Skip to content

Travel Notes

Essays, vintage notes, and the long-arc context — history, varieties, the modern industry. Plus wines-to-try lists for each region.

Long-form writing on Chinese wine that doesn’t fit into a region or estate profile: history, varieties, cultural transitions, future outlook, and the bottle-by-bottle wines to try lists for each region.

TitleRead
The Awakening — How Chinese wine stopped being a question mark.Read →
Roots and Routes — Zhang Qian, the Tang, Tonghua. The longest unbroken stretch of Chinese winemaking since the Tang is happening now.Read →
Land of Extremes — Cold, water, distance. Why Chinese wine costs more than it should, and why it is still worth drinking.Read →
Grapes of China — Marselan, Longyan, Beibinghong, Cabernet Gernischt, Vidal. The varieties that distinguish Chinese wine.Read →
TitleRead
Tasting China — Signatures of Chinese Cabernet, Marselan, and ice wine. Pairing with Chinese food. The blind-tasting argument.Read →
The Future Vintage — A 2024 snapshot, six trends, and what Chinese wine still needs.Read →
TitleRead
Greater Shangri-La — A region still writing its identity, across three Chinese provinces and one mountain range.Read →
Cizhong & Rose Honey — A French Catholic church, a missing grape, one hundred and sixty years.Read →
The Silk Road and the Grape — Yanghai, Astana, Niya. 2,300 years of Chinese grape archaeology.Read →
Hebei · History — Guo Qichang and the dry-wine breakthroughs of 1979 and 1983.Read →
Xinjiang · Four Sub-Regions — Why Xinjiang is four entirely different wine regions under one provincial name.Read →
Cabernet Gernischt — Shandong’s varietal mystery, solved.Read →
RegionRead
Ningxia · Wines to TryRead →
Xinjiang · Wines to TryRead →
Shandong · Wines to TryRead →
Hebei · Wines to TryRead →
Yunnan · Wines to TryRead →

For a consolidated must-try list across all regions, see Fifty Must-Try Chinese Wines.


Published by Journey X (简兮旅行) · Field notes by Tianqi