1. Tianshan Mountain North Region (North of Xinjiang)
In the Northern slope of the Tianshan Mountain, key vineyard planting areas are found from west to east in Shihezi, Manasi County, Hutubi County, Changji, Wujiaqu and Fukang. The region has 200,000mu (13,333ha) of wine grapes, the biggest continuous wine grape planting in the entire province. This region enjoys a comparatively moderate climate. The regular snow coverage in winter has been beneficial for vineyards to survive the severe winter in inland China.
Shihezi
The majority of wine grapes produced in Shihezi are regularly purchased by Changyu, China’s biggest wine producing company.
This year, white grape harvest started on 6th September in Shihezi, with red harvest starting ten days later. This year’s harvest is expected to finish on 4th October, a date earlier than usual.
Manasi County
Grapes from the Manasi County are mainly sourced by CITIC Guoan Wine Co. Ltd. White harvest here started on 6th September; red harvest started only three days later, a week earlier than a regular year. The entire harvest is expected to finish on 30th September.
Wujiaqu
COFCO’s Tianlu winery sources its grapes mainly from the city of Wujiaqu. White picking started on 9th September here. Red picking started on 20th and is expected to finish on 3rd October, again slightly earlier than usual.
Fukang
The vineyards in the city of Fukang are mainly owned by the CITIC Guoan Wine Co. Ltd. White and red grape harvest started on 13th and 17th of September respectively. The area expects the harvest to finish on 3rd or 4th October.
2. Yanqi Basin Region (South of Xinjiang)
The Yanqi Basin is situated on the mid-eastern area of Tianshan Mountain east. Grape producing areas are mainly found in the north of the Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, including Yanqi county, Hoxud County, Bohu [Bagrax] County, Hejing County, and the farmlands cultivated by the 24th and 223rd regiment of the Second Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC).
China’s biggest fresh water lake, the Bosten Lake, is situated in the region. The lake brings significant impact on the agricultural production in the region.
The region’s nearly 200,000mu (13,333ha) of wine grapes are found mainly in the Yanqi County and the Hoxud County.
This is another arid region with less than 100mm rainfall every year. That combined with the extremely high sunshine hours and hot summers mean that the yields are low in the region, producing grapes of high sugar concentration.
Hoxud County
The Hoxud County started the white harvest on 18th August. The rainfall in August and the subsequent wide-spread diseases have caused a reduction in yields. To make the situation worse, some wineries have reduced their purchase quantity of grapes due to the sluggish market. As a result, the majority of white grapes produced in the region were in fact abandoned.
Red grape harvest didn’t start in most vineyards until 4th September. The harvest is still ongoing as of today (30th September), as 1/4 of the grapes is still due to be picked. In a more regular year, the harvest should have finished by mid-September.
Yanqi County
Similar to previous years, the Yanqi County started its white picking on 18th August and red on 26th. The majority of vineyards are picked a week later than usual here. The harvest is expected to finish by the end of September.
Read on the next page:
3. Turban Basin Region
4. Ily Valley region
Translated by Sylvia Wu / 吴嘉溦
About the author
LI Demei / 李德美
Demei LI, associate professor of Wine Tasting and Enology in Beijing Agriculture College and invited lecturer at ESA Angers, France. He obtained master's degree in Fruit Tree Science, and Engineer status for...
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