxi province, with Hebei to the east and Henan to the south. Shanxi is situated on a loess plateau, with higher ground to the east and west, and valleys in the center. Shanxi has very similar Growing Degree Days to Ningxia but its climate is continental monsoon, ie mainly dry, except for the summer months which can record 450 mm rainfall per year, with 350 mm falling between August and October. Winter temperatures are often below zero and summer temperatures range from 21 to 26 degrees Celsius, with common incidences of early summer heatwave. Dust storms are frequent in spring. The local climate and dwindling water resources have put a lot of strain on local agriculture. For Grace Vineyard, their vineyard soil is largely sandy, with some clay, with good water holding capacity, high fertility soil, but low in organic matter. Once above 7 years old, irrigation will not be necessary.
According to Judy Chan, President of Grace Vineyard, the experiment with different grape varieties started in 2006 in pursuit of her passion for innovation – she wanted to discover the potential and suitability of different grape varieties for China. After 5 years of trial, they decided to release the 2012 vintage of 3 such varietals, namely Tasya’s Reserve Aglianico, Marselan and Shiraz, with limited production of 3,000 bottles of each wine because of the experimental nature . Aglianico and Shiraz, though internationally known as quality varietals, are perhaps more commonly associated with warmer climates. The Shanxi terroir with its sandy loam soil, a long way away from the Southern Italian volcanic soil that personifies this varietal, has revealed a finesse and freshness that gives the wine an approachable style with unique character, and the Ningxia Shiraz packs much more peppery spice into its cool climate profile, enriched with earth and leathery notes, shares little in common with Barossa or Rhone. (Apparently they had experimented with Shiraz in Shanxi, but it didn't seem to like the humidity in the summer, giving Shiraz much larger berries and more compact clusters that were not helpful in humid conditions, whereas the drier climate in Ningxia produces smaller berries and more flavour concentration for Shiraz). Marselan is a French varietal and a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache. Little known beyond being a blending variety in the Languedoc, California and Italy, this grape with beautiful generous colour, cherry note and fine tannin, could easily have gone unnoticed, were it not for Grace Vineyard’s attempt to pluck it out of anonymity and to give it the chance to develop its own identity in Shanxi soils!
Despite the Marselan having won a Silver Medal in the red wine category of the RVF China Awards 2015, it is the Aglianico that has Judy’s thumbs-up. Aglianico is also prized for its ability to ripen before the rain has an impact on the quality. When asked if she envisaged any potential challenges in the marketing and selling of these 3 new wines, Judy speculated market resistance towards the Shiraz, as the style bore little resemblance to Barossa or Rhone, and the wine might be prejudiced by consumers’ preconceived expectations. Whereas for those consumers who had ventured out to try wines made in China, they already showed a spirit to embrace new things, and lesser-known Aglianico and Marselan could only add to the excitement of discovery. To reflect this, Grace Vineyard has initially allocated 900 bottles each of Aglianico and Marselan, and only 270 bottles of the Shiraz for the Hong Kong market (with retail price of HK$ 199 per bottle in HK, or around GBP 15) . These are wines with drinking window of 3 - 5 years after release. Any longer that, Judy said it’s their job!
One more tip from Grace Vineyard, it is perfectly acceptable to serve seafood and white meat with red wine. What is more important is the way it is cooked. Check out how they paired these new varieties with Cantonese style dishes served at Forum Restaurant in Causeway Bay.
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