Grape variety

Rose Honey

玫瑰蜜méiguimì

A French grape lost in Europe, still alive in a Tibetan village in Yunnan

Type: Grape variety
Colour: red
Family: Ancient and heritage
Origin: France: a pre-phylloxera variety brought to Yunnan by French missionaries
In China since: 19th century
Main regions: Yunnan
Literal meaning: 'Rose honey'

Taste profile

Body
LightFull
Body: 3 out of 5
Tannin
LowHigh
Tannin: 2 out of 5
Acidity
LowHigh
Acidity: 4 out of 5
Fruit
SubtleIntense
Fruit: 4 out of 5

Aromas

rose
honey
red berries
dried fruit
Rose and honey
with red berries and dried fruit.

Sweetness · often sweet

Rose Honey is a grape with one of the strangest stories in the wine world. French missionaries brought it to the mountains of north-west Yunnan in the 19th century to make communion wine. In Europe it disappeared after the phylloxera epidemic. In the village of Cizhong, on the Mekong, it is still grown today.

Missionaries on the Mekong

In the 19th century, French Catholic missionaries travelled up the Mekong into the mountains where Yunnan meets Tibet. They brought vines with them to make wine for Mass. In the village of Cizhong (茨中), they built a church, rebuilt in stone in 1914, and planted vineyards around it.

Lost in Europe, alive in Yunnan

At the end of the 19th century, the phylloxera louse destroyed most of Europe's vineyards. Many old varieties were never replanted. Rose Honey is believed to be one of them: lost in France, but still growing in a remote Tibetan village in China.

The wine of Cizhong

Villagers, many of them Catholic, still make a dark red, sweet wine from it, once only for communion and now also for visitors. Only a few vineyards remain, and a dam project has reduced the land available. It is one of the most fragile wine traditions in the world.

What to expect

As its name promises: rose and honey, with red berries, dried fruit and fresh acidity. Most wines are sweet.

History in China

French missionaries brought the vine to north-west Yunnan in the 19th century, along the Mekong. The Catholic church of Cizhong, burned during conflicts with local Buddhists, was rebuilt in 1914 and is still the centre of the village. In the 1950s, further clones of the grape were reportedly introduced from Southeast Asia. Today, Rose Honey survives in a handful of vineyards in Cizhong and is also sold as a table grape.

Growing

Cizhong sits in a deep valley of the Mekong at the edge of the Tibetan plateau, with strong sunshine and a dry season that suits the vines. The variety has adapted well to the local climate, but its vineyard area is small and shrinking.