China: A Rising Wine Nation

China's vineyard covered an estimated 753 kha in 2024, the third largest in the world behind Spain (930 kha) and France (783 kha) and ahead of Italy (728 kha). 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. China is the largest wine producer in Asia, but its 2024 volume was an estimated 2.6 mhl, a drop of 17.0 percent from 2023 and 53.4 percent below the 2019-2023 average. Wine consumption fell 19.3 percent in 2024 to 5.5 mhl, part of a decline in internal demand that began in 2018 and has averaged a loss of about 2 mhl a year since then. Imports moved the other way: import volume reached 2.8 mhl in 2024, worth 1.5 billion EUR, ending a six-year downturn, 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
• The vineyard grew from 300 kha to 770 kha between 2000 and 2015, then stabilised
• 2.6 mhl produced in 2024, down 17.0 percent from 2023 and 53.4 percent below the 2019-2023 average
• 2.8 mhl imported in 2024, worth 1.5 billion EUR, ending a six-year decline in import volume

The China Alcoholic Drinks Association (CADA), the industry association for China's alcoholic drinks sector, was registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic of China on June 22, 1992 under its original name, China Brewing Industry Association, and its supervising body is the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. CADA's work includes drafting group standards, among them a fruit wine standard put out for public comment. On the international stage, China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs applied 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. Before full membership, two Chinese entities, the municipality of Yantai and the region of Yinchuan, already held OIV observer status, with ties going back as far as 1987.

• CADA registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs on June 22, 1992, originally as the China Brewing Industry Association
• CADA's supervising body is the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; its work includes group standards, among them one for fruit wine
• 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

Ningxia's Helan Mountain East foothills lie between 37°43' and 39°23' north latitude and 105°45' and 106°47' east longitude. Ningxia's own development plan for the region calls it one of the world's recognised best-suited areas for wine-grape growing, within the 30 to 45 degree north band. The foothills sit between the Helan Mountains to the west and the Yellow River to the east. Annual rainfall is below 200 millimetres, annual sunshine runs from 2,851 to 3,106 hours, and effective accumulated temperature above 10 degrees Celsius is around 3,300 degrees Celsius. Soils are sandy and gravelly, well aerated and rich in minerals, and irrigation from the Yellow River is readily available. The same plan says the OIV has rated the area a world wine 'star region.'

• The Helan Mountain East foothills lie between 37°43'-39°23' north latitude and 105°45'-106°47' east longitude
• Annual rainfall under 200 millimetres, with 2,851 to 3,106 hours of annual sunshine
• Effective accumulated temperature above 10 degrees Celsius of about 3,300 degrees Celsius
• Sandy, gravelly, well-aerated, mineral-rich soils, with irrigation from the Yellow River

Ningxia is China's largest contiguous chateau-wine, or jiuzhuangjiu, production zone and the country's most concentrated winery area. By 2020 Ningxia had 492,000 mu planted to wine grapes, close to a third of China's total wine-grape area, 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 have formed 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. Beyond Ningxia, China's wine-producing regions include Shandong, Xinjiang, Hebei, Liaoning, Gansu, Shanxi, Henan, Beijing, Jilin and Yunnan. The modern industry traces to 1892, when the Zhangyu company in Yantai, Shandong, first introduced wine-grape varieties.

• Ningxia: 492,000 mu of wine grapes by 2020, close to a third of China's total wine-grape area
• 211 wineries built or under construction in Ningxia by 2020: 101 completed, 110 under construction
• Modern Chinese wine production traces to 1892, when Zhangyu in Yantai, Shandong first introduced wine-grape varieties
• Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi and Yunnan are among China's wine-producing regions alongside Ningxia

As of 2017, Ningxia was the only Chinese wine region with an official winery classification system. Ningxia introduced the ranking for Helan Mountain East wineries in 2013, when 10 wineries earned the 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. The Ningxia Wine Bureau's 2017 listing promoted three estates, Helan Qingxue, Buccus and Zhihui Yuanshi, from Fourth Growth to Third, moved nine wineries up from Fifth to Fourth Growth, and added 15 estates at the entry-level Fifth Growth tier, bringing the total to 36 classified wineries. Once a winery reaches First Growth, the top tier, it is re-examined every 10 years rather than every two.

• Winery classification introduced in 2013 for Helan Mountain East, with 10 wineries earning Fifth Growth status in the first year
• Expanded to five tiers in 2016, First Growth to Fifth Growth, re-evaluated every two years
• The 2017 listing brought the total to 36 classified wineries, with three estates promoted to Third Growth
• A First Growth estate is re-examined every 10 years rather than every two

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 2026-10-05