China and the Wine City -part 2

The second full day we had in Yantai, the Wine City, we were able to visit the International Wine City, Changyu, established in 2002 (so I was told, though another source suggested that it was in September 2008). This is what I described as the Disneyland of Chinese wine, covering 100ha. Uncountable great busloads of tourists (well, Changyu counts them, and told me that 100,000 visit per year, though the other source said it was as many as 1,000,000 in the first four months that it was open!) funnel through the gates to learn about winemaking, see the spectacle of grapevines growing, taste some wine and grapes and if they come at the right time of year, partake of harvest and even a bit of grape stomping! Entry is a nominal 30RMB each (about USD4.40 or NZD6.10), but the City is used as a way to get people interested in wine, and to learn more about how to appreciate it. They employ a (Western) sommelier to help with this by offering programmes on wine appreciation and the like.

The Grape Tasting Corridor in the Wine City. Here, patrons can sample grapes, wine, and nibble on biscuits, sweets and cheese.

On site is a museum, a huge Chateau, vineyards and of course, a sales room!

The Chateau in the Wine City - a massive and impressive building, meant to spar with the best that France has to offer

All very impressive, and yet, incongruous, as this City is situated in an Yantai industrial park near the south shore of Bohai Straight, between Bohai Sea and Korea Bay, where condominiums reach towards the stars...

Picturesque vineyards surrounded by massive condos, construction cranes and industrial offices

As a viticulturist, I was shocked by the virus status of the vines, which made the vineyards look like a patchwork of red and green. It seems that there is little clean material available, and no guidelines are in place to monitor and try to keep it out of the nurseries. In fact, that would do little to help, as most of the vine material being planted is simply collected from existing vines and poked into the soil. As I've noted before, the sandy soils aren't phylloxera-friendly, so own-rooted vines won't be beleaguered by the pest.

However, vine virus status aside, looking at the International Wine City with a marketing and tourism hat on, it was a marvel. There's no doubt that China is taking the whole wine experience to heart!