Wines from China have come a long way in their development. They are the house wine in Peninsula Hong Kong, Shangri-la Hotels throughout China and are the only Asian wines to be found on Starwood’s Wines of the World.

Traversing the Orient’s wine guru, Laurence Civil, guzzles the grape and lets us in on the mysteries of the Orient.

Grace Vineyard is located at an altitude of 870-950 meters above sea level in Taigu County, 40km south of the provincial capital of Tai Yuan. It enjoy s a continental climate with minimal rainfall; having sunny days with temperatures reaching as high as 40ºC and falling to 20ºC at night which is ideal for wine making. With help from Denis Bolas, detailed research was done to find the areas with the right soil. On 28^th August 1997 CK Chan and Sylvian Janvier laid the foundations for the Grace Vineyards.

The original estate included a winery surrounded by 150 hectares of vineyards planted with 11 varieties of imported French vines to see which would grow in the different plots. After a couple of years of trials it was decided to downsize the estate to 68.5 hectares. Today it has expanded to 200 hectares with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot, 6% Chardonnay and small portions of Riesling, Chenin Blanc and Marsane vines. These three vines collectively account for 5% of total land under vine. To ensure the quality of the fruit the vines are trimmed to yield six tons per hectare.

Great attention to details is taken in all stages of production and visiting overseas winemakers work with the management to refine the winemaking procedure. After four years of methodical cultivation the first harvest came in 2001.

CK Chan had the sense to realize that for a family winery to produce quality wine will be an arduous process requiring a generation of effort and devotion. He therefore recruited his daughter Judy, persuading her to quit her job with Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong to take over the vineyard operations and become President of Grace Vineyards this year.

The first of their wines I tasted was from their Vineyard Series’ that are wines using grapes from the most recent harvest, often serves as an introductory step to our vintage. It can be matched with a variety of foods, and is a very good choice as a daily wine. The ‘Vineyard Series’ have become a popular choice of table wine among many five star hotels and top restaurants throughout Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

The Vineyard Rose 2008 is made with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon fruit.  In the glass it has a brilliant pale magenta; on the nose fresh berry fruits with floral highlights and; in the mouth it’s round and soft with well balanced acidity for freshness. The flavour is long, mouth filling and dry.

I then tasted three wines from their Premium Series that are single grape variety wine as well as blended wine. Primarily made using fruits from the most recent harvest, these wines are cellared for up to 10 months in Reserve Series old barrels.

The Premium Chenin Blanc 2008 was great. In the glass it is very pale with green tinges, typical of a cool climate wine. On the nose there is an aroma of apple blossom with a touch of tropical fruit to add complexity.  When young these wines are tightly structured and develop into excellent complex examples of the style with several years of bottle age.

On with the Premium Chardonnay 2008 – in the glass the colour is between light straw to gold; on the nose melon and peach dominate and in the mouth one discovers a full flavoured wine with just a hint of oak and cream. This wine will mature more quickly than past Grace Vineyard Chardonnays.

The third was Premium Cabernet Merlot, a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot. In the glass the wine has a brick red; on the nose aromas of sweet fruits with toasty notes and; in the mouth light to medium bodied red with good acidity and sweet notes.