Marc Dworkin brings considerable experience to his job as chief wine consultant to relatively new winery Great River Hill, which produces the label Chateau Nine Peaks, has already garnered praise for quality and value in numerous competitions, and is distributed by East Meets West. Along with more than a decade of experience in Bordeaux, including at Château Larmande and Château Bellefont Belcier, Dworkin has consulted on projects in Bulgaria, Romania, Israel, Turkey, Georgia and India. I asked him a few questions about Great River Hill.
The trend in China seems to be “go west” — to regions such as Ningxia, Gansu and Xinjiang — yet Great River Hill chose Laixi in Shandong province as a base. Why?
We based the decision on soil analysis. We simply chose the best soil, with southern slopes. We had the added benefit of support from the local government.
Shandong, including Laixi, gets a lot of rain, particularly due to the influence of typhoons. How do you deal with that?
It forced us to relearn our jobs since neither I nor my team had ever dealt with these weather conditions. We found a spraying solution — “fogging” — to fight disease, we planted grass between the rows of vines to stabilize the soil, and we oxygenated that soil before and after the rainy season, plowing to a depth of about 50 centimeters. We also reduced the number of grapes in order to provide more air circulation and increased leaf volume in order to slow photosynthesis.
The first vintages (2011 and 2012) of GRH wines are far fruitier than anyone expected and already have received good feedback. What led to that initial success?
One of my mentors once told told me: “When the grapes are ripe, then you start waiting!” More seriously, we have been waiting longer for harvest in order to get phenolic maturity. The years 2011 and 2012 weren’t as fruity as I wanted, but 2013, with harvest ending on October 26, will certainly be! In Laixi, it is especially important to wait because the vines must recover from the rainy season in July.
You’ve tasted lots of other wines from around China. Who do you see as the Great River Hill’s main competition?
It’s always difficult to say. Zhongfei in Xinjiang, Hansen in Inner Mongolia, and others. It will also be interesting to soon taste what DBR Lafite produces in nearby Penglai. I sincerely hope more Chinese wine will be internationally recognized!
See also:
- Selling wine in China: Great River Hill to join East Meets West portfolio
- The donkey and the grapes: Great River Hill not your typical Chinese vineyard
- Taste test: Great River Hill shines with Grace, Wangzhong, Helan Mountain, COFCO’s Michel Rolland
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