Hebei

The capital's wine country

Hebei surrounds Beijing and Tianjin, and its two main wine areas lie on either side of the capital: Huailai to the northwest and Changli to the northeast, near the Bohai Sea. Their wines have long been the natural choice for official occasions in Beijing: Great Wall wines were served at state dinners for US presidents Barack Obama in 2009 and Donald Trump in 2017.

A string of 'firsts'

Huailai was chosen as the site of China's first experimental wine vineyard and wine research base. According to Great Wall Wine, these projects produced China's first dry white wine in 1979, its first dry red in 1983 and its first traditional-method sparkling wine in 1989. Great Wall, founded in 1983 in Shacheng, Huailai's county town, grew into one of China's biggest wine companies and is today part of the state-owned COFCO group. Its Chateau Sungod, a former experimental vineyard in the Sanggan River basin, is one of the oldest and most varied vineyards in the country.

On the coast, Changli Winery produced China's first bottled dry red wine in May 1983, a Cabernet Sauvignon. In August 2000 Changli was named the 'Hometown of Chinese Dry Red Wine' and the 'Hometown of Chinese Wine Grapes'.

The home of Chinese Marselan

In 2001 a Sino-French demonstration vineyard in Huailai, led by the winemaker and professor Li Demei, planted the first Marselan in China, a cross of Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache bred in France in 1961. The first vintage was made in 2003 and China's first 100% Marselan followed in 2004. The estate, renamed Domaine Franco-Chinois in 2005, also pioneered Petit Manseng. Today Marselan is grown in every major Chinese wine region and has become one of the country's calling cards.

Huailai's new generation

For a long time, many Huailai producers bought grapes from local farmers and sold bulk wine to the big companies. Today a group of quality estates, including Domaine Franco-Chinois, Canaan Wine Estate and Martin Vineyard, alongside Chateau Sungod, is showing the region's potential. Critics praise Huailai for its balance: the wines tend to be fresher and more restrained than those of the desert regions of the west.

Grapes and styles

Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot lead among reds, with Marselan as the regional signature and Syrah also successful. Huailai has a long tradition of white wine, from Riesling and Chardonnay to Petit Manseng, and of traditional-method sparkling wine. Changli is historically known for dry reds, especially Cabernet Sauvignon.