Crafting new flavors
As vineyard operators work to understand Ningxia's distinctive growing conditions, winemakers are exploring how to express the region's character through their wines.
For Deng Zhongxiang, a winemaking consultant working with several wineries in the region, that search has opened the door to experimentation.
When Deng joined Ningxia's wine industry in 2012, only a handful of wineries were operational; most others were still in the planning stages or under construction.
Over the following decade, he watched local producers develop their own winemaking styles rather than follow established overseas models.
"Unlike established wine regions, we don't carry the same historical baggage," he said. "Experimentation isn't something new for us. It's part of our everyday work."
Sometimes, though, innovation comes from adversity.
In 2025, a hailstorm damaged red wine grapes during the ripening season. Rather than abandon the harvest, the winemaking team separated the grape juice from the skins and used a special process to produce a white wine. Unlike red wine, which gets its color largely from prolonged contact with grape skins, white wine can be made from red grapes by minimizing that contact.
Released in 2026, the resulting wine proved popular with winery visitors.
Other experiments have drawn on flavors familiar to Chinese consumers. At Heyu Winery, grapes have been combined with jasmine and oolong tea during fermentation, offering another way to create wines with a local character.
For Deng, these experiments reflect growing confidence among Ningxia's winemakers, who are increasingly developing their own styles rather than simply following established traditions.
