Appendix 3: Fifty Chinese Wines to Try

Selection balances quality, representativeness, and can you actually buy a bottle. Prices are RMB retail. ★ = buy-ability (more stars, easier to find)

Red Wines (25)

Ningxia

#	Wine	Variety	Approx. Price	Buy-ability	Highlight
1	Silver Heights Family Reserve	Cabernet	¥800+	★★	Wine Advocate 94
2	Silver Heights Que Ge	Cab / Merlot	¥300–400	★★★	Entry to Silver Heights
3	Kanaan Pretty Pony	Blend	¥200–300	★★★	One of Ningxia’s most recognizable labels
4	Domaine des Arômes Nika	Blend	¥400–600	★★	Sun Miao’s terroir expression
5	Helan Qingxue Jia Bei Lan	Cabernet	¥300–500	★★★	The 2011 bottle that changed history
6	Legacy Peak Family Heritage	Cabernet	¥400–600	★★	A Ningxia new-generation benchmark
7	Zhihui Yuanshi Son of the Mountain	Cabernet	¥300–500	★★★	Helan alluvial-fan terroir
8	Xige Yuge	Cabernet	¥200–400	★★★★	Ningxia new wave, wide distribution
9	Great Wall Tianfu Zhen Niang	Cabernet	¥300–500	★★★★	State-enterprise benchmark
10	Ao Yun	Cabernet / Cab Franc	¥2,000+	★	LVMH flagship; Jancis Robinson 17

Hebei

#	Wine	Variety	Price	Buy-ability	Highlight
11	Domaine Franco-Chinois Reserve Marselan	Marselan	¥400–600	★★	TerroirSense 94; Marselan origin point
12	Chapter & Verse Reserve Cabernet	Cabernet / blend	¥200–400	★★★★	Canaan’s core red line
13	Amethyst Crystal Reserve Marselan	Marselan	¥300–500	★★★	DWWA repeat winner
14	Great Wall Sangan Chief Winemaker Cabernet	Cabernet	¥600–1,000	★★★★	James Suckling 95
15	Château Langues Reserve Marselan	Marselan	¥200–400	★★★	Changli organic Marselan

Shanxi

#	Wine	Variety	Price	Buy-ability	Highlight
16	Grace Deep Blue	Merlot-led blend	¥300–500	★★★★	Pioneer’s flagship
17	Grace Tasya’s Reserve Marselan	Marselan	¥400–600	★★★	DAWA Best Red Single Variety
18	Grace Tasya’s Reserve Cabernet Franc	Cabernet Franc	¥400–600	★★★	2019 DWWA Gold
19	Grace Owner’s Reserve	Blend	¥500–800	★★★	James Suckling 92

Xinjiang

#	Wine	Variety	Price	Buy-ability	Highlight
20	Tiansai S20	Cabernet / Marselan	¥300–500	★★★	Yanqi Basin benchmark
21	CITIC Guoan Niya Legend	Cabernet	¥200–400	★★★★	North-Tianshan representative

Shandong

#	Wine	Variety	Price	Buy-ability	Highlight
22	Changyu Jiebaina Selected	Cabernet Gernischt	¥200–300	★★★★★	China’s most-recognized wine brand
23	Domaine de Long Dai Reserve Red	Cab / Merlot	¥300–500	★★	French team in Penglai

Gansu

#	Wine	Variety	Price	Buy-ability	Highlight
24	Guofeng Cabernet MAX	Cabernet	¥200–400	★★★	DWWA Bronze
25	Great Wall Sangan Special Reserve Syrah	Syrah	¥400–600	★★★	Five Brussels Gold medals

White Wines (12)

#	Wine	Variety	Region	Price	Buy-ability	Highlight
26	Chapter & Verse Reserve Chardonnay	Chardonnay	Huailai	¥200–400	★★★★	Wine Advocate 92
27	Silver Heights Chardonnay	Chardonnay	Ningxia	¥300–500	★★	Ningxia white benchmark
28	Shacheng 1976 Centenarian Longyan	Longyan	Huailai	¥100–300	★★	DWWA Silver; the Huailai-only grape
29	Great Wall Sangan Chardonnay	Chardonnay	Huailai	¥200–400	★★★★	Diplomatic-banquet wine
30	Grace Tasya’s Reserve Chardonnay	Chardonnay	Shanxi	¥300–500	★★★	Loess-Plateau Chardonnay
31	Mogao Pinot Noir Dry Red	Pinot Noir	Gansu	¥150–300	★★★	Pinot in a dry continental region
32	Huailai Longyan Dry White (various)	Longyan	Huailai	¥80–200	★★	Native variety; pairs with fish
33	Domaine des Arômes White	White blend	Ningxia	¥200–400	★★	Ningxia boutique white
34	Tiansai Chardonnay	Chardonnay	Xinjiang	¥150–300	★★★	North-Tianshan white
35	Zixuan Dry White	White blend	Gansu	¥100–200	★★★	Hexi Corridor white
36	Grace Chenin Blanc	Chenin Blanc	Shanxi	¥200–300	★★★	Rare Chinese Chenin
37	Xige Italian Riesling	Welschriesling	Ningxia	¥100–200	★★★★	Ningxia entry white

Sweet & Ice Wines (8)

#	Wine	Variety	Region	Price	Buy-ability	Highlight
38	Changyu Golden Ice Valley Gold-Diamond	Vidal	Huanren, Liaoning	¥300–500	★★★★	93 in a global blind tasting
39	Changyu Golden Ice Valley Blue-Diamond	Vidal	Huanren	¥500–800	★★★	Flagship ice wine
40	Wunüshan Ice Wine	Vidal	Huanren	¥200–400	★★★	Huanren backbone
41	Beibinghong Red Ice Wine	Beibinghong	Ji’an, Jilin	¥200–500	★★	The world’s only red ice wine
42	Domaine Franco-Chinois Petit Manseng Sweet White	Petit Manseng	Huailai	¥300–500 (375 ml)	★★	China’s most distinctive sweet white
43	Mogao Ice Wine	Vidal	Gansu	¥200–400	★★★	Hexi Corridor ice wine
44	Silver Heights Sweet White	Blend	Ningxia	¥300–500	★★	Ningxia sweet-wine exploration
45	Kanaan Late Harvest Sweet White	Blend	Ningxia	¥200–400	★★	—

Special Bottlings (5)

#	Wine	Type	Region	Price	Buy-ability	Highlight
46	Changyu Jiebaina (classic)	Dry red	Shandong	¥80–150	★★★★★	Best-selling Chinese wine; mandatory entry
47	Great Wall Five-Star Cabernet	Dry red	multi-region	¥100–200	★★★★★	Industrial baseline reference
48	Dameiyong Dry Red	Dry red	Markam, Tibet	¥150–300	★	Wine from 2,400 m
49	Hansen Desert Cabernet	Dry red	Wuhai, Inner Mongolia	¥100–300	★★★	Desert wine
50	Guofeng 3500 Desert Cabernet	Dry red	Zhangye, Gansu	¥200–400	★★★	World Organic Wine Awards Gold

Selection Suggestions

If you can only buy one: #5 Helan Qingxue Jia Bei Lan. The starting point of Chinese wine being seen by the world.

If you buy three (to feel the range of Chinese wine):

#1 Silver Heights Family Reserve (boutique peak)
#38 Changyu Golden Ice Valley Gold-Diamond (ice wine)
#28 Shacheng 1976 Centenarian Old-Vine Longyan (native variety)

If you buy five (covering the major regions):

#5 Helan Qingxue Jia Bei Lan (Ningxia)
#11 Domaine Franco-Chinois Reserve Marselan (Hebei)
#16 Grace Deep Blue (Shanxi)
#38 Changyu Golden Ice Valley (Northeast ice wine)
#22 Changyu Jiebaina Selected (Shandong; industrial baseline)

If you set up a blind-tasting flight (6 bottles; Chinese vs. imported):

China side: Silver Heights Que Ge + Domaine Franco-Chinois Marselan + Grace Deep Blue
Imports: same-price Bordeaux cru bourgeois + Languedoc Marselan + a super-Tuscan
Cover the labels and score blind. Then see whether the China side held.

PLACEHOLDER:cover-fifty-wines at the top.