Gansu

The wine of the Silk Road

For centuries the Hexi Corridor was the main route between China and the West, and grapes and wine travelled along it. In the Tang dynasty, the poet Wang Han opened his 'Song of Liangzhou' with an image that every Chinese reader knows: fine grape wine in luminous cups (葡萄美酒夜光杯). Liangzhou is the old name of Wuwei, still the heart of Gansu's wine industry.

A modern industry

The modern wine industry of the corridor started in the early 1980s. Mogao, based in Wuwei and founded in that decade, became the region's best-known producer and built its reputation on Pinot Noir. In 2012 Hexi Corridor wine received national geographical indication protection, covering more than a dozen counties and districts in Wuwei, Jinchang, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Jiayuguan, and in the same year Wuwei was named China's first 'wine city'. Today the region has about 10,000 hectares of wine grapes, making it one of the five largest in China.

Despite this, Gansu remains little known outside China. Its long, narrow shape and the distance from the big markets have made transport difficult, and many of its wines have been sold in bulk or under little-known labels.

Oases between mountain and desert

The Qilian Mountains, rising above 4,000 metres, shelter the corridor to the south and feed it with snowmelt. To the north lies the desert. Rain is scarce, sunshine is abundant and the vineyards are fully irrigated. Compared with Ningxia or Xinjiang, the corridor is relatively cool, which suits early-ripening grapes, while late varieties can struggle to ripen. As in most of northern China, the vines must be protected from the cold winters.

Grapes and styles

Pinot Noir and Welschriesling (Italian Riesling) are considered the region's top performers, an unusual profile for China. Other members of the Pinot family, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Gernischt are also grown. Producers to know include Mogao, Qilian and Guofeng.