In fine spirits
A new generation of winemakers is turning Shangri-La's mountain valleys into China's most uplifting frontier of wine, Li Yingxue reports.
In the sun-drenched vineyards of Rizui village, nestled along the banks of the Lancang River in Dechen county, five young women move briskly between rows of ripened grapes. The harvest season has arrived, marking the culmination of a year's worth of labor and care.
Among them is Kangzhu, who, together with her four teammates, joined Songtsam Cizhong Winery just over a year ago. Once farmers tending vines in their backyards, they are now professionals cultivating a new livelihood — and a new identity — through winemaking.
Songtsam Cizhong Winery is a young but ambitious addition to the growing Shangri-La wine region. Completed at the end of last year, it is releasing its first vintage — a Chardonnay dry white — later this year.
The winery sits in Cizhong village, a place steeped in more than a century of grape-growing heritage. From the late 19th to early 20th century, French missionaries built the Cizhong Catholic Church here and planted vineyards around it, introducing winemaking to this remote valley.
