China: A Rising Wine Nation

The OIV's State of the World Vine and Wine Sector in 2024 report places China's vineyard area at 753 kha in 2024, the third largest in the world behind Spain (930 kha) and France (783 kha) and ahead of Italy (728 kha). The OIV notes that after a period of significant expansion from 2000 to 2015, when the Chinese vineyard grew from 300 kha to 770 kha, the vineyard has since stabilised, standing at 753 kha in 2024, a decline of 0.4 percent on 2023. In wine production terms China is the largest producer in Asia, but the OIV records a 2024 volume of only 2.6 mhl, a drop of 17.0 percent from 2023 and a 53.4 percent decline from the 2019-2023 five-year average. Wine consumption in China fell 19.3 percent in 2024 to 5.5 mhl, a decline the OIV attributes to an overall reduction in internal demand that began in 2018 and has averaged a loss of about 2 mhl a year since then. China's wine import volume, by contrast, reached 2.8 mhl in 2024, worth 1.5 billion EUR, ending a six-year downturn in import volume, with bottled wine accounting for 90 percent of import value.

• 753 kha under vines in 2024, third largest in the world, down 0.4 percent from 2023 (OIV)
• China's vineyard expanded from 300 kha to 770 kha between 2000 and 2015, then stabilised (OIV)
• 2.6 mhl produced in 2024, down 17.0 percent from 2023 and 53.4 percent below the five-year average (OIV)
• 2.8 mhl imported in 2024 worth 1.5 billion EUR, ending a six-year decline in import volume (OIV)

The China Alcoholic Drinks Association (CADA), registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic of China on June 22, 1992 under the original name China Brewing Industry Association and now supervised by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, is the national industry body for China's alcoholic drinks sector, including wine. Rather than administering a national appellation law, CADA's own published activity centers on industry and group technical standards, including standards covering fruit wine production. On the international stage, China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs submitted an application for China to join the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) on May 14, 2024, and the OIV accepted China as a full member on November 14, 2024, according to Grape Wall of China's reporting on the OIV's announcement. Before full membership, two Chinese entities, the municipality of Yantai and the region of Yinchuan, already held OIV observer status, with ties dating back as far as 1987.

• China Alcoholic Drinks Association (CADA) registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs on June 22, 1992, originally as the China Brewing Industry Association
• CADA is supervised by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and issues industry and group standards covering wine and other alcoholic drinks
• China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs applied to join the OIV on May 14, 2024; the OIV accepted China as a full member on November 14, 2024
• Yantai and Yinchuan held OIV observer status before China's full membership, with roots going back to 1987

China's largest wine-grape region, Ningxia's Helan Mountain East foothills, lies between 37°43' and 39°23' north latitude and 105°45' and 106°47' east longitude, a band the Ningxia government's own planning document describes as within the globally recognised latitude range of 30 to 45 degrees for suitable wine-grape cultivation. The region sits between the Helan Mountains to the west and the Yellow River to the east, with annual rainfall below 200 millimetres, annual sunshine hours of 2,851 to 3,106, and an accumulated temperature above 10 degrees Celsius of around 3,300 degrees Celsius. The government document describes the soils as sandy and gravelly with good drainage and mineral content, and notes that irrigation draws on the Yellow River. The document states that the OIV has recognised the area as a global wine 'star region.'

• Ningxia's Helan Mountain East foothills lie between 37°43'-39°23' north latitude and 105°45'-106°47' east longitude (Ningxia autonomous region government)
• Annual rainfall under 200 millimetres, with 2,851 to 3,106 hours of annual sunshine (Ningxia autonomous region government)
• Accumulated temperature above 10 degrees Celsius of about 3,300 degrees Celsius across the growing season (Ningxia autonomous region government)
• Sandy, gravelly, well-drained, mineral-rich soils irrigated from the Yellow River (Ningxia autonomous region government)

Ningxia's Helan Mountain East foothills is China's most concentrated chateau-wine, or jiuzhuangjiu, production zone. According to the Ningxia autonomous region government's own planning document, by 2020 the region had 492,000 mu, close to a third of China's total area planted to wine grapes, under vine, with 211 wineries built or under construction (101 completed, 110 under construction), producing close to 100,000 tonnes of wine a year, about 130 million bottles, for a combined output value of 26.1 billion yuan. Winery clusters named in the document are concentrated around Jinshan in Helan county, Zhenbeipu in the Xixia district, Yuquanying in Yongning county, Ganchengzi and Pigeon Mountain in Qingtongxia, and Xiaojiawao in the Hongsipu district. The document also names Shandong, Xinjiang, Hebei, Liaoning, Gansu, Ningxia, Shanxi, Henan, Beijing, Jilin and Yunnan among China's wine-producing regions, tracing the country's modern wine industry to 1892, when the Zhangyu company in Yantai, Shandong, first introduced wine-grape varieties.

• Ningxia's Helan Mountain East foothills: 492,000 mu under vine by 2020, roughly a third of China's total wine-grape area (Ningxia autonomous region government)
• 211 wineries built or under construction in Helan Mountain East by 2020: 101 completed, 110 under construction (Ningxia autonomous region government)
• Modern Chinese wine production traces to 1892, when Zhangyu in Yantai, Shandong first introduced wine-grape varieties (Ningxia autonomous region government)
• Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi and Yunnan are named among China's wine-producing regions alongside Ningxia (Ningxia autonomous region government)

Ningxia is, according to Decanter China, the only Chinese wine region to have established an official winery classification system. The Ningxia Wine Bureau introduced the ranking for wineries in the Helan Mountain East region in 2013, when 10 wineries earned the entry-level Fifth Growth title in the system's first year. In 2016 the local government expanded the classification to five tiers, with First Growth as the highest. The classification is re-evaluated every two years, and a 2017 update saw three estates, Helan Qingxue, Buccus and Zhihui Yuanshi, promoted from Fourth Growth to Third, nine wineries move up from Fifth to Fourth Growth, and 15 estates added at the entry-level Fifth Growth tier, bringing the total to 36 classified wineries that year. Once a winery reaches First Growth, the top tier, it is re-examined every 10 years rather than every two, according to the official regulation reported by Decanter China.

• Ningxia Wine Bureau introduced its winery classification for Helan Mountain East wineries in 2013, with 10 wineries earning Fifth Growth status in the first year (Decanter China)
• The classification expanded to five tiers in 2016, First Growth to Fifth Growth, re-evaluated every two years (Decanter China)
• A 2017 update brought the total to 36 classified wineries, with three estates promoted to Third Growth (Decanter China)
• A First Growth estate is re-examined every 10 years rather than the standard two-year cycle (Decanter China)

Primary sources: https://www.oiv.int/sites/default/files/documents/OIV-State_of_the_World_Vine-and-Wine-Sector-in-2024.pdf, https://www.cada.cc/, https://www.nx.gov.cn/zwgk/qzfwj/202202/t20220208_3316559.html. Secondary sources: https://www.grapewallofchina.com/2024/11/15/world-wine-club-china-is-the-oivs-newest-member/, https://www.decanterchina.com/en/news/ningxia-releases-latest-winery-classification-listing. Last verified 2026-09-17