The guide, edited by Slow Food, was presented yesterday at the Sana Slow Wine Fair in Bologna, Italy.
28 March – A tasting of six wines, produced in as many Chinese regions, accompanied the presentation of the first edition of Slow Wine China. The event, one of the Masterclasses at the Sana Slow Wine Fair in Bologna, Italy, was held on March 27, in front of a select audience of experts and enthusiasts.
The event is also the first edition of Sana Slow Wine Fair, the international event dedicated to good, clean and fair wine, and the first ever international meeting of the Slow Wine Coalition, and runs from March 27 to 29. Visit the event website For more information on the program https://slowinefair.slowfood.
Slow Wine China is a collaboration between the editors of the Slow Wine guide, Chinese wine journalist Lan Liu and the founder of Slow Food Great China, Piero Kuang Sung Ling.
“This guide should be taken as an introduction to Chinese wine, featuring producers who not only make outstanding products, but also represent the true Slow Food philosophy,” says Lan Liu. “The selection of wines featured in this guide is not simply based on their sensory qualities, for which there are already some excellent publications; it aims to highlight the inextricable link between wine and its place of origin, local culture, and society.”
Slow Wine was first published in 2010 as a guide to the best wines of Italy, and has since expanded over the years to cover other countries and winemaking cultures. Today there are Slow Wine guides dedicated to the wines of Slovenia, the United States, North Macedonia, and now China.
The guide reviews 28 wineries from ten key wine regions: Ningxia, Xinjiang, Shandong, Hebei, Gansu, Yunnan, Shanxi, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Tibet.
Two wineries are awarded with the Snail symbol, meaning that they more fully reflect Slow Food values regarding the environment, the landscape and cultural identity. The Bottle symbol was awarded to a further four wineries whose wines represent excellent average quality at tastings, and the Coin symbol was awarded to another two wineries whose wines offer outstanding value for money.
A total of 37 wines were awarded the Top Wine accolade, as the finest bottles from a sensory point of view; of these 16 were also designated Slow Wines (i.e. Top Wines that, beyond their outstanding sensory quality, demonstrate terroir-related values such as history and identity, as well as offering good value for money. The accolade also implies the absence of any chemical herbicides in the vineyard. Three of the bottles which received the Slow Wine accolade are also Everyday Wines (i.e. with a price no higher than €30).
Giancarlo Gariglio, Slow Wine editor-in-chief and coordinator of the Slow Wine Coalition declared: “This is another important step towards our goal of promoting wines from across the globe, wines share the Slow Food values of good, clean and fair. These three simple adjectives perfectly capture the concept of quality: not only do they taste great, but they are produced with respect the environment and the people who make them, as well as the landscapes, cultures, and traditions of the place of origin. China is a country that we are sure will provide lots of viticultural surprises in the near future.”
