STORY: Rising Chinese wineries wow int'l connoisseurs
DATELINE: June 10, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:48
LOCATION: YINCHUAN, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of wine-themed international conference and an expo
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): MARIA TERESA ROMERO PONCE, Chilean winemaker, Stone & Moon Winery
3. various of wine-producing area in Ningxia
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): HUA MIN, General manager of Pernod Ricard (Ningxia) Winemakers Co., Ltd.
5. various of wine-producing area in Ningxia
6. various of the French wine connoisseur
7. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): CHRISTELLE CHENE, French wine connoisseur, Worldwide Brand Ambassador of Xige Estate
8. various of wine-producing wineries and land in Ningxia

STORYLINE:

A wine-themed international conference and an expo were held in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Opened Friday, the two-day International Conference on Grape and Wine Industries and the third China (Ningxia) International Wine Culture and Tourism Expo gather representatives in the wine-making industry from over 30 countries and four international organizations.

The event offers a unique platform for exploring new growth models for the industry and sharing new opportunities for international cooperation.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): MARIA TERESA ROMERO PONCE, Chilean winemaker, Stone & Moon Winery
"I think this year we will have more international winemakers coming. So it's good to generate this collaboration, (and) this interaction of new ideas."

China has launched a national pilot zone in Ningxia to develop premium wine on the edge of the Gobi Desert, aiming to turn the eastern foothills of Helan Mountain into China's Bordeaux.
 
The region boasts a unique terroir for making top-class wine, with its prolonged sunshine and a cool, dry climate aiding the cultivation of grapes.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): HUA MIN, General manager of Pernod Ricard (Ningxia) Winemakers Co., Ltd.
"A lot of well-known chateaus and wineries from home and abroad chose Helan Mountain to open their wineries. The local government is also very supportive of the quality development of the wine industry."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): CHRISTELLE CHENE, French wine connoisseur, Worldwide Brand Ambassador of Xige Estate
"Wines that have evident elements of the Chinese traditional culture are more attractive to foreign wine consumers. For example, this grape variety brings a very unique and characteristic taste of Chinese medicinal herbs."

After more than 40 years of development, Ningxia has emerged as China's largest wine-producing region.

It now has 228 wineries and grape-growing enterprises, which produced 138 million bottles of wine in 2022.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Yinchuan, China.
(XHTV)