Chinese Wine

While the Chinese have known about wine since about 200 B.C.E., it has never been the country's beverage of choice. In the past decade, wine consumption has doubled to .7 litres, or one bottle, per person. While this is less than two percent of France's per-capita consumption, it amounts to over a billion bottles consumed in a year.

There are two reasons for the rise: affluence and health. As China gets wealthier, its citizens are beginning to move away from the harsher grain-based spirits they previously favored. Besides being less alcoholic than baiju and the vast majority of huangju, wine also has health benefits and snob appeal.

Cabernet Savignon is the grape of choice in China, in 2005 it accounted for over 50% of plantings. Other popular grapes in China include Merlot and Pinot Noir. In general, the Chinese prefer red wine to white.

As of 2006, 95 percent of the wine consumed in China comes from Chinese vineyards. And the vast bulk of that is produced by just four wineries.