Wine Opinion | Ningxia Winemaker's Contest to shine spotlight on rising Chinese region

Will China ever move from being mainly a producer of high volume and low quality wines to a producer of wines to rival the best of the rest of the world?

The country has a wide variety of climates and soils, and optimists have always said it will produce good wine when those elements are married with the right grapes and know-how.

Winemakers in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region believe they are already producing quality wines and this September's Ningxia Winemaker's Contest is an attempt to shine an international spotlight on their efforts. But it will also help them improve further by bringing foreign expertise to the area.

The region mostly grows the classic red varieties cabernet sauvignon and merlot; and chardonnay and welschriesling for whites, although some grapes for wine production are brought in from outside the region.

"Part of the motivation behind the project is both to raise the profile of Ningxia as a quality producer and to facilitate knowledge exchange, both professional and cultural. It is kind of cool how some of the winemakers who have come out for this and other projects have later seen Ningxia delegations visit them in their home country," says Jim Boyce, a Beijing-based wine consultant and writer who is the contest's spokesman.

Jancis Robinson visited the province and is impressed by its potential. Michel Bettane, Thierry Desseauve and Jeremy Oliver have also given positive reviews of Ningxia wines. Judges at the 2011 Decanter awarded an international trophy to Ningxia winery He Lan Qing Xue - the Red Middle East, Far East & Asia over £10 Trophy for a 2009 Bordeaux blend called Jia Bei Lan.

Ningxia has 25,000 hectares under vines and is home to more than 50 wineries, between the Helan mountain range and the Yellow River. That geography offers both shelter from the wind and good irrigation.