Chinese wine is finally gaining traction with critics around the world and one of the most revered winemakers is Emma Gao, from Silver Heights in the Ningxia province.
Gao, 40, is a certified oenologist whose father urged her to travel abroad and study winemaking at Bordeaux University. She later worked at Château Calon-Ségur, where she met her husband Thierry Courtade, who was winemaker at the estate.
She returned to China in 2004 to work at several industrial wineries, but became frustrated by how hard it was to produce quality wine.
Her father suggested she return to her home town of Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia, and begin winemaking at the small vineyard he’d planted 20 years ago in the shadow of the city’s apartment blocks.
Her first vintage was released in 2007 and praised by both domestic and international wine experts.
Jancis Robinson recalls on her website: “It seemed so much better, more concentrated but gentle in texture, than any other Chinese wine I had tasted before.”
Robinson was also impressed to meet Gao in 2012, noting “I travel widely around the world of wine but I honestly think that Emma Gao, despite the obvious paucity of financial backing, is the most naturally vivacious wine producer I have ever met.”
However, making wine in Ningxia can be incredibly challenging.
In 2014, Gao explained to Drinks Business: “While we’re on the same latitude as Bordeaux, the climate here is continental. We are in a very dry desert region with annual rainfall of just 200 mm, compared to evaporation of 1600 mm! A real problem that requires us to drip irrigate. The advantage of such an environment is that none of the vine disease can develop there; we therefore don’t use any pesticide. The temperature difference is great between summer and winter: 37°C to -25°C. It is therefore necessary to bury the vines in winter, which has the effect of reducing the growth cycle.”
Despite the harsh climate, there are hopes Ningxia will become the region that comes to mind as making the best Chinese wines, in the same way people know Napa makes the best wines in America and Bordeaux makes the best wines in France. There are now 207 registered wineries in Ningxia compared with just one in 1983.
And Gao is the region’s jewel in the crown.
“She’s considered the best winemaker, with practically the best wine, in all of China,” Gérard Colin, a French consultant who helped Château Lafite Rothschild develop a winery in China, tells The New York Times. “Emma put Ningxia on the map.”
Silver Heights receives regular orders from the local government, which is proud to serve wine produced a world-class vineyard in its own province, as well as top hotels and restaurants throughout China.
Gao’s initial urban vineyard had trouble keeping up with demand, so a second property was purchased and planted near Helan Mountain in 2012.
It’s now the place that Gao says she feels happiest “on a beautiful clear summer day, when you can smell the scent of the pagoda trees and see the magnificent Helan Mountain rising over the surrounding green fields.”
While Gao initially focussed her attention on producing reds – her ‘Emma’s Reserve’ Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blend ‘The Summit’ are among the most prized China-produced reds – the winery recently expanded its range to include a Chardonnay.
The first vintage of the Family Reserve Chardonnay was an instant success and even received 91 points from famed wine critic Robert Parker.
As for the future, Gao tells Drinks Business: “We are on the verge of a big launch in Hong Kong (more news to come soon!), and it seems that the world is finally catching on to the great wines that are being produced in China. We’re finding our terroir and our place in the world, and that is very exciting and invigorating for me.”
