The 28th edition of Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, slated for this May in Yinchuan, the capital of China’s Ningxia region, has been postponed due to global COVID-19 concerns, according to a press release on the CMB website. Luxembourg will host the 2021 edition, using the originally planned dates, with Yinchuan now penciled in for 2022.

“Uncertainty surrounding the future development of the current health crisis has prompted the organising committee of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles to postpone the event originally slated to take place in Yinchuan (Ningxia) until 2022. The decision was reached by mutual agreement with the competition’s Chinese partner,” stated the release.

The event would have marked only the second time CMB was held beyond Europe–the first was in Beijing’s Haidian District in 2018.

The ties between event owner Vinopres, and China have tightened over the years. Vinopres also held its Spirits Selection contest here in 2015 and 2019, and was involved with the Asian Wine & Spirits ‘Silk Road’ in 2016, 2018 and 2019, including the 2019 Belt and Road Wine and Spirit Competition. A Marselan contest was set for last year with Beijing International Wine & Spirit Exchange, the usual Vinopres partner, but this was also delayed by the virus crisis.

Chinese wines won 100 medals from their 250 entries in the most recent Concours Mondial. Six grand golds, 55 golds and 39 silvers brings the haul to 400-plus since 2014. The biggest surprise: Great Wall, a massive producer not typically associated with the nation’s best wine, took home four of the six grand golds.

More updates on this situation as details become available.

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