摘要：中国人酿造和引用葡萄酒的历史由来已久，近年来，在优异的地理环境与扶持政策双重加持下，中国的国产葡萄酒品质日益提升。酿酒师远赴海外学习先进酿造技术，并积极拓展市场，但目前精品酒庄的价格仍让普通人望而却步。在这个假期，不妨让我们跟随《经济学人》编辑的文字，一探中国

有趣灵魂说

中国人酿造和引用葡萄酒的历史由来已久，近年来，在优异的地理环境与扶持政策双重加持下，中国的国产葡萄酒品质日益提升。酿酒师远赴海外学习先进酿造技术，并积极拓展市场，但目前精品酒庄的价格仍让普通人望而却步。在这个假期，不妨让我们跟随《经济学人》编辑的文字，一探中国的葡萄酒。

译文为原创，仅供个人学习使用

The Economist ｜Culture

经济学人｜文化

Feeling vine 葡萄情怀

Wine from China is finer than Western snobs imagine

中国葡萄酒的品质远超西方势利眼想象

Government support and French expertise have made all the difference

政府扶持与法国技术造就了非凡成就

宁夏正值葡萄丰收时节。八月，北部贺兰山脚下（如图）的葡萄园开始采收。到十一月，超过四万公顷的葡萄园——面积约为巴黎的四倍——将完成采收。种植者们无法长久享受劳动成果。采收结束后，葡萄种植者便要开始挖掘：在气温骤降至零下15摄氏度之前，他们必须将葡萄藤埋入土中。

这片毗邻戈壁沙漠的中国西北土地，虽历经严冬，却为酿酒师提供了沃土。首府银川与加州葡萄酒产区纳帕谷处于同一纬度。宁夏年均日照时长达3000小时，与西班牙部分地区相当，利于果实成熟。岩质土壤排水迅速，使葡萄藤能扎下深根。

考古证据表明，中国酿酒历史至少可追溯至汉代（公元前206年-公元220年），甚至更早。如今葡萄酒产业规模庞大：2024年中国葡萄酒产量达11.8万千升，约合1.6亿瓶（相当于普通公司圣诞派对的饮用量）。宁夏是优质葡萄酒的主要产区。去年银川酒庄收入达360亿元人民币（50亿美元），较2023年增长20%。

令人惊叹的不仅是规模：中国葡萄酒的品质远超许多西方人的预期。中国酿酒师在国际顶级赛事中屡获殊荣。今年在被誉为“葡萄酒界奥斯卡”的《醇鉴》世界葡萄酒大奖赛上，中国酒庄斩获181枚奖牌，而2007年仅有3枚（见图表）。两款中国葡萄酒荣膺“最佳展品”称号。评委们对宁夏红葡萄酒赞不绝口，称其散发着“黑加仑与野李子的迷人香气”，“果香与辛香交织出令人沉醉的层次感”。

诚然，中国在DWWA的奖牌数仅为法国或意大利的零头，与澳大利亚、阿根廷等国仍有差距。但其表现已超越奥地利、德国等“旧世界”产国。英国最古老的葡萄酒商贝瑞兄弟指出：‘中国具备成为重要角色的意愿与资源’。该国“气候土壤的极端多样性”使其能酿造从糖浆般甜美的餐后酒到干型红白葡萄酒的各类佳酿。

许多中国人正沉醉于本土葡萄酒。北京米其林星级餐厅TRB胡同的侍酒师李布鲁斯断言：“若将中国葡萄酒与法意佳酿对比，我认为某些国产酒款风味更胜一筹。”

虽非众口一词，但中国葡萄酒日益可口确有两重缘由：其一是政府扶持。中国学童皆背诵唐代经典诗句“葡萄美酒夜光杯”。1956年山东张裕酒厂（中国历史最悠久的酿酒企业）亦由国家要求扩大生产。

在山东参与该产业的人士中的一位于2002年去了宁夏。当地随即宣布雄心勃勃的目标：种植7万公顷葡萄园，力争使宁夏成为全球主要葡萄酒产区。官员们划拨适宜葡萄种植的土地，为种植者提供补贴并设立培训项目，同时吸引外资。法国奢侈品巨头LVMH集团也决定参与其中，于2013年在宁夏创立香槟酒生产商香槟中国，并在云南创立奥云酒庄。

中国葡萄酒品质提升的另一关键在于借鉴顶尖经验。宁夏被誉为“中国波尔多”绝非空穴来风——当地酿酒师始终以法国同行为标杆。1990年代末，宁夏代表团赴法向葡萄种植专家取经。他们学到的关键经验之一是：每株葡萄藤只应结12串优质果实，而非20至30串风味平庸的果实。如今宁夏酒庄广泛种植与波尔多相同的葡萄品种，采用相同工艺，追求相似风味，并使用法国橡木桶陈酿葡萄酒。

在国外接受培训的中国酿酒师们将理论付诸实践。其中包括艾玛高（图），她曾在波尔多大学学习酿酒学。她与父亲高林共同经营银高酒庄——这家精品酒庄于2007年在宁夏创立。

银峰酒庄，勇夺金奖

该酒庄的两款葡萄酒——黑皮诺和赤霞珠——在今年的DWWA国际葡萄酒大赛中斩获奖项。（他们的“家族珍藏霞多丽”曾被用来款待马克龙和默克尔。）今年银峰酒庄最畅销的是款橙酒，酸度鲜明，带着葡萄柚的清香。一款采用宁夏米酒酿造的花香型天然起泡酒（pétillant naturel，简称pét-nat）同样广受欢迎。

尽管中国酿酒师近年取得长足进步，国产葡萄酒仍未跻身全球顶级佳酿之列。2023年盲品会上，葡萄酒评论家简西斯·罗宾逊指出，因葡萄藤生长周期较短，中国葡萄酒“明显缺乏其他产区的细腻感”。

有人认为中国葡萄酒尚未充分释放潜力。高女士希望“发掘本土风土之美”：在精通波尔多风格葡萄酒的同时，她致力于探索哪些葡萄品种能在中国土壤中茁壮成长。银海酒庄已突破赤霞珠、玛瑟兰和梅洛的主流品种框架，引进了小西拉、多尔芬德雷司令和西班牙丹魄等23个新品种。她奔波于全国各地物色新葡萄园：“或许需要数百年才能找到属于我们的定位与方向。”另一个障碍是，中国的葡萄酒文化既不像其他国家那样主流，也不如其他国家那样充满热情。啤酒或白酒仍是大多数人的首选饮品。近年来，由于新冠疫情、经济放缓以及对官员送酒和饮酒行为的打击，包括欧洲顶级葡萄酒在内的进口葡萄酒销量均出现下滑。

宁夏众多酒庄正积极拓展海外市场，瞄准全球葡萄酒爱好者。银川起泡酒企业德沃希望将出口占比从去年的20%提升至50%。但欧洲市场已趋于饱和，美国对华商品征收30%关税。在许多富裕国家，随着注重健康的年轻人远离酒精，葡萄酒消费量正在下降。

对中国葡萄酒生产商而言，最大的问题或许是价格。进口专业高科技设备，加上在宁夏等地埋植和挖出葡萄藤，都增加了生产成本。这意味着许多中国精品葡萄酒的价格与旧世界同类产品相当甚至更高，但口感和声望却无法比拟。银海酒庄的葡萄酒售价高达250美元；傲云酒庄的酒款则超过350美元。同等价位下，消费者本可购得顶级特级园葡萄酒。除非这种局面改变，否则无论中国精品葡萄酒的果香与辛香多么诱人，终究只能被少数鉴赏家享用。■

IT IS A grape time of year in Ningxia. In August the harvest begins up north, in the shadow of the Helan mountains (pictured). By November more than 40,000 hectares of vineyards—an area roughly four times the size of Paris—will have been combed over. Growers do not enjoy the fruits of their labour for long. Once the harvest is completed, viticulturists get to digging: they must bury their vines before temperatures plummet to -15°C.

Ningxia, a region in north-western China close to the Gobi desert, endures harsh winters. Nonetheless, it provides fertile ground for winemakers. The capital, Yinchuan, sits at the same latitude as Napa Valley, a centre of wine production in California. Ningxia gets 3,000 hours of fruit-ripening sun each year—the same as in parts of Spain. The rocky soil drains quickly and allows vines to put down deep roots.

People have been making wine in China at least since the Han dynasty (206BC-220AD) and perhaps even longer, judging from some archaeological evidence. Today wine is a big industry: in 2024 China produced 118,000 kilolitres of wine, roughly equivalent to 160m bottles (or about the amount drunk at the average office Christmas party). Ningxia is where much of the premium stuff is made. Revenues from wineries in Yinchuan reached 36bn yuan ($5bn) last year, up 20% from 2023.

It is not just the scale that is impressive: Chinese wine tastes better than many Westerners assume. The country’s vintners are earning ever more accolades in the world’s top competitions. This year they claimed 181 medals at the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA)—a competition sometimes referred to as the “Oscars of wine”—up from three in 2007 (see chart). Two wines were proclaimed “best in show”. Judges waxed poetic about the “alluring scentsof blackcurrant and wild plum” in a red from Ningxia, with its “seductive plunge of fruit and spice”.

To be sure, China’s DWWA medals haul was a fraction of France’s or Italy’s, and some way off Australia’s or Argentina’s. But it managed more than other “old world” countries such as Austria and Germany. Berry Bros Rudd, Britain’soldest wine merchant, has observed that “China has the will and resource to become a very important player”. The country’s “enormous variety of climates and soils” means it can make everything from syrupy dessert wines to dry reds and whites.

Plenty in China are sweet on its wine. Bruce Li, a sommelier at TRB Hutong, a Michelin-starredrestaurant in Beijing, asserts that “If you compare Chinese wines with French or Italian wines, I think some Chinese wines actually taste better.”

Not everyone will agree. But there are two reasons why China’s wine has become more palatable. One is government support. All Chinese schoolchildren memorise a classical Tang-dynasty poem that begins: “Fine wine glows in a luminous glass.”

Among the people involved in the industry in Shandong was Chen Jianguo, who in 2002 became Ningxia’s party secretary. The local government then announced an ambitious goal of planting 70,000 hectares of vineyards, with the aim of making Ningxia a major global producer. Officials allocated suitable land for the vines, provided subsidies for those cultivating grapes and set up training programmes. They also attracted foreign investment. LVMH, a French luxury-goods giant, decided it wanted a taste of the action, setting up Chandon China, a sparkling-wine producer in Ningxia, in 2013 as well as Ao Yun, a winery in Yunnan.

The other reason for China’s improved output is that its winemakers have learned from the best. Ningxia is sometimes described as “China’s Bordeaux” and with good reason: its winemakers have modelled themselves on their French peers. In the late 1990s a delegation travelled to France to learn from viticulturists there. Among other things, they were taught the importance of growing only a dozen clusters of high-quality grapes per vine instead of 20 or 30 less-flavourful ones. Firms in Ningxia grow many of the same grape varieties as those in Bordeaux, apply their methods and strive for a similar taste, ageing the wine in French oak barrels.

Chinese vintners who have trained abroad have put theory into practice at home. Among them is Emma Gao (pictured), who studied oenology at the University of Bordeaux. Along with her father, Gao Lin, she runs Silver Heights, a boutique winery set up in Ningxia in 2007.

Silver Heights, going for gold

Two of its wines—a Pinot Noir and a Cabernet Sauvignon—won prizes at this year’s DWWA. (It was their “Family Reserve Chardonnay” that Chinese officials served to Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel.) Silver Heights’s bestseller this year is an orange wine with strong acidity and hints of grapefruit. A floral pétillant naturel, or “pét-nat”, made with rice wine from Ningxia, has also proved popular.

Yet despite all the improvements China’s winemakers have made in recent years, Chinese wines do not rank among the world’s most coveted bottles. In a blind tasting in 2023 Jancis Robinson, a critic, noted that Chinese wines “stand out as being less subtle” than those made in other regions because the vines are less mature.

Some suggest that the country has not come close to realising its potential. Ms Gao hopes “to discover the beauty of our terroir”: as well as mastering Bordeaux-style wines, she wants to work out which other grapes thrive in China’s soils. Silver Heights has expanded beyond the dominant Cabernet Sauvignon, Marselan and Merlot varieties to plant 23 others, including Petite Sirah, Dornfelder Riesling and Spanish Tempranillo. She has been driving all over the country in search of new spots for vineyards: “It may take us hundreds of years to find our niche and direction.”

Another obstacle is that wine culturein China is neither as mainstream nor as passionate as it is in other countries. Beer or baijiu, a liquor, remain the tipples of choice for most. Wine imports, including of the best European stuff, have dropped in recent years because of covid-19, an economic slowdown and crackdowns on alcohol gifting and drinking among officials.

Lots of producers in Ningxia want to step up their exports and target their wares at wine-lovers elsewhere. Devo, a sparkling-wine enterprise in Yinchuan, hopes to sell 50% of its bottles abroad, up from 20% last year. But many European markets are already mature or saturated; America is slapping 30% tariffs on Chinese goods. And in lots of rich countries wine consumption is declining as health-conscious youngsters turn away from booze.

Perhaps the biggest problem for Chinese winemakers is price. Importing specialist high-tech equipment, along with all the burying and digging up of vines in regions such as Ningxia, increases production costs. This means that many Chinese fine wines cost the same, if not more, than their counterparts from the old world, but do not have the same taste or cachet. Wines by Silver Heights cost up to $250; bottles of Ao Yun fetch more than $350. You could get your hands on a grand cru for a similar price. Unless that changes, Chinese fine wine is destined to be drunk by few connoisseurs—no matter how seductive its plunges of fruit and spice. ■

来源：左右图史