MANY wine connoisseurs in China associate the terms “wine” and “winery” with European romance and nobility, a stereotype that winemakers have used to attract the country’s middle- and upper-class consumers.

However, wineries at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, a wine-producing area in Northwest China, are leveraging traditional Chinese culture to differentiate their brands.

Many wineries feature Chinese cultural elements in their buildings and products, such as wine bottles adorned with ancient Chinese paintings, racks named after the 24 Chinese solar terms, and traditional Chinese-style architecture.

“The first time I visited the Ningxia wineries, I was surprised to see so many traditional Chinese cultural elements featured in their buildings,” said Maria Teresa Romero Ponce, a Chilean winemaker working at the Moon & Stone Winery in Ningxia.

Ningxia has a unique terroir known for making top-class wine, with prolonged sunshine and a cool, dry climate contributing to grape planting. Since producing its first bottle of wine in 1984, it has become a rising star on the world’s wine map, with local wines winning several top international awards.

Despite brewing wine in China since the Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D.), the modern Chinese wine industry has predominantly modeled itself after European peers and used the wine’s European pedigree as a key marketing strategy.

“Ningxia has learned from such European countries as France, labeling itself as ‘China’s Bordeaux,’” said Zhang Junxiang, professor with the Ningxia University.

“Now we are trying to focus on our uniqueness, and local winemakers declare they come from China’s Helan Mountain,“ said the long-time observer of China’s wine industry.

One such winery is Chateau Lansai, which has embraced a Chinese theme to differentiate itself in the market. After a wine-tasting tour to Europe in 2013, the winery’s owners decided to demolish their half-constructed European-style buildings and opt for a Chinese design.

“The chateaus we visited were in similar European styles. Then we began to think: Why can’t we construct a Chinese-style winery and brew wine that’s uniquely Chinese?” said Yu Xiaojia, one of the owners.

The result is a winery featuring Chinese symbols, two Shanxi-style buildings, and a delicate garden complete with a pond, streams, a pavilion, a bridge, and sightseeing terraces. Visitors are greeted by a Chinese-style spirit screen, two old trees, and a stone statue of the grape goddess similar to the Flying Apsaras of the Mogao Grottoes. The winery has become a point of interest for international visitors, and some have even worn traditional Chinese outfits during their second visit, according to Yu.

Guests are invited to taste their wine while sitting cross-legged on a heatable brick bed, as if they were invited to dine with an ordinary rural family in North China. By doing so, the winery attempts to break the stereotype that wine is limited to formal occasions. “It is a drink that brings mirth and can blend into various scenarios of the Chinese lifestyle,” Yu said.

Christelle Chene, the Xi’ge Winery’s international affairs director, believes that traditional Chinese culture has played an important role in promoting Ningxia’s wine industry both domestically and internationally.

Their wine’s brand label, which is inspired by a painting of peaches and turtledoves drawn by a Chinese emperor in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), and the wine’s unique herbal flavor derived from the Shelongzhu grape variety native to the region, generate curiosity among customers.

“Many customers are curious about the Chinese elements in our brand’s origin stories,” she said.

Chene states that traditional Chinese culture adds an impressive and charming quality to their products.(Xinhua)