Chinese wine tasting on deck at Snap Pop in Beijing's CBD on Saturday.

All wines by Ian Dai, who is exploring grapes and styles in Ningxia, Yunnan, Hebei and beyond, and best-known for his brand Xiao Pu aka Petit Garden.

Dai has a strong focus on minimal intervention wines. And also brought a cider he made.

First photo was taken by Christina.

#wine #winetasting #winepromotion #chinawine #chinesewines #yunnan #yunnanwine #ningxiawine #huailaiwine #shangrila #viognier #syrah #marselan

Chinese bubbly? Boutique Ningxia winery Helan Qing Xue, known for its elegant Bordeaux-style Jia Bei Lan wines, is now making sparkling wine.

A new project by the winemaker, Zhang Jing.

Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Traditional method.

https://www.grapewallofchina.com/2023/05/23/sparkle-city-ningxias-helan-qingxue-gets-bubbly/

#wine #china #sparklingwine #chinawine #ningxiawine #bubbly

Quirky wine tasting.

Three twists on Sichuan dish mapo tofu -- pizza, pasta and nachos -- with seven wines at restaurant The Rug in Sanlitun (Beijing).

The wines included three tea-infused Chardonnays from Lingering Clouds in Ningxia, a trio of Georgian wines, and one wine made with Longyan (Dragon Eye) grapes from just outside Beijing.

Collective top match: Jasmine-tea infused Chardonnay with mapo tofu pizza. Big aromas with big flavors.

Best Georgia match: Dora Rkatsiteli. This skin-contact white wine worked especially well with the cheesier dishes--the pizza and the pasta. (All three Georgian wines imported by Georgia Selections.)

My three favorite wines simply for drinking: the Longjing-infused Chardonnay pet-nat (fresh, crisp and with nice fragrance), the Dora Saperavi (a fresh supple fruity wine) and that Longyan by Clovitis (zingy lemon character).

A fun night of eating, drinking and relaxing with friends.

#wine #winetasting #winelife #chinawine #ningxiawine #georgianwine

Lunar New Year wine tasting in Beijing with bottles from Ningxia, Shanxi and Hebei. This was our third CHILL AF outdoor wine tasting and our fingers and toes were indeed numb after three hours in the wild. But it was worth it given the quality of the wine and view: we opened these bottles at the edge of a frozen pond within the park, with blue skies, traditional buildings and the downtown skyline in sight.

The white wine from Clovitis is made with local grape Longyan / Dragon Eye and is light, lemon-y and zippy. The Cabernet-driven red blends are from Grace Vineyard, a supple easy-drinking and fruity wine, and Helan Qing Xue, which had dark berry and toast-y aromas, the latter from the oak barrels in which it was aged.

Good friends, good wines, good talk, good times.

#winetasting #chinesewine #ningxiawine #chinawine #lunarnewyear #yearoftherabbit #beijing