South Korean media: China is the sixth largest wine producer

 

The history of producing authentic French wines in China can be traced back 125 years, the report said. In 1892, Zhang Bishi, an overseas Chinese capitalist who had accumulated a lot of wealth by doing business in Southeast Asia, invested 3 million taels of silver to set up a wine company in Yantai City, Shandong Province, creating a precedent for Chinese wine production. Zhang Bishi introduced 120 kinds of grape seedlings from France, repeatedly improved the varieties, and hired first-class wine technicians in Europe. Soon, Yantai's unique grape variety, called Snake Dragon Ball, was developed. This Cabernet dry red wine, which was first produced in 1931, has become synonymous with Changyu wines with its long, lingering aroma of red berries and cherries. Changyu wines are sold to 28 countries and regions around the world, and are also supplied to the British royal family. It is also the first-class wine served by major airlines around the world.

 

China's oldest wine factory has become a grape museum. With a capacity of 30, 000 bottles and a weight of 15 tonnes, the yet-to-be-launched wine warehouse, Asia's largest oak barrel, speaks to Changyu's history. On a visit there in 1912, Dr. Sun praised it as "as good as French wine," according to the commentary, and a copy of his calligraphy was posted inside. Yu Bo, curator of the exhibition, said four products, including wine and brandy, won gold MEDALS at the 1915 World Exposition in Panama. A delegation headed by Zhang Bishi visited the White House on their way back to the United States and presented wine to Woodrow Wilson, then US president, a record still preserved today.

 

Yantai has been a stronghold of Chinese wine since ancient times. One out of every three bottles produced in China is produced in Yantai, and six of China's top 10 wine companies, including Changyu, Great Wall and Weitong, have production bases in Yantai, the report said. Curator Yu Bo said, "Zhang Bishi, an overseas Chinese from Guangdong province, chose Yantai from the very beginning because he believed that Yantai was at the same latitude as Bordeaux in France, with similar land and climate, which made it suitable for grape growing." Recently, companies from France, the United States, Australia and other wine hometown have also come here to set up wineries. There are more than 20 wine production plants including Changyu Castor Chateau, a joint venture between Changyu Company and Castor Brothers in France, on the hilly land along the Yellow Sea about 100 kilometers away.

 

However, Chinese wine companies, led by Changyu, still have a long way to go, the report said. The most urgent task now is to compete with increasing competition from imported wines, as younger Chinese prefer more cost-effective wines from France or Australia.