Distinctive Chinese wines pour into global market

YINCHUAN — Much ingenuity has been dedicated to the label designs of the sparkling wine made by DEVO Winery based in China's premier wine region. The splash of light green — resembling a brush stroke — turns dark as the temperature falls, indicating the best time to pop the cork.

The back label has two layers — a Chinese label on top with English beneath it. The Chinese label can easily be peeled off, making the bottle ready for export. The winery, based in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region, expanded its list of export destinations in July by adding Japan.

The company's export expansion is part of a larger trend of Ningxia wines gaining international recognition. According to Yinchuan Customs, in the first half of 2024, Ningxia exported 50,500 liters of wine valued at over 5.75 million yuan ($802,893), marking year-on-year increases of 24.79 percent and 70.16 percent, respectively.

As the Fourth China (Ningxia) International Wine Culture and Tourism Expo kicked off this month in Yinchuan, Ningxia's capital city, wines from the region — with its ideal growing conditions of a dry environment and ample sunshine — have been thrust into the spotlight. Local wineries like DEVO will be exhibiting at the expo aiming to boost exports.

Japanese customers, seeking suppliers of sparkling wine, discovered the winery. "After tasting our products, they were immediately impressed and placed an order," says its founder Zhai Liang. In July, nearly 90,000 yuan of sparkling wine was exported to Japan.

There are two wineries in China specializing in the traditional method of making sparkling wines.