As said the judges at @sommelierwineawards: This may be one of the biggest surprises for the 2020 category - some people describe Ningxia as the Napa of China - and on this evidence it perhaps isn’t just a pr spin. It certainly looks like a region to keep your eye on.
Made by @lenz_m_moser and team in China, available in UK via @bibendumwine and in over 40 countries world wide (see our website) It’s exciting times for Chinese wine.
Château Changyu Moser er et samarbejde imellem den kinesiske vinproducent Changyu og den østrigske vinmager Lenz Moser. Lenz Moser er et etableret vinhus og blandt de bedre i Østrig. Huset blev kontaktet af Changyu for godt 15 år siden, som havde stålsatte ambitioner om at blive Kinas førerende vinproducent. De startede herefter samarbejdet omkring Château Changyu Moser. Changyu er Kinas ældste vinhus og har produceret vin i næsten 130 år.
Slottet ligger i Ningxia. Her er nærmest et ørkenlignende klima med omkring 3.000 solskinstimer pr. år, ca. 50% mere end der f.eks. er i Bordeaux. Men vandingsmuligheder opvejer den lave nedbørsmængde og giver samtidig få svampesygdomme på vinplanterne. Vinmarkerne ligger i ca. 1.000 meters højde.
Det er cabernet sauvignon der udelukkende satses på også til de hvidvine der produceres! I dag er der godt 100 vinhuse i området og flere store internationale koncerner som LVMH og Pernod Ricard har opkøbt marker her.
Château Changyu Moser har godt 250 hektar under vin og laver godt en ½ mio. flasker årligt. Og de nyeste og mest moderne hjælpemidler bliver brugt i vinhuset blandt andet maskinel sortering af druerne.
Der laves 6 forskellige vine – 2 hvide og 4 rødvine. Ganske internationale i stilen med stor influering fra de franske fade. Vinene er flot lavet og har det, man er på udkig efter ved gode cabernet sauvignon vine. Måske savner man lidt mere terroirpræg i vinene, da det kan være svært at adskille vinene fra andre gode cabernet sauvignon områder.
Helan Mountain Blanc de Noir 2018. 88
Theis Vine | 135 kr. tilbudspris
Nærmest rosé i farven. Citrus, ribs og lette blomsternoter i smagen. Pæn intensitet. En frisk imødekommende vin. Alc.: 13,5%
Moser XV Blanc de Noir 2017. 90
Theis Vine | 330 kr. tilbudspris
Hvidvin lavet på cabernet sauvignon og modnet på franske fade. Rødt glimt i farven. Lette røde bærnoter i næsen. Melon, litchi og krydderier i smagen. Pæn friskhed og længde. Alc.: 14%.
Helan Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2017. 87
Theis Vine | 135 kr. tilbudspris
Kun lavet på stål. Urtet i duften. Solbærblade, grøn peber, chokolade og krydderier i smagen. Frugtig i stilen med bløde tanniner. Simpel og for urtet. Pæn, krydret afslutning. Alc.: 14,5%.
Chateau Changyu Moser XV Cabernet Sauvignon 2016. 91
Theis Vine | 330 kr. tilbudspris
Anden vinen. 24 måneder på fad (10% nye). Intens i næsen med solbær. Koncentreret med masser af solbær, tobak, mynte, krydderier og vanilje. Meget international i stilen. Velbalanceret med bløde, let tørre tanniner. Flot, lang afslutning. Alc.: 14,5%.
Chateau Changyu Moser XV Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin 2015. 92
Theis Vine | 710 kr. tilbudspris
Ældste vinstokke. 24 måneder kun på nye fade. Meget koncentreret. Tørre tanniner. Solbær, mørk chokolade, peber, tobak og vanilje. En hel del mere fad fornemmes her. Alkoholen lidt dominerende og jeg savner mere elegance. Pæn, lang afslutning. Alc.: 15%.
Chateau Changyu Moser Purple Air Comes from the east 2016. 94
Theis Vine | 1400 kr. tilbudspris
Intens i duften. Flot koncentration og intensitet. Masser af solbær, tobak, læder og vanilje i smagen. Flot balanceret og man fornemmer det er en vellavet vin der er brugt ekstra ressourcer på. Lang afslutning. Alc.: 14%.
Two ‘icon wines’ from China are being launched in the UK this month – Jancis Robinson assesses their worth.
Would you pay more than £100 for a bottle of Chinese wine? In the current political climate, perhaps not. You would therefore be unlikely to shell out for either of the ambitiously priced Chinese wines being launched so hopefully in the UK this month. One was made by an Austrian and one by a Frenchman. In a way, the roots of both wines are Australian, put down long ago when Sino-Australian relations were more cordial than they are today.
Tony Jordan was a hugely admired wine consultant based outside Melbourne. He established Moët & Chandon’s Australian sparkling-wine operation in the 1980s and, in 2008, was charged by the parent company LVMH to find the ideal spot in China to produce a copy of the wine the Chinese liked most: red bordeaux.
Laurenz (Lenz) Moserist Spross der gleichnamigen österreichischen Weindynastie. Nach dem Ausscheiden aus dem Familienunternehmen war er bis Ende 2004 Geschäftsführer der Robert Mondavi Europe GmbH; 2005 geschäftsführender Gesellschafter von TxB International Fine Wines GmbH sowie Partner bei Laurenz Five Fine Wine GmbH. Seit 2015 ist Lenz Moser Chief Winemaker seines Château Changyu Moser XV und wickelt internationale Projekte mit dem eigenen Unternehmen Lenz Moser Projects ab. www.changyu-moser-xv.de
Lenz, Du hast ein Weingut in China, wohnst in Österreich und vertreibst Deine Weine auf der ganzen Welt – wie geht das derzeit?
Ich hatte das Glück, im Januar noch die Blends für die 2020er-Abfüllungen zu machen … Seither „wechatten“ wir wöchentlich, um die Ernte vorzubereiten – das funktioniert super. Und mir bleibt die Zeit, viel über Innovationen nachzudenken. Und wie gehen Deine Kollegen in China mit der Situation rund um Covid-19 um? Chinesisch cool. Man kann ja über viel diskutieren, aber wie China zunächst mit Covid-19 fertiggeworden ist, nötigt mir Respekt ab. Es war eine drastisch harte Zeit, auch für meine Kollegen, jedoch sind sie jetzt wieder fröhlich und gehen ihrer Arbeit fast unbeeinträchtigt nach. Der Weinkonsum über Online-Kanäle und im Offtrade hat ja nicht gelitten. Gehen Dir Zoom- und Teams-Konferenzen nicht langsam auf den Nerv? Nö, ganz im Gegenteil! Als selbstständiger Unternehmer kann ich mir die elektronischen Gesprächshilfen sehr gut einteilen – also kein Overkill für mich. Zwei- bis dreimal am Tag Zoom oder Skype,dann wieder sehr viel Telefon – herrlich. Und ich habe mir fix vorgenommen, nur mehr dann zu reisen, wenns wirklich wichtig ist. Ich rechne mit etwa 50 Prozent weniger Reisen und die dann noch besser geplant. Auch ein Beitrag zur Verbesserung meines Carbon Footprints und meiner Lebensqualität.
Ist Dein nächster Ausflug nach Ningxia schon geplant?
Yap, zur Ernte natürlich – ich hoffe, dass sich die Gesamtsituation bis dahin sowohl in Europa als auch in China entspannt hat; dann geht’s ab nach Ningxia und rein in die Innovation. Denn die nächsten zweieinhalb Jahre haben wir uns ganz der Innovation verschrieben (Biodynamie, Weingartenarbeit, neue Ideen zur Weinlese und im Keller, neue Fässer zur Lagerung, neue Weine und, und, und …). Vor zwei Jahren sprachen wir über das Projekt der chinesischen Regierung, den Wirtschaftszweig Wein so voranzutreiben, dass China im Jahr 2020 größter Weinproduzent der Welt wird. Wo steht China jetzt? Vergiss es – davon hat sich China weit entfernt! Seit Jahren gibt es kleinere Ernten, weniger Absatz von chinesischen Weinen und seit zwei Jahren auch weniger Importe …
Lenz M. Moser V to członek zasłużonej winiarskiej rodziny z Austrii. Jego dziadek Lenz III zrewolucjonizował sposób uprawy winorośli w Europie. Lenz V zarządzał jednąz bardziej znanych austriackich winiarni Lenz Moser, był przedstawicielem kalifornijskiego producenta Mondavi w Europie, prowadził firmę importerską. W 2013 roku rozpoczął projekt Changyu Moser XV w chińskiej prowincji Ningxia. Z Lenzem M. Moserem V rozmawia MACIEJ ŚWIETL
Jak to się stało, że w 2005 roku zaczął pan współpracę z wiodącą chińską winiarnią Changyu? Mój przyjaciel polecił mi Chiny jako region winiarsko interesujący. Zbiegło się to w czasiez powstawaniem dwóch moich firm: austriackiej, by produkować grüner veltlinera, i importerskiejo zasięgu europejskim. Ów znajomy namawiał mnie do stworzenia projektuz zupełnie innej beczki. Zacząłem więc podróżować do Chin, odwiedziłem tam dziesięciunajważniejszych producentów wina. Changyu od razu wydało się najlepsze. Z dwóch powodów:po pierwsze, powitała mnie tam czarująca dama, pani Tan, posługująca się perfekcyjnym angielskim, co było o tyle istotne, że we wszystkich pozostałych miejscach trzeba się było porozumiewać przy pomocy tłumacza. Druga – i może ważniejsza – przyczyna to duch eksperymentu i otwartość, jaką prezentowali zarządzający Changyu w osobach panów Zou i Sun. Z całą trójką jestem w stałym, niemal codziennym kontakcie od 15 lat. Pierwsze dziesięć lat było jak wyboista ścieżka uczenia się siebie nawzajem. Zajmowałem się wtedy głównie importem chińskich win do Europy i ich marketingiem. Muszę przyznać, że ze średnim rezultatem, bowiem wina chińskie w tamtym czasie były, łagodnie rzecz ujmując, zbyt drogie wobec jakości, jaką reprezentowały.
"Allow me to introduce you to the first Cabernet Sauvignon from China and my god is it beautiful. Firstly, the vines are around 15 years old - which is pretty unheard of when it comes to rose. The vine themselves are located in the Ningxia province with Lenz M. Moser continuing to establish his name as a pioneering force of nature for Chinese wines. Estate bottled for that final seal of quality, you can expect grape fruit peel, exotic fruits and an array of crushed respberries and apple. Zippy and refreshing with tectture and as you know, for me tecture is everything"
Château Moser XV is a unique cooperation between Changyu, the oldest winery in China (1892), and Lenz M.Moser from the pioneering Austrian Lenz Moser family. Both partners bring their best to this one-of-a-kind project.
Wine is produced in Ningxia, where the chateau is situated. The location is a real asset: situated at 1,100 meters of elevation with cool nights for fine freshness, the estate also enjoys 3,000 hours of sunshine and a desert climate that deliver full maturity and make it a perfect home for their Cabernet based wines.
The wine estate recently introduced its new flagship wine “Purple Air Comes from the East” 2016 (100% Cabernet based). Château Moser further demonstrates its innovation and vision through its first white Cabernet (blanc de noirs from Cabernet Sauvignon).
This promising project is still in its infancy. Lenz M. Moser only started producing wines in 2015, so “the best is yet to come” …
AdVini, partner of ASI, will begin distributing this range in France by year’s end.
Chinesische Weine sind hierzulande noch nicht weit verbreitet. Das könnte sich aber bald ändern. Grosse Ambitionen hegt das Vorzeige-Weingut Changyu Moser. Mit seinen Luxusprodukten fordert er die internationale Konkurrenz heraus
Chinesische Weine sind hierzulande noch nicht weit verbreitet. Das könnte sich aber bald ändern. Grosse Ambitionen hegt das Vorzeige-Weingut Changyu Moser. Mit seinen Luxusprodukten fordert er die internationale Konkurrenz heraus
Der Wein überzeugt in der Blinddegustation
Ist dieser gerechtfertigt? Das muss jeder für sich selbst entscheiden, aber in einem kleinen Blindvergleich mit Spitzenweinen aus Spanien, Australien und Kalifornien hielt sich der Chinese dank Kraft, Eleganz, Tiefgründigkeit und grossartiger Länge mehr als ordentlich.
Der 2016er zeichnet sich durch eine intensive, vielschichtige Nase aus. Die präsenten Tannine und die reife Säure sind gut eingebunden. Purple Air Comes from the East wird während zwei Jahren in neuen Barriques ausgebaut.
Eine etwas günstigere Alternative
Eine etwas preiswertere Alternative ist der Grand Vin des Hauses, ebenfalls vollständig aus Cabernet Sauvignon gekeltert. Der 2016er erinnert in gewisser Hinsicht an einen Bordeaux. Er sei für Fortbildungszwecke fast ein Must, schreibt der deutsche Blogger Captain Cork.
Der chinesische Wein beweist, dass das Land durchaus das Potenzial hat, mit den Grossen aus anderen, renommierten Gebieten mithalten zu können. In der Nase dominieren Noten von Cassis, Pflaume, Gewürzen und leicht floralen Anklängen. Der harmonische, aber noch jugendliche Wein präsentiert sich mit präsenten Gerbstoffen, einer mittleren Säure und guten Struktur.
Der Gewinner kommt aber aus Spanien
In der nicht repräsentativen Degustation stach der spanische Kultwein Valbuena 5° aus dem Jahr 2014 von Vega Sicilia aus dem Ribera del Duero hervor – eine grossartige Interpretation der einheimischen Rebsorte Tempranillo. Kraft und Eleganz verbinden sich mit Noblesse.
Der chinesische Wein beweist, dass das Land durchaus das Potenzial hat, mit den Grossen aus anderen, renommierten Gebieten mithalten zu können. In der Nase dominieren Noten von Cassis, Pflaume, Gewürzen und leicht floralen Anklängen. Der harmonische, aber noch jugendliche Wein präsentiert sich mit präsenten Gerbstoffen, einer mittleren Säure und guten Struktur.
Der Gewinner kommt aber aus Spanien
In der nicht repräsentativen Degustation stach der spanische Kultwein Valbuena 5° aus dem Jahr 2014 von Vega Sicilia aus dem Ribera del Duero hervor – eine grossartige Interpretation der einheimischen Rebsorte Tempranillo. Kraft und Eleganz verbinden sich mit Noblesse.
Chinese president Xi visited Yinchuan, the capital city of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region in northwestern China, last week and travelled to the Helan Mountain foothills to learn about the local winemaking industry.
The purpose of Xi’s inspection tour to Ningxia was to enhance efforts to alleviate poverty. In one of his stops, he dropped by the wine region of Helan Mountain, and visited Chateau Zhihui Yuanshi, a local winery founded in 2008.
The winery, as one of the most popular tourist spots in Ningxia, boasts significant architectural features, as the complex is built from displaced rocks from the Helan Mountain.
According to Ningxia Daily, after learning about the vinification technology, marketing promotions and workers’ average salary in Ningxia, Xi emphasised the positive future he can see in the Chinese wine industry as the living standards of Chinese people improve year by year. The development of the Ningxia wine industry goes hand in hand with the tightened management of Yellow River, and can strengthen the ecological restoration and eventually create comprehensive benefits and added value for the region.
The winemaking industry in Ningxia started in the early 1980s. The planting base is located on the alluvial plain of the eastern foothills of Helan Mountain. The soil composition is complex, featuring sand, lime, chalk and gravel, making it suitable for wine grape cultivation. The continental climate of the region also favours the process.
Right now, the area under vine is 570,000 mu (38,000 hectares). Scattered among six different production areas, there are 211 wineries in the region. In 2019, the area produced 130 million bottles of wine, accounting for almost 100,000 tons.
From big producers such as Chateau Changyu Moser XV, to boutique wineries like Helan Qingxue Vineyard, some of the wineries are emerging internationally as its wine quality is getting well recognised. Changyu’s wines are one of President Xi’s choices to serve foreign guests at official Chinese functions.
Visit of President Xi in Ningxia, tasting CCMXV wines. He said:” I use Changyu wines to treat other leaders, and I did not know that Changyu also produces such good wines in Ningxia”
President Xi Jinping learns about local efforts in ecological conservation during his visit on Tuesday to a vineyard at the foot of the Helan Mountains in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region. WANG YE/XINHUA
Local authorities get instructions as Ningxia tour ends
Local governments should make efforts to overcome the effects of COVID-19 and prioritize the work of bolstering employment and improving people's livelihoods, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday.
Xi spoke as he wrapped up a three-day inspection tour of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, a less-developed inland region. About 37 percent of the population belongs to the Hui ethnic group.
He visited a village, a community, a section of the Yellow River, a rural ecotourism park and a vineyard to learn about work done in disease prevention, poverty reduction, environmental and ecological protection and ethnic unity.
Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, instructed local authorities to fully implement decisions of the CPC Central Committee and take tough steps to forestall and defuse major risks, carry out targeted poverty alleviation and prevent and control pollution.
Local governments should uphold the people-centered development philosophy and help the people to address their problems, Xi said.
The president stressed the importance of securing jobs for major groups including laid-off workers, college graduates, migrant workers and veterans.
Xi instructed authorities to pursue high-quality growth, speed up industrial upgrading and promote economic development in quantity and quality. The government should take practical measures to ease the tax burden of enterprises, implement policies boosting domestic demand and help companies address problems in resuming production, he said.
Calling increases in domestic demand a strategic measure, Xi urged deepening of supply-side structural reform, promotion of innovation-driven development, building up of a modern agricultural system and boosting sales of Ningxia's agricultural products.
Xi instructed local authorities to further deepen reform in all areas, seize the great opportunities in building the Belt and Road and boost opening-up to pursue higher-quality growth.
He stressed the importance of poverty reduction, saying continuous efforts must be made to achieve the goal of eliminating poverty as scheduled. The government should help people relocated from poor areas secure a stable life and find ways to become better off, he said.
Xi reiterated the importance of upholding the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets", saying that the government should focus on the protection of the environment and ecological restoration of the Yellow River.
The government should promote balanced development of compulsory education in urban and rural areas, Xi said. He also called for speeding up work on the public health system and carrying out extensive health campaigns.
The government should uphold the Party's basic principles on religion work and handle administration of religion issues in accordance with the law, he said, adding that authorities should promote implementation of the Civil Code.
Noting that firm belief is the source of strength for the Party to move forward, Xi called on all Party members to stay true to their original aspiration and keep their mission firmly in mind.
Bringing benefits to the people is the most important mission for officials, and the misbehavior of formalism and bureaucracy must be opposed, Xi said. He added that continuous anti-graft measures must be taken to create a clean environment for entrepreneurship.
While visiting the Yellow River in Wuzhong on Monday－the fourth time he visited the river in less than a year－Xi called it the mother river of the Chinese nation and a precious resource for the development of Chinese civilization.
Ningxia authorities should shoulder their responsibilities, pay greater attention to protecting the Yellow River and coordinate major projects along the river to improve the natural environment, he said.
On Tuesday, Xi visited a rural ecotourism park and vineyard near the Helan Mountains to learn about the development of local agriculture and efforts to strengthen the ecological conservation of the mountains.
Planting should be adjusted to better protect water resources, he said, noting that Ningxia people have long been blessed by the Yellow River.
Duan Changqing, a professor at China Agricultural University, said he gave a briefing about the grape plantation, wine production and ecological restoration while Xi visited the vineyard.
Planting grapes and developing the wine industry in dry areas not only can protect the environment but also increase the income of farmers, which demonstrates the president's concept of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets", Duan told China Daily.
Lenz Moser, chief winemaker at Château Changyu-Moser XV in Ningxia, pitted his new icon wine, Purple Air, against top drops from around the world in a blind tasting put on for db.
The first blind wine tasting of its kind featuring Purple Air, Changyu’s 100% estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon from Ningxia priced at £134 a bottle; last week db’s editor, Lucy Shaw, took part in the tasting, which took place over Zoom.
Keen to prove that Purple Air can stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the world’s top wines, Moser pitted the inaugural 2016 vintage of the wine against the likes of California icon wine Opus One 2016, the 2014 vintage of Vega Sicila’s second wine, Valbuena, and Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet/Shiraz 2017.
Just 6,300 bottles of Purple Air 2016 were made at Changyu’s flagship winery in Ningxia, northwest China.
“It’s a wine which I believe is the future of Ningxia. We worked hard to bring this new style of wine to life. It’s very harmonious and more fruit-driven than anything else.
“I tried to bring out the bright fruit of Ningxia Cabernet in a very subtle form that’s lighter in alcohol. I’ve worked hard on it, reducing the wood treatment to bring out the typicity of the region,” Moser said.
“I couldn’t resist making an icon wine. It has a very Chinese-looking label and it is going to raise the bar again for the chateau. We have a clear vision – to ensure that the wines of Changyu-Moser XV are not just among the very best of China, but also belonging in the company of the world’s finest,” he added.
Only grapes from the best parcels at Changyu’s estate were selected for the wine, which is aged in new French oak for 24 months.
The striking purple label was created by a Chinese calligrapher, with each character representing the name of the wine, which means ‘bringing fortune and luck from the East.’
In traditional Chinese symbolism, purple means divinity and immortality. It also happens to be Moser’s favourite colour.
Purple Air will be sold in the UK through Bibendum and is aimed at high-end on-trade venues like Sexy Fish in Mayfair and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge
Arnica Rowan examines ways of producing lighter wines when global warming suggests otherwise.
Across the planet, consumer preferences are swinging to less concentrated, lower-alcohol beverages. Meanwhile, the global wine industry is facing increasing temperatures, resulting in grapes with higher sugar content at phenolic ripeness, and producing super-concentrated, higher-alcohol wines. Australian red wine’s average alcohol has risen by 2% since the 1980s, to 14.4% today (see this report). Global warming is the Achilles heel of the wine industry.
While wine industry advocates are wringing their hands, wondering in North America how they are going to compete with the runaway success of the White Claw hard seltzer, grape farmers have started doing what farmers do best – innovating. On the undulating flatlands of Marlborough and the fringes of the Gobi desert, vines are being tended differently. The farmer’s methods are simple but effective, naturally lowering the alcohol of the wines.
Across the Tasman Sea from the blistering land down under, a Kiwi farmer has made it his life’s work to produce high-quality wine with substantively less ethanol. Seventeen years ago, Dr John Forrest started to experiment with leaf removal, slowing the sugar development in the vine’s grapes. When he presented his first lower-alcohol wine, The Doctors’ Riesling at 8.5% alcohol, he couldn’t believe how popular it was among educated professional women. With rapid retail rebuys, it was a cult success.
Dr Forrest began to use the same plucking techniques in his Sauvignon Blanc vineyards, and other New Zealand producers started taking note. He told me over the phone from his home in Marlborough that the greatest danger to his wines’ success was for other Kiwi wineries to adopt mechanical methods to create their own lower-alcohol, but lower-quality wines. The solution was to share his knowledge freely, and to enable other local farmers to lower alcohol naturally: ‘It was better to share and raise the standard for everyone. After all, a great idea is only a great idea if everyone is able to execute it.’
So in 2014 Forrest (below) teamed up with 15 other New Zealand wineries to launch the largest research project ever conducted in the New Zealand wine industry. The goal of the $17-million programme, funded by New Zealand Winegrowers and the Ministry for Primary Industries, was to create a new, lower-alcohol category of wine leveraging Forrest’s canopy-management methods. The project focused on innovative vineyard practices that could be scaled up industrywide.
During our call, Forrest laughed wryly: ‘I didn’t want to die being known as being the doctor of low alcohol, but now I’ve given up and accepted it. Lighter alcohol has been so successful all over the world, it’s been a unique privilege to be at the start of the phenomenon.’
So far, 27 wines have resulted from this co-ordinated effort, all under 10% alcohol. The difference between these and 5% low-alcohol wines typically seen on the supermarket shelves is in the production methods – the five percenters generally have their alcohol physically removed or diluted – and, importantly, the sensory profile. In other words: New Zealand’s lighter wines taste like real wine.
According to Forrest, the secret is to address the sensory experience of the wine with thoughtful winemaking. For example, he ferments 5% of his Sauvignon Blanc in barrel, just to deepen the colour and texture of the wine to what New Zealand wine fans are accustomed to.
The impetus behind the Forrest lower-alcohol project was to create a new wine category for thirsty consumers. However, his techniques are potential solutions to the rest of the world’s warming climate and rising wine alcohol levels.
Dr Nicholas Cradock-Henry, researcher at Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research in Lincoln, New Zealand, explained to me via Zoom that many global wine regions will face more extreme temperature challenges than his island home.
‘Making predictions is difficult', he admitted, ‘however, modelling results suggest that globally, the current area suitable for viticulture will decrease between 25% and 73% by 2050. That’s a high-emissions scenario. But even if we calculate with mid-range emissions, we’ll lose 19% to 62% of our viticultural area, if we are using today’s practices. Soon, more moderate wine climates will be warm, and warmer climates will face extreme temperature pressure.’ He did point out, however, that higher temperatures may also continue to open up new areas for wine grape-growing, as we have seen in northern Europe.
In the Ningxia wine region in northern China, the winemakers of Chateau Changyu Moser XV are already creating wine in conditions their global counterparts are dreading. The land is dry, the sunshine is relentless; the winters so cold that farmers have to bury the vines to protect them from fatally low temperatures. Only 100–150 mm (4–6 in) of rain fall in the whole year, usually in two or three massive storms. The winery grows little other than Cabernet Sauvignon, but makes red, rosé and, unconventionally, white wines from the variety.
Chateau Changyu Moser XV‘s pioneering Austrian partner Lenz Moser, seen at the top of this article sorting Cabernet grapes, is constantly refining viticultural methods to find balance in the Chinese climate. As we sat together at the Vancouver Wine Festival, he explained to me how tiny the Cabernet berries are – pointing at his smallest fingernail. Moser’s battle for balance is a fight against concentration, and his lessons are valuable for other winemakers’ impending challenges. 'If I have to use unusual methods to get harmonious, complex wines, I will do it', he explained to me with enthusiasm.
Moser’s main techniques include water management and yeast selection, and he is trialling methods to bring forward harvest dates. The Ningxia vineyards are fed by periodic flooding, channeling water from the Yellow River between the vines. The watering cycle is quick – approximately every six weeks water soaks the roots of the vines and then immediately drains deep into the loose, sandy-loam soil. The vineyard staff time the flooding for just before the start of harvest; if the time interval between the last flood and the harvest is too great, the wines will be too concentrated.
Once the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes reach the winery, Moser is employing unusually inefficient, or, as he calls them, ‘lazy’ yeasts to ferment the wines. The white Cabernet Sauvignon is made with Champagne yeast which produces less alcohol. He is also experimenting with old, heritage yeast strains from various parts of Europe, finding suitably lethargic matches for the red and rosé wines.
Moser’s next round of experiments is designed to advance the grape harvest date. His hypothesis is that if he can filter the unripe green-brown seeds out of the grape must before fermentation, he’ll avoid the unripe tannins that can blight wine from early-picked grapes. His initial 2019 experiments using less-ripe grapes produced, according to him, the best Cabernet Sauvignon (red) from Chateau Changyu Moser XV to date.
The ongoing experiments are a necessity, according to Moser. ‘We really have to get our heads around this, controlling the concentration and alcohol. It’s getting warmer, and I want to keep making Cabernet Sauvignon.’
Dr Cradock-Henry of New Zealand warned me that in the future not all wine producers would be able to produce good wine from the grapes they are accustomed to. ‘For perennial crops such as wine grapes, the effect of climate change on phenology may require a change', he said. ‘Farmers will have to consider grape varieties adapted to warmer climates.’
The spiritual home of Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux, shocked the wine world this past June when the AOC Bordeaux producers'association announced that they would be trialling seven new grape varieties. Experimentation with red wine varieties such as Arinarnoa, Castets, Marselan and Touriga Nacional and pale-skinned varieties Alvarinho, Liliorila and Petit Manseng is intended to empower vignerons to adapt to the region’s rapidly changing climate. For example, Arinarnoa is a Cabernet Sauvignon x Tannat cross that offers excellent disease resistance, the quality characteristics of its parents and, best of all, naturally low sugar levels.
For now, the new grape varieties may represent only 10% of an AOC Bordeaux blend but the policy will be reassessed after 10 years of experience. The policy was driven by the Bordeaux Wine Council (BIVB), which invested over €2 million in climate-change research, mainly supporting test plots for 52 varieties and 55 different rootstocks. It’s not a lot of money compared with New Zealand’s low-alcohol research investment, but the results should complement the work of their counterparts from the southern hemisphere.
To quote the business leader and philanthropist Bill Gates, ‘innovation requires the ability to collaborate and share ideas with other people, and to sit down and talk with customers and get their feedback and understand their needs.’
Consumers are speaking clearly with their purchases. They want lower-alcohol wines that don’t compromise on flavour. Now thanks to innovators such as Forrest and Moser, the global wine community has natural techniques to meet the wine lover’s needs while adapting to climate realities across the globe. Cheers to that.
Kürzlich mit Lenz Moser seine neue Range von Chateau Changyu Moser XV verkostet - Von Niko Rechenberg.
Via Face-Time die klassische Moser Family und den Grand Vin aus zusammen mit Lenz Moser verlostet. Und die beiden neuen, den Blanc de Noir als Fume und den extravaganten Purple Air.
Fangen wir gleich mit dem neuen Flagship-Wine an, der das Zeug zum chinesischen Kultwein hat: Der neue Cabernet Sauvignon - Purple Air comes from the East aus 2016 ist eine überraschende Ansage aus Ningxia, dem Napa-Valley Chinas. Eleganz, Präzision und Power, ein Charmeur mit langem Atem und Strahlkraft, die für die ganze Flasche reicht. Die Tannine sind unglaublich seidig, der Abgang so lang, wie die Chinesische Mauer – „Alles Gute kommt aus dem Osten“ und mit überwältigenden 95 Punkten.
CHATEAU CHANGYU MOSER XV Grand Vin Cabernet Sauvignon 2016: Bordeaux-Style, Frucht und Holz in Harmonie, Stoff und Druck, gute Balance - 93-94 Punkte
CHATEAU CHANGYU MOSER XV Moser Family Cabernet Sauvignon 2016: Der Zweitwein vom Chateau: eine runde Sache, süffig und stoffig 91 Punkte
CHATEAU CHANGYU MOSER XV Moser Family Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc de Noir 2017
Der zweite Neuzugang: Nun im Barrique, ein Jahr auf neuer Eiche. Wie sagt es Lenz: "Fettes Teil mit Extrakt, wunderbar zu Kalb und festem Fisch", wo er Recht hat, hat er Recht, für mich eine deutliche Steigerung zum normalen Blanc de Noir, halt mit Turbo: 90 Punkte.
CHATEAU CHANGYU MOSER XV Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc de Noir, Helan Mountain Range 2018:
Der einfache Blanc de Noir, wie sagt es Lenz: "Der Schmackofatz", ein lässiger Grill- und Terrassenwein mit runden 88 Punkten
CHATEAU CHANGYU MOSER XV Cabernet Sauvignon Helan Mountain Range 2017: Der Drittwein mit Rhone-Anklängen, schöner Säure und Frische - 89-90 Punkte
May 09: China and Austria may be in lockdown but Chateau Changyu Moser XV wine estate near Yinchuan in Ningxia in Northwest China, in which Austrian winemaker Lenz Moser has been involved from the very beginning in the viticulture, winemaking and overseeing of sales in Europe, is open and producing wine though Lenz has been managing to operate from his home in Frauenkirchen in Burgenland and continues the dialogue between the buyers as well as the winery, writes Subhash Arora who had a long chat with him a couple of weeks ago
There is a lockdown both in China and Austria so Lenz Moser-Viticulturist and Winemaker who might have been in the European market meeting some of the customers of Chateau Changyu Moser XV or planning to visit the winery in Ningxia, is under self –quarantine at his home in Frauenkirchen, the Austrian town in Burgenland. He is quite happy with the 5 weeks of quarantine that helped Austria contain the Covid-19 virus successfully. In a way it has even helped him reorganise his work as he operates from home, making calls and interviews with his customers, principals in China and journalists across the world from his home office. Working with a positive frame of mind six days a week, this optimist winemaker has his work cut out. He had managed to talk to 175 customers and journalists so far when I chatted with him. ‘This has also given us a chance to rethink about our strategy,’ says Moser. He applauds China which he believes went all-out and ruthlessly to contain the Corona virus. When I queried him about any negative sentiments because of prejudices that the virus originated from China, he says there has been no adverse comment by any of the people he has talked to (though sentiments have turned more anti- China since then especially in the US, UK and Germany for not disclosing the virus earlier and causing a lot of lives that could have been saved). Business has naturally suffered but they have done 50% of the normal business and hope to reach their regular business by autumn.
What’s in the name
Changyu Moser XV wine estate built in 2012 near Yinchuan, is a part of China’s oldest and biggest wine producer Changyu since 1892. The government supported winery which falls under the Helan Mountain East region of Ningxia was built reportedly at a cost of $70 million and had roped in Lenz Moser, the 15th generation winemaker from Austria who also lent his name to the winery, giving it the European edge.
‘I do not hold any equity but work as the viticulturist and winemaker for the winery set up with a brief for me to make the best wine in China. I did not go into details about the costs which might seem to be high but it also gave us an opportunity and freedom to experiment in-house and do the estate-bottling. Our quality is much better because of having a premier estate,’ says Lenz.
Is Ningxia the best location
There is often criticism from wine experts and consultants that Ningxia is not the proper area for making quality wines at reasonable costs and that it has prospered due to the government giving it a special treatment. ‘There is some truth in that, especially because it involves burying and de-burying of wines in the colder months and Spring. But when we started scouting around for the right location in 2008-2009, we concluded this was the perfect region for vineyards. Many of the European wineries like Pernod Ricard and Chandon also selected this region later,’ he says.
‘I do believe that 11 years ago when we bought the land, it was the best location possible. While the government does not give any special benefits, it is definitely wine friendly and provides nice infrastructure. We have utilized it well to promote our wine tourism which is helped by the fact that we are almost in the midst of the city,’ Lenz says.
Although the winery falls in the Eastern Foothills of Helan Mountains region, it is practically within the city and this gives them an edge in terms of wine tourism which has been getting more and more popular.
Grapes of Changyu Moser
‘Cabernet Sauvignon is the signature grape for the region and the winery though we grow some Syrah and Merlot too. Upside here is that the berries for Cabernet are small making it a very concentrated wine, full on the palate’ as I had noticed along with many journalists on a visit to the winery in China last year and also during impromptu Tasting at the ‘Must Fermenting Ideas’ wine conference in Cascais, near Lisbon in Portugal last year. His wines were appreciated at both these places and with the old-world charm.
An interesting aspect has been absence of white wine grapes in the whole area. ‘I have worked with viticulture and winemaking mostly for white grapes in Austria but thanks to my experience working with my father I managed to learn about red wine making too. We make a white wine from Cabernet Sauvignon-called Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc de Noir with notes of light pink. This is rather unique and has found a very good market in Europe.
On another query, he says Climate Change is not much of a problem right now in this region though the temperatures climbed 1.5⁰C during the last 20 years.
Dominant Exports
Changyu Moser has been exporting to 40 countries and Lenz claims to be number one in sales at the top end of the market, adding ‘of course wineries like Silver Heights in Ningxia are our direct competitors. Some of our wines fall under the fine wine category that stand very well against Opus One’. This is a substantial achievement for Changyu Moser which was not even in the export market barely 5 years ago. For the brand architecture Lenz visits Europe often.
About half of the production is sold in China whereas the rest is sold mostly in 25 countries in Europe. ‘This year we plan to enter Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec in Canada. Due to the US-China trade war that market is not opened up well for us,’ he adds.
‘With 250 hA of vineyard surface and a production of 600,000 bottles (50,000 cases) we are considered a medium size company. We make world class wine. There is no cheating, no fake wine. Though it is a purely Chinese wines, made from grapes grown in China, I gave it a European complexion,’ says Lenz when I asked him how he could lend his name with no equity in the winery. ‘I don’t believe in water-tight agreements to work. I am giving all I can-with my 30 years of winemaking experience. It is clear to me that we cannot do without each other and I am not concerned about distant future right now. I believe for next 10 years have great potential for our wines,’ he says.
Distribution is the key element for the domestic as well as export market. ‘We have appointed distributors in Germany, Switzerland and UK where we have three top notch distributors- Berkmann Cellars, Bibendum and Berry Bros. to handle exports.’
The wines cost within about $10 to $130 which compares with Opus One and some third Growths from Bordeaux, making it still a good value for money wine, accordingly to Lenz.
Lower production
Winery was never closed when I chatted with Lenz about a couple of weeks ago. ‘There has been no case of Covid in the winery. I have a weekly video meeting with the winery. I usually visit China in May but this year it may not be feasible. April has been at 50% level while we expect the production to reach 60% and by autumn it should be in full steam. This when the whole of Ningxia has been in quarantine.
It appears Lenz Moser is wearing several hats- only one of them is that of a viticulture and winemaking specialist. He is also supervising the sales and marketing of the Chateau wines and also working to create branding for the products for international markets-all of which he does with a passion. Future holds a lot of promise and the winery is expected to benefit a lot from his participation. One will hear a lot more about Lenz Moser when one talks of Changyu Moser XV in Ningxia, China, considered by most as the best wine region of China despite challenges.
The unique creation from winemaker Lenz Moser is a top-of-the-range white for the chateau in China's Ningxia
Lenz Moser rarely needs any encouragement to be cheerful. The Austrian, who has made wine in Europe, the US and China, typically has enough energy to power a small town.
Yet three things have got him particularly animated on this April morning.
For starters, from our Zoom call, which he is taking outside, I can see an unblemished blue spring sky behind him.
He can sit outside because (reason two) Austria has recently announced it is relaxing some of the rules on lockdown, making some socialising and work journeys possible once more.
And thirdly, he has just launched what he says is the world’s first ever barrel-aged white Cabernet Sauvignon. From China.
It’s the top-of-the-range white for the chateau project that Moser started with the giant Changyu wine group in Ningxia back in 2013.
A fan of barrel-aged Chardonnay, he admits that a Blanc de Noirs wouldn’t necessarily have been his first choice white style. But since the winery’s 250ha of vineyard are planted entirely to Cabernet, if he wanted a white wine in the range, it was the only option.
As he puts it, ‘I had to get creative.’
The standard tank-fermented Changyu-Moser XV Blanc de Noirs was first produced in 2016 and made a clean, fruity, easy-drinking white. But Moser felt there was untapped potential and put some of the 2017 vintage in new French oak as an experime
We try to be as quick as possible separating the skins from the juice. It’s a 10-minute exercise. It’s pure saignée, pure free-run
Lenz Moser
Getting the juice off early is key to the wine’s success. ‘We try to be as quick as possible separating the skins from the juice,’ says Moser. ‘It’s a 10-minute exercise. It’s pure saignée, pure free-run.’
Even so, it’s a deeply-coloured, burnished gold wine, with Ningxia’s desert climate giving plenty of richness and depth – even in a naturally fresher year like 2017. The oak has been well integrated, and stylistically it seems to be closer to an Alsace Pinot Gris than Burgundy, with plenty of red fruit and weight rather than aromatics. This makes it very flexible for food-matching – particularly with Asian cuisine.
‘When you’re in a Chinese environment you pick lots of different types of food – prawns, chicken, beef, vegetables - and the wine is oily enough to accommodate all this,’ says Moser.
There will, he says, be small tweaks and amendments down the years, but Moser seems justifiably happy with his unique creation, which is well worth a look for upper-end restaurants in the UK.
‘White Cabernet is one of our USPs,’ he says. ‘And we’ve barely even scratched the surface with it yet.’
We caught up with Lenz Moser, chief winemaker at Chateau Changyu-Moser XV in Ningxia, to get the lowdown on how China is rebooting after the coronavirus crisis.
Is life slowly getting back to normal in China?
Life is gradually getting back to normal in China. Work was uninterrupted at the vineyard and winery as we didn’t have a single case of Covid 19 out of 5,000 employees. We’re still not fully back into the full swing of things though. We have a lot of wine waiting in warehouses and the pipe is full, as we are an on-trade focused brand. Our off-trade sales are strong but it’s not enough to deplete our stocks. We’re entering a new normal where face masks, social distancing and certain restrictions will be part of everyday life until we have a vaccine.
How has the crisis changed consumer habits in China?
Drinking patterns are changing in China – since the crisis started there has been a lot more home drinking; it’s a huge paradigm shift. The crisis has accelerated the off-trade in China, and the on-trade, aside from the top places, is struggling.
The second and third tier restaurants will be hit hard by the crisis in the coming months as they will be shunned in favour of home consumption. People want to feel safe, so will be staying in more and hosting private parties and barbecues with their friends where they don’t have to wear masks. If you have to social distance at a restaurant, what’s the point in going?
Changyu’s new icon wine, Purple Air Cabernet
How do you think the crisis will change the world?
Hopefully this is the biggest crises we will have to face in our lifetime, aside from climate change. The coronavirus crisis will better prepare us for climate change. This planet has a huge problem and Covid-19 is a precursor of it. The light bulbs are switching on and people are starting to realise the need for change. We will not go back to normal, it will be a new normal. The big question is who will finance the fight against global warming because the world is haemorrhaging money at the moment.
How should the wine trade adapt in the face of the crisis?
In the wine trade we’re selling good moods, it’s a positive product, so I think we’ll be okay if we keep selling optimism, which is more important than ever. A lot of people are suffering, but it’s important to remain positive. In order to get customers back into wine in the on-trade, restaurants will need to go into surprise and anticipate mode – surprising people and anticipating their reaction. When the lockdowns are lifted, restaurants will need people to know that they are open again. They need to re-open with a bang, creating some noise with bold actions.
Will the crisis change how people do business?
Yes. I think relationships will be even more important than ever. Trust is the new currency. When it comes to the wine trade, when we form even stronger bonds than in the past with our partners and fully trust each other then we’ll be on very safe ground. Without trust in this new reality doing business will be impossible.
What is the future for the wine trade post Covid-19?
The online sector is going to get really big and the way people buy wine will change. Online sales will become a much bigger part of people’s businesses as it’s incredibly quick, easy and convenient. People will have to innovate in a completely new way. Consumers want something new and sexy, which is why I think our white Cabernet has done so well as it’s something completely different.
What does the future hold for Chinese wine?
Local is going to be the new paradigm. Chinese wines will need to be typical of their region and something that you can’t find elsewhere in the world in order to succeed going forward. They need typicity or our exports are going to die – people want local or exceptional products, ideally both. China has no indigenous grapes so we have to work with terroir at the moment to stand out. I’m going to plant Grüner in China so I can offer consumers something different. I would have done it in May if I was allowed to travel – it will have to be next year now. I have the rootstocks from Austria ready to go.
Changyu’s popular white Cabernet
How has Changyu had to adapt during the crisis?
We’ve managed to keep both the vineyards and the operations side of the business going and have been gaining new distribution partners during the crisis, which is encouraging. We signed five new distribution deals in Canada, Indonesia, Italy, France and Switzerland in the last few weeks through talking to people on Zoom, so it’s business as usual as far as it can be, which is a very positive sign.
We have the advantage of having Moser on the label, a wine family that is known in Europe, which engenders trust with consumers and makes things a lot easier as they feel like they are on safe ground with our wines.
What is next for Changyu?
We’re an on-trade focused brand so we need to build sales in off-trade channels. Slurp and Ocado have sold quite a bit of our wine and have re-ordered, but we need to grow our off-trade presence and look for new importers with strong web-based sales channels, which will be key going forward. I hope the crisis changes how the wine industry does business because change is needed when it comes to management models and exports. Business outside of China could do with some fresh air.
Do you have any new releases in the pipeline?
Before the crisis hit we were just about to launch our new icon wine, Purple Air, in the UK. Bibendum has taken it on, so it will be on sale in the on-trade soon. The Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge is going to go big on it by the glass, and it will be on sale at The Ivy restaurants and Sexy Fish.
We only made 6,000 bottles of the debut 2016 vintage and it will cost around £150 at retail. It’s a trend-setting wine made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that moves more towards fruit intensity rather than alcohol.
Do you have any personal projects on the go?
I’m planning to get back into Austrian winemaking. Having moved back to Austria recently, I couldn’t resist the chance to make white wine again. It doesn’t conflict with Changyu as I mainly make red in China. I’m back on a Grüner mission and am working with some close friends in Austria on a new Grüner project after taking five years off. It’s going to be a major global initiative. I don’t have time to do small things anymore. It has to be big from the beginning.
BRWSC 2019: Visiting Ningxia Wineries in Helan Mountain East in China
Oct 27: Ningxia has become a brand as popular as Barolo, Brunello, Burgundy or Barossa with the eastern foothill of Helan Mountain recognized as one of the most suitable regions for producing high-end wine. Since 2013 it has also the protected area for national products with geographical indications (GI), writes Subhash Arora who visited Ningxia for second year as a part of a group of journalists to judge at BRWSC wine competition and visited a few wineries, found a majority to be of high quality but the prices rather high.
The Chinese wine industry occupies the most important position in the economic development of Ningxia. This region has good conditions of sunny days and warmth. It has an arid and semi-arid climate, it is easy to carry out manual irrigation thanks to the Yellow River that flows through the area. The first and only provincial-level of development bureau for wine in China was founded here. The government gives great support to the technical training, seedling introduction and infrastructure such as land, road and water and power utilities construction. The wines produced in this region have won many awards in both domestic and international wine competitions, and have attracted big investments, making Ningxia a star region in China.
During the 4-day stay, I visited the following wineries in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and tasted their wines besides visiting vineyards and wineries. Here are the wineries visited:
Chateau Changyu Moser XV
Founded in 1892, Changyu is the oldest wine producer in China and has become the largest wine producer in Asia and the fourth largest in the World. Changyu Moser XV opened in 2013 in Yinchuan at a cost of $70 million. The government-supported winery, Changyu roped in Lenz Moser, the 15th generation winemaker from Austria who lent his name to the winery. He claims he has no stake in the equity of the winery.
This Winery produces the most high-end wine of Changyu Company. At present, the wines have been exported to many countries in Europe including France and received much praise from leading wine tasters. Keeping in touch with the reality, the wines have been priced at realistic levels too. I had visited the winery last year and was very impressed with the Bordeaux style Chateau at enormous costs. The museum is also world class but despite the busloads of tourists the number is still between 25000-30,000 visitors (compare with Sula Vineyards in Nashik India welcoming 350,000 visitors every year), I was told; there are hardly any tourists in winter starting from October end and till March-coincidentally the time when the vines need to be buried under snow when the temperature touches -20°C. It was a shock when the guide told us there were no instructions for tasting.
When I met Lenz in Europe later on two occasions, even he found it hard to believe. He promised that on the day I visited the winery next, he would personally be there and conduct the tasting. Sure enough, he caught the flight and arrived directly from the airport where we were being shown the winery by the assistant winemaker. The guided Tasting of 4 wines in the professional Tasting room was a highlight of the visit to all the wineries, with Lenz answering all questions in simple, understandable English and was very forthright in his opinion. No wonder, a significant chunk of the 600,000 bottles are being exported in several countries including Dubai where one hotel with 11 restaurants is serving their wines in all the restaurants.
Four wines were tasted –Cabernet Sauvignon white 2018 was a special wine, slightly pink in colour and nice structure; at 150 Yuan ($20) a very good value. The Grand Vin (Bordeaux style blend) at Y1000-1250 ($145- $180) sounds expensive but think Phelan Segur when comparing the taste, he says.
Joanna Simon is one of the UK's leading wine experts and she samples some of the best wine around. This month she explores the freshest roses for spring and summer. With a huge expansion in choice these days, we look at her top six favorites.
Chateau Changyu Moser XV Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc de Noir
"A delicious, one of a kind rose produced from Cabernet Sauvignon grown in Ningxia, China by an Austrian-Chinese partnership. Succulently fruity and smooth but bone-dry with white pepper spiciness and a crisp grapefruit finish. It's a great match for a Chinese banquet and fusion food, but also for more European flavours. Note that Ocado's website calls it white Cabernet Sauvignon"
China, we know, is full of surprises, so why should anyone cock a brow when they learn that one of the grandest and most opulent Bordeaux-inspired winery constructions in the entire country shares its name with a 15th-generation Austrian maker of grüner veltliner?
Welcome to Château Changyu-Moser XV, a stunning €70 million construction located in the now-sprawling region of Ningxia. It’s the proud, ambitious project of China’s oldest and largest wine producer.
Its consultant winemaker is the energetic and engaging Lenz Moser, who for the past five years has been responsible for making Changyu’s wines and taking them to the world.
Even before their partnership, Moser had a relationship with Changyu’s winemaking team. Changyu was fighting the odds to sell Moser’s Austrian white wines in China while Moser was trying to distribute their wines in Europe.
Then, in Moser’s words, Changyu’s chairman expressed frustration that the company hadn’t achieved a breakthrough in Europe, and both agreed that quality was the issue. The chairman asked why couldn’t Moser make a wine from Changyu’s finest fruit to take to the world? The ambition was thus forged and the agreement was made.
The first Changyu-Moser XV Cabernet Sauvignon was released in 2015 from 2013 vintage. Since he stepped into the lead role, Moser has refined the wine – the 2016 vintage that I tasted married plushness and polish with genuine elegance and shape. Its backbone is fine and supple, and with the small berries at his disposal, he expects to build more structure in the future.
“Ningxia is extremely dry and I’m working with the smallest cabernet fruit I have ever worked with,” says Moser. “We get great skin-to-juice ratio, and the thick skins have an abundance of flavour, colour and tannins. We’re at 1,100 metres altitude and only get 150 millimetres of rain annually, so it’s all irrigated.
“The one and only challenge is that we need to bury the vines over winter, burying in November to around 30 to 40 centimetres of soil and unburying in March. We grow the canes at about 45 degrees to the vertical so at least we don’t have to bend them over 100%, which would increase the chances of them snapping. Given all that, since about 2009, I’ve been convinced this might be the hotspot of winemaking in China.”
The upside to burying is that you control the timing of budburst through the unburying process. The estate has around 60 hectares of cabernet sauvignon and access to another 200 hectares of nearby vineyards planted to cabernet sauvignon, merlot and shiraz among others.
The soils are around 60 to 70 centimetres of sandy loam and Moser is dead keen to “exploit their terroir and possibilities to the max”. With only around 10 to 20 days of what you can really call autumn, Ningxia presents unique challenges, typically related to achieving full late season ripening and true phenolic ripeness.
Moser, however, reckons his fruit gets the same hang time or longer than that in Bordeaux, saying his biggest challenge was to get the vineyard workers to harvest after the Moon Festival holidays in early October.
In March last year, Moser travelled the world to launch the 2016 Purple Air Comes From The East Cabernet Sauvignon. At the time of writing, I was yet to taste this wine, which was limited to just 6,300 bottles, so I couldn’t say if it’s on the same plane as the Shangri-la, LVMH’s Ao Yun, or Helan Qingxue’s Baby Feet cabernet-based wines – the finest I have seen from China to date. But I’m thinking I’m in for a pleasant surprise.
And Lenz Moser’s other piece of hot news? He’s now planting grüner veltliner.
This coming week’s launch of a new €150 red wine from China’s Château Change Moser XV shows just how far the Chinese wine industry has come, notwithstanding the direct and indirect impact of the coronavirus. Although the release of Purple Air Comes From the East has had to be scaled back in size it is still a significant moment in the history of Chinese wine, an industry that has been growing at a fantastic pace and improving in quality year-on-year. Mike Turner talks to Lenz Moser about his joint venture winery, about managing the tannins of the region, and coping with some of the quirks that inevitably come with making wine in such a distinctive and individual country.
‘Behind the Label’ – 2018 Chateau Changyu Moser XV, Cabernet Sauvignon, Blanc de Noir, Helan Mountain Range, China.
"Although this wine is labelled as a Blanc de Noir, or white wine made from red grapes, it is actually rosé coloured and this hint suggests that the flavour and palate are fuller flavoured than expected. This is my favourite Chinese rosé and it a rich, main course style with a gorgeous red rose nose and plummy palate and it would work wonders with the Fish curry recipe."
The full, luscious ice wine Changyu Golden Icewine Valley Liaoning 2017 (93 points) from the far north of China added diversity to our list, with immense concentration, tons of pure dried fruit and mouthwatering acidity.
"Deep Gold hue. luscious dried pineapple, honeyed apricys mangoes and honeysuckie. Huge concentration of pure, dried fruit. Mouthwatering acidity balances the waxy texture and sweetness and seduces you into drinking more. Delicious! Drink or hold."
I attended the Chateau Changyu Moser XV Master Class at the Shangri La Hotel in Toronto February 20 2020. Organized by Von Terra, the Master Class was hosted by Austrian winemaker and proprietor Lenz Mozer. We tasted four wines he produces in Chateau Changyu Moser XV in Ningxia, China's best wine growing region. Chateau Changyu Moser XV is the only winery in China to make a red, white and rosé from Cabernet Sauvignon.
Lenz is a great storyteller, telling us about the history of the Chateau and the history of wine making in China while we tasted his delicious wines. Although there are no local varietals, there is a lot of red wine produced and consumed in China but “nobody wants to do winery management in China,” he said.
I truly enjoyed Lenz’ philosophy of “minimal manipulation of grapes” – in other words, let the grapes unfold and give the type of wine it’s supposed to give. I also loved Lenz’ attitude of “wine is to have fun”. I especially adored his answer to someone who asked “What do you pair the Blanc de Noir with?” and he responded “You pair it with everything!” – and that’s how it should be: no snobbism with wine – just have fun with it!
We got to try the wines with great appetizers from the Shangri La Hotel such as tuna nigiri and beef sliders. Thank you for the great event Von Terra!
The four wines we tasted are available at the LCBO:
“'Persistence is everything in our trade. Never be afraid to keep repeating the same message, because it can sometimes be decades before you reach the final consumer'”
Lenz Moser is both a wine maker and a marketing man. While many wine makers fly around the world tasting their wares. Not many have had formal training in marketing and such a long glittering career in the trade. We talk to Lens about his golden rules for marketing wine. We also touch on his family inventions and carrier wine.
Lenz Moser talks to us about Chateau Changyu Moser XV, one of the top wineries from Ningxia and one of China's new rapidly growing regions.
Chateau Changyu Moser XV is a partnership between Changyu, one of China's big producers, and Lenz Moser and Austrian winemaker. With a huge investment in the winery and impressive Chateau building, Chateau Changyu Moser XV is striving to become a top tier wine from China.
Chris Scott talks to Lenz Moser about how the project began and and about Ningxia (ning-sha) which Lenz calls the Napa of China.
‘An ok wine is not good enough. When you make wine from a new appellation like China, especially Ningxia, you have to 'wow', you have to enthuse people. That's why Chateau Changyu-Moser XV has been out on the map in 40 countries including China. We have the surprise element and we are also living up to the expectation that Ningxia makes 8/10 of the best wines in China.’
Leading Ningxia winery Château Changyu-Moser XV has released what it claims is the world’s first white Cabernet Sauvignon aged in French barriques.
The unusual wine, which spends a year in French oak, was made at Changyu’s estate in northwest China from the free-run juice of small, thick-skinned Cabernet Sauvignon grapes harvested from 12-year-old vines.
The barrel-aged white follows on from Changyu’s successful unoaked white Cabernet, which launched in 2017 to satisfy a growing thirst for Chinese whites.
“White Cabernet is something we did out of necessity. At the chateau I had 250 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon, but I had to have a white wine, so I got creative,” said chief winemaker Lenz Moser.
“We loved the unoaked, stainless steel version so much that we started experimenting by ageing the wine in barriques. After repeatedly tasting the barrels we grew increasingly confident that this would be something spectacular, and it is.
“All the credentials of our unoaked white Cabernet have been refined with subtle wood treatment for 12 months. This gives it the harmony and complexity expected of a world-class white wine,” Moser added.
With an RRP of £35, the rare white is aimed at independent specialists and the high-end on-trade. Just 1,000 bottles were created from the debut 2017 vintage, but production was ramped up in 2018, when 18,000 bottles were made.
Château Changyu-Moser XV is in the process of converting to biodynamic viticulture and aims to be certified by 2022.
Chinese wine has long been touted as one to watch, but the industry has been so cloaked in mystery it’s never been quite clear what to expect. An LCBO release of four wines from Chateau Changyu Moser XV, a boutique winery operating in the foothills of the Helan Mountain in Ningxia in northern China, is one of the first real glimpses of that county’s fine wine boom.
From Ningxia geology to the new regional brand 'Ningxia Hong', here's the latest report on China's up-and-coming fine wine region in the wild northwest.
Chateau Changyu Moser XV, backed by China’s oldest and biggest wine producing company Changyu, is another estate built with tourism in its mind.
Chateau Changyu Moser XV, Ningxia
With a total investment of 600m CNY (65m GBP), Chateau Changyu Moser XV opened to the public in 2013, one year earlier than Yuanshi. The estate’s central piece is a ‘Byzantine-style’ chateau (see above).
The chateau, which can be mistaken for one in Bordeaux, is also a popular movie set, we were told, and I do remember from two years ago seeing a hospital-like set and a couple of rusted cages on our way to the cellar.
‘We receive 50,000 – 80,000 visitors each year,’ said Fan Xi, chief engineer (winemaker) and deputy general manager of the estate, ‘70% of them are consumers who do not work in wine.’
Different from Yuangshi, visitors only purchase 1% of the estate’s astonishing 1500 tonnes of annual production, most of which is pumped into the Changyu group’s wide-spread distribution channels around China and abroad, said the winemaker.
Each visitor, however, pays 80 CNY (8.7 GBP) per ticket for a tour in the massive built-in wine museum, where they get to see every element of winemaking, experience wine aromas, and learn about the century-long history of Changyu, which also coincides the winemaking heritage of China. They can even make their own labelled wines at an extra cost.
‘For us wine tours are more important for branding and nurturing potential customers; sales come second,’ said Fan. ‘At the end of the tour, we want our visitors to feel that they have gained some knowledge about wine.’
‘There’s a huge potential in education here,’ said British wine critic Robert Joseph, who is also at our press tour, ‘every year thousands of consumers are exposed to wine via these visits. It’s likely some of them will become regular wine drinkers in the future.’
In den Startlöchern scharrt der Österreicher (Kremstal) Laurenz Maria Moser, besser bekannt als Lenz Moser V., seit Jahren als Winemaker in China tätig: Im März kommt sein ultra-premium Cabernet Sauvignon aus China auf den Markt. Dort betreibt Moser das Château Changyu–Moser XV gemeinsam mit dem chinesischen Weinriesen Changyu. Der Wein mit dem markanten chinesischen Etikett und englischem Untertitel nennt sich „Purple Air Comes From The East“, ist Jahrgang 2016 und ein reinsortiger Cabernet Sauvignon. Die Trauben stammen von Château-eigenen Lagen in der chinesischen Provinz Ningxa, dem Weinbauzentrum Chinas. Nur 6300 Flaschen wurden von dem Premierenwein gefüllt. Der Preis steht noch nicht fest.
Im März startet die weltweite Präsentation des Premiumlabels, in London gab es bereits einen Vorgeschmack. Auf Augenhöhe sieht Moser seinen neuen Wein mit den Flaggschiffen chinesischer Winzerkunst, etwa Lafites „Long Dai“ oder dem „Ao Yun“ aus dem Weinbereich des Luxusgüterkonzern LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy), beide aus Frankreich und in China mit eigenen Weingütern engagiert.
Moser arbeitet seit 2005 mit und für die Changyu Winery, der größten ihrer Art in China. Er ist dort Konsulent und „winemaking advisor“. Château Changyu–Moser XV wurde als Marke 2015 gegründet und verbindet einerseits Changyu und andererseits Mosers Wurzeln (XV): Er ist Fünfter der Winzerdynastie Lenz Moser und 15. in der direkten Linie der Winzerfamilie Moser. Sein Großvater entwickelte die Hochkultur in den Weingärten, die nach wie vor weltweit als Standard im Weinbau gilt.
Nach seiner Geschäftsführertätigkeit für die Weinkellerei Lenz Moser, die 1986 an eine Investorengruppe verkauft worden war, baute Laurenz V. ab 1997 für den amerikanischen Weinbaupionier Robert Mondavi dessen Niederlassung in Europa auf. Nach dem Verkauf von Robert Mondavi Europe an die Constellation Group wandte sich Lenz Moser wieder dem Weinbau in Österreich zu und etablierte im Jahr 2005 das Projekt „Laurenz V.“ Unter dieser Marke werden Weine nach seinen Vorstellungen von Abfüllern hergestellt und vor allem in den USA und Asien vertrieben.
In der Kooperation mit Changyu findet Moser alles vor, was er sich wünscht. Modernste Anlagen, weitläufige Anbauflächen, passende Teams – und viel Kapital. Das ermutigt zu Innovationen. Etwa dem weltweit ersten weißgepressten Cabernet, den Changyu–Moser 2017 auf den Markt brachte. Oder auch für den Grünen Veltliner, der Stammsorte seiner Familie, mit dem er derzeit wieder Großes vorhat. In China sieht der Österreicher gewaltiges Potenzial, vor allem auch im noch schwach entwickelten Inlandsmarkt.
Chinese wine is the future says Lenz Moser, as he reveals the release of a new top end Cabernet Sauvignon to rival Chinese offerings from Château Lafite and LVMH.
Chief winemaker Lenz Moser from China’s Chateau Changyu–Moser XV will embark on a global tour in March to launch the winery’s new ultra-premium Cabernet Sauvignon.
The 2016 wine – called Purple Air Comes From The East – is a 100% estate-grown Cabernet from the Chateau’s Ningxia Provence vineyards and is limited to just 6,300 bottles.
Moser hopes it will rival similarly premium offerings from China. ‘I need to rub shoulders with the likes of Long Dai from Lafite and Ao Yun LVMH and I couldn’t resist making an icon wine,’ said Moser during a dinner in London to showcase Changyu–Moser XV’s wines.
‘It has a very Chinese-looking label and it is going to raise the bar again for the Chateau,’ he added.
Moser has been working with China’s Changyu winery since 2005 as a consultant and winemaking adviser and launched the Chateau Changyu–Moser XV label in 2015 in partnership with them.
‘Our vision is very simple we want to revive China’s quality game and make sure our wine is not just among the very best of China, but also belonging in the company of the world’s finest,’ he said.
Moser believes that China is the future for global wine consumption and production. In the future he predicts that 70% of the market for Chinese wine will be domestic. ‘China will be our biggest market by far, it will follow the USA model where only 15% of wine is exported,’ he said.
In the mountainous desert highlands of Ningxia, fifth generation wine maker Lenz Moser has teamed up with China's oldest and largest winery to make world class Cabernet Sauvignon. He spoke with vintages about the projects.
Der Österreichische Önologe Laureny Maria Moser leitet in China das nach ihm benannte Weingut Chateau Changyu Moswe XV. Das Zeil: Spitzenwiene für den Weltmarket. Im Stilteil auf Seite 56. Begleitet vom üblichen sonntäglichen Weintipp zu den reyepten von Volker Hobl.
Sustainable farming practices that use natural materials, soils and composts are taking root in the Ningxia region, thanks to the arrival of European and Western-educated Chinese winemakers
Sean Moncrieff’s programme on Newstalk, Ireland’s National talk radio station, has a cult following. Sean’s programme takes an irreverent look at life but is topical and can be serious about current affairs. The Movies & Booze slot started shortly after Sean started working with Newstalk in 2006 and is, to date, the longest standing regular feature. The premise is simple, review two films and two wines in a 60 minute slot, while engaging with the audience via FB, twitter, email and text.
Newstalk is the only radio station in Ireland to commit to a regular wine slot, which is part educational, part irreverent, but mostly fun. It is promotion through education thought in a light-hearted way. There are three wine slots every month and one slot featuring craft beer, presented by Dean McGuinness who is an importer of specialist beers. The wine presenters of Movies & Booze are Jean Smullen, Mick O’Connell MW and Tomas Clancy who alternate each month, presenting once or twice a month as the schedule requires.
The audience for Moncrieff is predominantly AB1 males (25-50+) with a daily national audience of 96,000 , it outperforms the Irish Times with who have a daily readership of c 68,000 for the same audience.
The 2016 IWA Report shows that in the 45-54 age bracket 21% of Men and 19% of Women now drink wine, and in the 55-64 age bracket 17% Male and 16% Females drink wine. Contrast that with the drop in wine consumption by Millenials from 25% in 2011 to 16% in 2016. Source: IWA Aug 2017
Ningxia China: Chateau Changyu Moser XV Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Cedary, blackcurrent and red berry aromas, lush rich ripe fruits, soft luscious mouthfell, smooth tannins - this is the "second" wine of Chateau Changyu Moser, one of the new premium wines made by Austrian Lenz Moser and the best I have ever tasted yet from China.
Thirty-year-old Emma Yu, above, is the youngest member of the four-strong winemaking team at Château Changyu Moser XV; she is also the only woman. [We have tasting notes on most of the wines discussed here, but particularly and most recently for Changyu Moser – JR]
Her appointment as assistant winemaker was championed by renowned Austrian chief winemaker Lenz M Moser, whose remark ‘it took me a year to persuade Changyu to take a woman instead of a man’ speaks volumes.
A fluent English speaker, Yu graduated from Shaanxi's Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University and came to Europe in 2012 to join the EuroMaster Vinifera programme, studying in France (Montpellier SupAgro and Bordeaux Sciences Agro) and in Germany at Geisenheim University.
On her return to China in 2015 she was hired by Ningxia's Yunkou estate where she helped make and market their annual output of 30,000 bottles before joining Moser at Changyu.
We chatted about men and women, and differences in the workplace. According to Yu, the former are typically assigned to heavier physical labour, but she pointed out that there are three female cellar hands at Changyu.
‘Sometimes it can be difficult for a female winemaker at the start. When you're a young woman the recruiters are more hesitant, but it's the same in other industries. The biggest problem around hiring young women is that in China, we get at least 150 days off if we give birth', she observed astutely.
However, there is good news: Ningxia's status as a booming wine region is in Yu's favour. ‘It's quite a new region and the success of other female winemakers here means that it wasn't that difficult for me to find my first job', she observed, adding that women who become successful on the technical side of the industry attract particular attention.
She talked with enthusiasm about the support she gets from other younger females working at Helan Mountain estates with whom she discusses technical questions, vintage characteristics, new products and marketing.
According to Yu, women in wine are perceived in the same way, be it in Europe or China. ‘Sometimes people are surprised when I introduce myself as a winemaker. They always say “but you're so young! A woman making wine!” But then I tell them my background and they show more respect.’
Does gender make any difference to winemaking? ‘For the technical part, I would say no. I've met excellent winemakers, men and women. Being a good winemaker has no relation to gender. Some people believe that women make delicate wines, but I've met females making really big wines.’
She ended our interview with another astute observation.
WEIN China investiert Milliarden in den Aufbau einer eigenen Industrie. Eine Szene von Winzern ist entstanden, deren Produkte sogar den französischen Konkurrenten gefährlich werden. Die ersten Flaschen kommen jetzt in Deutschland auf den Markt.
Chateau Changyu Moser XV is innovating to make the most of its grapes, whose special properties come from their unique terroir in arid Ningxia, Li Yingxue reports.
@lenz_m_moser met with @louisehurren in Ningxia last week to talk about life, business and his latest project - a super-premium Chinese wine to be launched next spring. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
'It’s very harmonious, more fruit-driven than anything else. I tried to bring out the bright fruit of Ningxia Cabernet, in a very subtle form, lighter in alcohol. It’ll be the 2016 vintage. I’ve worked very hard on it, reduced the wood treatment to bring out the typicity of the region.' #chinesewine #ambition
Wein aus China war etwas für Chinesen oder Menschen, die das Exotische lieben. Nun will er den Weltmarkt erobern, und zwar mit Qualität. Dear Österreicher LENY MOSER arbeitet daran.
Chinesischer Wein ist in Europa noch echte Mangelware. Selbst in bestsortierten Fachgeschäften wie auch im Online-Handel sind Flaschen aus dem Reich der Mitte kaum zu bekommen. Nun fi nden die ersten Weine von Projekten, in denen Europäer federführend sind, auch den Weg zu uns. Die folgenden Tropfen stellen eine Bereicherung jeder Weinkarte dar.
Mit rasender Geschwindigkeit hält die Weinkultur Einzug China. Am Anfang standen importe teurer Prestigeweine, heute verfügt China bereits über die zweitgrößte Rebfläche der Welt. Und es werden erste Weine von internationalem Format gekeltert.
Delighted to feature in this article by @christine_winein @theipaperon the increase in quality wines from lesser known and exciting new wine regions featuring our white cabernet made by Austrian winemaker Lenz Moser at our Chateau in Ningxia China.
We’ve had White Zinfandel and now White Cabernet is poised for its moment in the sun as hip London restaurants like Sexy Fish and Brasserie of Light get behind the wine.
Lenz Moser V is a fifth generation member of the Lenz Moser Austrian winemaking dynasty. Having sold his shares in his family wine company four years ago, Moser swapped Europe for Asia and is currently chief winemaker at Château Changyu-Moser XV in northern China’s Ningxia region. Passionate about putting Chinese wine on the world wine map, Moser is in the process of converting the 250-hectare Château Changyu Moser XV to biodynamic viticulture and hopes to be certified in three years. He is also working on an ‘icon’ wine that aims to take on the best in China.
Bisher waren Eigengewächse aus dem Reich der Mitte nicht der Hit, dieses Jahr kann man wieder Empfehlungen geben, sogar für Normalverbraucher, die keine 80 Euro für einen chinesischen Cabernet Sauvignon ausgeben wollen.
Große Weine werden nicht umsonst mit großen Auszeichnungen gekrönt. So erhielt der Cabernet Sauvignon Château Changyu Moser XV aus dem Jahrgang 2015 die höchste Auszeichnung des Wettbewerbs, Großes Gold, und wurde somit zum besten Wein Chinas gekürt. Sechs weitere Weine des Weinguts erhielten Goldmedaillen.
Now turning to northwest China's Ningxia to see how an Austrian winemaker pursues his dream in China. STANDUP (English): NATAJIA MILLER, CNC Correspondent: "You may think about Europe or the Napa Valley when you think about wine, but Ningxia also has some of the most high quality wine you'll ever taste. And to tell us more about how high quality it really is we'll bring on the wine chief himself, Mr Lenz Moser. Pleasure to meet you, sir." SOUNDBITE (English): NATAJIA MILLER, CNC Correspondent: "So fifteen generations of wine, is that right?" SOUNDBITE (English): LENZ MOSER, Chief Winemaker, Chateau Changyu Moser XV "Yes."
1. What is your favourite restaurant in London? I have three favourites; Dinner – at the Mandarin Oriental – Stefan (Neumann MS) and his team are just amazing, ditto the food; China Tang, Igor must be one of the best hosts of any restaurant I know – you come in and he makes you feel immediately at home; and Sexy Fish, such a cool vibe and a great team. I am eternally grateful to them for having helped us make our white Cabernet such a big success – one of their top selling wines by the glass. ‘
China ist der zurzeit am schnellsten wachsende Weinmarkt der Welt, und das Zentrum dieser Entwicklung ist die Sonderverwaltungszone Hongkong. Vorbild für die neuen Weine sind die Klassiker aus den traditionsreichen Weinregionen Europas.
2017 Château Changyu Moser XV, Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc de Noir, Ningxia, China £15.95, Slurp.co.uk; £18.99, selfridges.com
This week I have a wine story that sounds so outlandish and improbable that it simply could not be true. But it is. I met with Lenz Moser last week, one of Austria’s most renowned winemakers, in order to taste his brand new Chinese releases. As a precursor to his range he opened a 1996 Lenz Moser cabernet, which he made in his homeland in one of the worst red-wine vintages in living memory. This 23-year-old pale rosé-hued wine was lively, impressive, elderflower and blackberry leaf-scented and thoroughly beguiling.
ASI is very proud to announce a new, two-year partnership with Ningxia’s Helan Mountain Eastern Slope wine region in China, one of China’s fastest growing and best-established high quality wine producing regions, which will be host to the 2020 ASI Annual Meeting.
Aux portes du désert de Gobi, des pionniersont transformé sable et cailloux en vignobles prospères.Au point que, en vingt ans, le Ningxia est devenu uneldorado viticole. S’ils sont partis de rien, les propriétairesde ces nouveaux domaines savent s’entourer des meilleursprofessionnels. Résultat!: leurs grands vins rouges ont déjàremporté des concours internationaux, avant de conquérir lesmeilleures tables. Un succès qui ne doit rien au hasard.
Fast 7200 Weine aus aller Welt stehenauf der Verkostungsliste des internationalenWeinwettbewerbs„Mundus Vini“, der noch bis Sonntagim Saalbau läuft. „Wir sehenschon jetzt, dass der 2018er dort,wogut gearbeitet wurde, tolle Qualitätenzu bieten hat“, zieht VerkostungsleiterChristian Wolf eine zufriedene Zwischenbilanz.
There's growing interest in Chinese wines. Get up to speed now, says Sam Wylie-Harris.
It’s Chinese New Year – the beginning of the Year of the Pig – a time for eating, drinking, fireworks and celebrating. But while China is famed for its cuisine, what about its wine?
Das chinesische Neujahr steht vor der Tür, deswegen hier ausnahmsweise ein Wein, der nicht durch sein tolles Preis-Leistungsverhältnis auffällt, sondern durch seine Herkunft. In China steigen sowohl der Weinkonsum als auch der -anbau rasant an. Mit der Handschrift von Lenz M. Moser V entstehen in Ningxia, Chinas jüngster Weinregion, Weine internationalen Stils.
Huge congratulations to @jzwinepeek on her brilliant new book on Chinese Wine - ‘The Chinese Wine Renaissance’ - which launched in London yesterday. More than 5 years in the making and thoroughly researched wIth fascinating insight into the history and cultural aspects of Chinese wine production and general wine culture and consumption in China
Die rote Gefahr: So will die chinesische Provinz Ningxia das neue Bordeaux werden.
Chinesische Weinbauern wittern den nächsten Goldrausch. Auch westliche Experten sind beeindruckt. Nur die Chinesen selber machen beim Wein noch nicht wirklich mit.
När det talas om världens vinländer tänker vi lätt på Europa, Sydamerika, Australien eller kanske Sydafrika. Men faktum är att Kina håller på att vinna mark både som konsument och producent av kvalitetsviner, och det går i en rasande fart!
„Eco“ über Österreichs Wirtschaftsdaten, die Waagner -Biro BiroBiro-Insolvenz und das Weinland China Insolvenz und das Weinland ChinaInsolvenz und das Weinland China Insolvenz und das Weinland ChinaInsolvenz und das Weinland China Insolvenz und das Weinland China Insolvenz und das Weinland China Insolvenz und das Weinland ChinaInsolvenz und das Weinland China
Am 15. November um 22.30 Uhr in ORF 2
Wien (OTS) - Dieter Bornemann präsentiert das ORF-Wirtschaftsmagazin „Eco“ am Donnerstag, dem 15. November 2018, um 22.30 Uhr in ORF 2 mit folgenden Beiträgen:
So geht’s Österreich: Zahlen, Daten, Wirtschaftsfakten, Haushaltseinkommen
Lenz Moser ist der einzige Winzer im deutschsprachigen Raum, der auch in China Wein anbaut. Auf Chateau Changyu in der Region Ningxia macht er überraschende Erfahrungen mit Traditionen und neuem Tempo.
Det blev restaurangchef Markku Niemi från restaurang Pastis i Helsingfors som i mars får representera Finland i VM för sommelierer i belgiska Antwerpen.
The last twenty metres of road aren’t yet tarmacked on the way to He Jin Zun winery in Ningxia, northern China, so we get out and crunch over the gravel on foot. Consultant winemaker David Tyney bounds out to greet us and walks us through the building site past rows of gleaming steel tanks into the noisy winery. He’s from New Zealand but most other employees are locals. A dozen women in colourful headscarves are huddled over the speeding sorting table, an older man forks piles of discarded stalks, some younger ones tip crates of grapes into the press. Tyney surveys the busy scene. “None of this was here two weeks ago,” he says, “it was just a dirt floor.”
Fresh off the plane after a trip to China,just-drinks' wine commentator, Chris Losh,brings us his take on the category in thecountry and finds that the greater threat tosuccess for the world's wine producerscomes from within.
Here’s a good dinner party question for wine lovers: after the big players of Spain, Italy, France and the US, which is the fifth-biggest wine producing country in the world? Well, it’s not, as might be suspected, somewhere else in Europe or the New World. It is China, with an annual production of around 1.7 million tonnes, which is about half that of the US, but still more than what we might think of as bulk producers such as Chile and Australia, whose wines have such a massive presence on our supermarket shelves. In fact, wine has been made in parts of China since very ancient times – although modern industrial production dates largely from the early 20th century – and more than 90 per cent of Chinese wine is consumed internally.
I did a whirlwind ten-winery tour of Ningxia in May. After stops at Pushang, known for its Marselan, and Aromes, known for a focus on natural wine, I joined writers from England, Germany and Switzerland for eight stops with organizer Changyu-Moser XV.
A new wine which can be compared to some of the top wines of the world … the top wine from china …“
Adi Schmidt – he is a legend in austria . was head somm of steirereck in austria for 41 years before retiring last year – steirereck ist austrias best restaurant , always amongst the top 50 restaurants of the world – usually in the top 15 ( last year top 10 , this year 14th ).
Der Captain trinkt chinesischen Wein. Doch nicht so, wie die Matrosen sich das vorstellen. Hier die Geschichte des ultimativen Gesichtsverlust. Ganbai!
Following archaeological investigations, winemaking in ancient China started around 1st-3rd century BC, but in the more recent history we can say that modern winemaking in China started in the late 19th century when Zhang Bishi started growing vines under the brand Changyu. The company was quite successful as testified by the awards it won in the early 20th century. After the revolution, the focus was shifted a bit until the revival of China towards the end of the 20th century.
Das neue Disneyland des Weines: Die Region Ningxia wird zum chinesischen Napa-Valley - Changyu Pioneer kann die Hälfte der Jahresproduktion von Deutschland verarbeiten – Wein & Neue Seidenstraße.
Changyu-Moser XV opened its stunning Loire-esque facility in Ningxia five years ago today. The project pairs Changyu, China’s oldest and biggest producer, with Lenz Moser, who hails from a veteran Austrian wine family. It is sibling to similar huge Changyu wineries in Hebei, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Shandong and Xinjiang. Below I’ve posted photos from five different visits, including on opening day, which featured a musical ensemble, toasts of “ganbei” (bottoms up), fireworks, and tours of the cellar, museum, tasting room and more.
Ein Österreicher will die besten Weine Chinas produzieren und sich mit den Top Weingütern der Welt messen. Lenz Moser berät den Weinproduzenten Changyu und ist Mitgebieter über ein Schloss, das kaum Wünsche offen lässt. view article
Ningxia ist eine der aufstrebenden Weinregionen Chinas. Sie liegt im Nordwesten des Landes an der Grenze zur Inneren Mongolei. Dort hat sich der Österreicher Laurenz Moser mit seinem Weingut Chateau Changyu Moser XV dem Weinbau verschrieben …
No other grape variety is more resilient and adaptable than Cabernet Sauvignon. Whether made in a single variety or in a blend, the grape’s characteristics are unmistakable with blackcurrant, cassis, spicy peppery notes, cedar and a leafy lift. Hailed by many as the king of red grapes, from its heartland in Bordeaux to adopted homes in Napa Valley, Australia, Chile or even as far as Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley or China’s Ningxia, Cabernet Sauvignon trumps other varieties for its faithful interpretations of terroir, vintage conditions, winemaking techniques and most importantly, its longevity that allows some of its best to age gracefully for decades.
China is often overlooked when it comes to wine — but the country is producing a growing number of quality bottles, as I discovered on a recent visit....
A team of 275 judges, including many of the world´s top experts, blind tasted 16.903 wines in the competition. At the end Chateau Changyu Icewine, Golden Icewine Valley Blue Label Vidal, 2015 has won gold.
Douglas Blyde accompanied fifth-generation Austrian winemaker, Laurenz (Lenz) Moser on his 49th visit to the People’s Republic of China last month, taking in Ningxia, where, at Château Changyu Moser XV, Moser (now in his thirteenth year of consultancy) helps it to produce Cabernet Sauvignon-led wines, including a lushly textured blanc de noirs, and Yantai, home to the HQ of Changyu Pioneer Wine Company.
Das Beste am Wein ist, dass er fast rund um die Welt wächst und ganzeNationen miteinander vereint. Das Tolle an meinem Beruf ist, dass wirWeinjournalisten die Möglichkeit haben, auf Reisen zu gehen und in dieunterschiedlichsten Weinwelten eintauchen können. Jüngst führte micheine Weinreise ins Land des Lächelns.
Mithilfe des Weinexperten Lenz Moser will der größte chinesische Weinhändler Changyu die Exporte steigern. Der Sonnenkönig Ludwig XIV wusste um Inszenierungen. Nun gibt es in China ein Château Changyu Moser XV. Der Zusatz Moser XV. kommt vom österreichischen Chiefwinemaker des Chateaus, Lenz Moser. Die Familie ist schließlich seit fünfzehn Generationen im Weinbau tätig...
Les 9.180 vins présentés au Concours Mondial de Bruxelles (CMB) qui s’est tenula semaine dernière à Pékin, ont été dégustéspar 350 experts internationaux...
You may not have heard of it, but Ningxia is being hailed as China’s hottest region for the production of quality wines. Jane Anson travels to the wild stretches of the Great Wall to meet the up-and-coming producers who are leading the way...
Chinese wine has been tipped again and again to be the product to watch in 2018, but UK consumers still know very little about this emerging market....
Frank Kämmer ist der einzige Sommelier aus Deutschland, der schwerpunktmäßig in China arbeitet. Im Interview erklärt er, warum der Weinmarkt dort explodieren könnte...
This year could be the start of something big for Chinese wine. Sainsbury’s, Wine Rack, Tesco and Berry Bros have taken delivery of the latest vintages, and there will be plenty more coming our way soon. Sceptical? You shouldn’t be: China has the second largest area under vine in the world and its 2,000 wineries pump out a billion litres a year, with consumption expected to rise by almost 40 per cent in value over the next five years...
“All our children will drink top quality Chinese wines. China is the most dynamic wine market and its wines are gradualy gaining in prestige,” said Baudouin Havaux, Chairman of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles (CMB), on announcing that China would host the next CMB. “A country once famous for tea-drinking, China may soon become one of the world’s largest global wine consumers. And what consumers in the world’s second-largest economy want, is premium quality wine“, he added.
Neue Maßstäbe kennenlernen – mit dieser Erkenntnis haben sich Besucher am Stand des chinesischen Big Players Changyu auseinandersetzen dürfen...(page 9)
Im Jahr 1892 gründete Zhang Bishi, ein chinesischer Diplomat, in Yantaidie Zhang Yu Wine Company. Heute ist die Yantai Changyu PioneerInternational Company Ltd eine Unternehmensgruppe mit internationaler Beteiligung...2015 hob Changyu in der Region Ningxia zusammen mit Laurenz Maria Moser V. (kurz: Lenz Moser) Chateau Changyu Moser XV aus der Taufe – mit dem selbstbewussten Ziel, die besten Weine Chinas zu erzeugen...
Wang got her nickname from her so-called ‘crazy’ idea to start a winery with no professional experience. (Wang Fang) Leading the generation is pioneering winemaker 'Crazy Fang', whose top Chinese reds have just landed in Australia, just in time for Lunar New Year.
With Chinese New Year fast approaching and celebrations for Year of the Dog imminent, we turn our heads to look at all things Chinese wine, and, as Britain’s oldest wine merchant, speak to Lenz Moser, winemaker at China’s oldest winery – someone who believes China will be the future main driver of global wine production.
Lenz Moser has gone from making Grüner Veltliner in Austria to producing white Cabernet Sauvignon in China’s Ningxia region for Changyu Pioneer Company. He told Jo Gilbert how he plans to take his wine from the ‘Napa of Asia’ to the rest of the world...
Masterclass und Tasting: Lenz M. Moser und Frank Kämmer (Master Sommelier Changyu) führten in Hamburg mit einer Ningxia Masterclass durch die faszinierende Weinwelt Chinas
China’s oldest winery, Changyu Pioneers, has announced a major leadership change, appointing its vice-chairman Zhou Hongjiang as its new chairman, the first change at such a high level in 20 years.
"We're hungry hunters" says Lenz Moser, lifting chopsticks, conductor-like. We eat at Andrew Wong's avant-garde Pimlico dim sum house, where croquettes conceal rabbit curry and torched mushroom buns sprout from "turf"
Wines from the 2017 harvest in China's premier winemaking region look set to be fresher and slightly lower in alcohol than last year, but some white wine producers are rejoicing after avoiding the rot that damaged their 2016 crop. Sylvia Wu, editor of DecanterChina.com, reports from Ningxia on the harvest.
Noch ist China nicht erste Wahl, wenn es um Wein geht. Aber im riesigen Land gibt es bereits 900 Weingüter, etwa Chateau Changyu Moser XV. Es setzt auf Cabernet Sauvignon, wie ein gelungenes Beispiel zeigt.
Die drittärmste Provinz der Volksrepublik, Ningxia, hat ein ambitioniertes Ziel: Die einstige Kohleförderregion will mit ihrem Wein weltberühmt werden. Hunderte Winzer und Geschäftsmänner sind dem Ruf der Regierung gefolgt. Auch ausländische Fachmänner hat das Fieber gepackt – darunter einen Österreicher.
With its spectacular chateau, dramatic vineyards and extraordinary climate, Chateau Changyu-Moser XV is one of the most exciting new wineries to appear in the past 50 years.
Ningxia province in China while warm and suny in summer, can regularly plummet to -25 C in the winter. Lenz Moser from Chateau Changyu Moser XV tells us how they avert disaster: " We tackle the danger by burying the vines. This is a very labour-intensive process, which involves pruning the vines right after the harvest..."
Viel Kunst, Handwerkskunst und Pioniergeisti st in dieser Selektion zusammengekommen. Wir haben Weine aus Italien,Spanien, Frankreich und der Schweiz entdeckt– sowie eine Neuheit aus China...
Austrian winemaker Lenz Moser, a representative of the 15th generation of a well-known family of winemakers, presented his Chinese project in Moscow. The wine tasting of Chateau Changyu Moser XV wines was held this summer in Moscow's Ararat Park Hyatt.
The consultant of the oldest wine house in China, Lenz M. Moser, introduced CHATEAU CHANGYU MOSER XV's products to the Russian public and talked about the peculiarities of winemaking in China. (…)
... Château Changyu Moser, a collaboration with China´s largest winery, is his most ambitious, but in the UK an eclectic range of retailers including Conviviality, Tesco and Berry Bros & Rudd has already bought into it. (...)
Lenz Moser´s six-strong Chinese range hopes to establish Chinese wine in both the mainstream off-trade, but also in causal and fine dining restaurants through Bibendum, Walker & Wodehouse and Bros & Rudd. (...)
... Take acclaimed Austrian winemaker Lenz Moser. He has been working in China for over 13 years. He says to succeed in China takes patience – and a lot of it. It is not only such a complex and fast changing market to understand, but you also have to work hard at building trust amongst your Chinese wine partners and distributors. (...)
Chateau Changyu Moser has launched its first white wine – Helan Mountain 'white Cabernet' 2016 to go with the two estate reds that it brought into the UK last year through Bibendum. (...)
Tesco has become the latest major supermarket to tap the trend for Chinese cuisine with the launch of its first wine from the country. The Chinese produced Chateau Changyu Moser XV Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 is available from 700 of the retailer´s stores, and online, now with an introductory GBP 7 pricetag (rsp. GBP 8). (...)
SUPERMARKETS TO START STOCKING REDS FROM THE COUNTRY: Tesco and Sainsbury´s have started selling wine from China costing GBP 7 and GBP 8 / Changyu, the company behind the Tesco Wine, has produced wine since 1892T / Tesco´s master of wine James Davis said China would soon be a powerful player in the world. (...)
Tesco is looking to capitalise on the emerging Chinese wine trend with the launch of a red oriental brand, which it claims could be the first of many on the shelves. Hot on the heels of Sainsbury´s foray into Chinese wine in January, Tesco has started selling a China-produced Cabernet Sauvignon that it believes could finally establish the market in Britain. It bills the GBP 7 Chateau Changyu Moser XV Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 as a "smooth, full-bodied wine" that is cross between a classic bordeaux and a fruity Australian wine. (...)
Changyu and Fangshan are moving. No idea who that is? No wonder, because it’s not a who, it’s a place. Two places, in fact. Two places of viniculture. Jürgen Schmücking was there. His conclusion: we know very little about what’s going on there. (...)
Eine abgelegene Wüstenregion im Westen Chinas produziert erstklassigen Wein. Tom Pattinson hat die Winzer von Ningxia besucht, die weltweit Furore machen. (...)
Noch ist er nicht die erste Wahl im Glas: Wein aus China, Thailand oder Bali. Doch immer mehr Produzenten jenseits klassischer Weinbaugebiete wollen sich mit Qualität und Innovation in der Branche etablieren. (...)
I've chosen a new-wave red whine from China to mark Chinese New Year on Saturday.The alternative would have been a zingy, off-dry Riesling from Europe, the southern hemisphere or North America to match a variety of seafood, vegetable, dim sum, rice and noodle dishes, but I wanted to highlight the quality and style emerging from this vast new world of wine where Cabernet Sauvignon is king. This one, from vineyards planted around a dozen years ago in the fast-growing Ningxia province, is made by Chateau Changyu Moser XV. ...
Lenz Moser has described his sub-£10 Chateau Changyu Moser XV 2015 wine as a ‘game changer’ for the Chinese wine industry. ‘It was tough to make [the management] do it,’ said Moser. ‘The industry there tends to think the money is at the top end. But sub-£10 is going to make a huge di erence.’ Chateau Changyu Moser makes 350,000 bottles of its basic Cabernet Sauvignon, available from Bibendum for £9.54 ex-VAT. ‘Wines like this don’t exist in China,’ commented Moser, ‘but others are going to follow our lead.’ At present, all three wines in the range are 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, but Moser sees big potential for blending the French variety Marselan into his basic wine. ‘Currently there are just 10 hectares of the grape in Ningxia,’ he said, ‘but everyone is really excited by it. It can add a lovely softness to the structure of Cabernet, and it would help set the region’s wines apart. I think we’ll see more of it.’
Austrian winemaker Lenz Moser has been working with his Chinese colleague to create a range of wines worthy of attention outside the province of Ningxia, China. (...)
The domed caps of the creamy stone towers echo those at Valençay. The cherubbed fountains (faintly) evoke the Boboli Gardens in Florence. It´s magnificent. It´s also brand new and, considering it was finished in 2013, after just two years of construction and at a cost of €70 million, there´s only one place it could be – and that´s nowhere near the Loire or the monuments of renaissance Italy, but in China. (...)
Le tonneau n° 1 est presque chocolaté, plus doux que les autres. Le n° 2 est plus viril, l’arôme plus longue en bouche et épicée. “Trop, bien sûr“, dit Lenz Moser, un consultant vinicole venu d’Autriche pour se rendre l’automne dernier dans la région autonome du Ningxia Hui à l’occasion d’une dégustation de vin en fût. “Mais il va vieillir bien, s’adoucir et prendre un peu de rondeur en gagnant en puissance“. (…)
Everything from the ‘strange’ to the ‘superb’: I certainly wasn’t able to get a comprehensive overview of Chinese wines within the space of a few days, but I now know where it all starts and where it ends, in which region you’ll find the best wines, who the most popular producers are and what we can expect from China in the future in terms of quality, quantity and, indeed, architecture…
Bibendum PLB unveiled the latest addition to its portfolio at the London Wine Fair yesterday (May 4) – a Chinese wine created by Austrian winemaker Lenz Moser. The wine, which has five bottles in the range, is from the Chateau Changyu Moser XV in Ningxia. ...
Austrian wine entrepreneur Lenz M. Moser headed to China more than a decade ago, wanting to see what was going on. Now, he can’t stay away. Here he gives his impressions of the Ningxia wine region. (...)
