Chinese wine is coming, and the country has already become the world's seventh-largest producer. The quality is good (French standards), but the price is high (photo).

CHINESE WINE

The Chinese have quietly learned to make wine , too . Good quality, mid- to high-end , with enormous growth potential in the domestic market. China has just celebrated its seventh-place ranking in the world as a wine producer , but the long march of the glasses seems to have only just begun. And sooner or later, this competition will also be felt by Italian products, at least in the export sector. Between 2000 and 2011 alone, wine imports into China increased by 26 percent, and now that they're starting to make their own wine, we'll have wasted another opportunity for Italian food and wine.

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QUALITY CHINESE WINE

China's advance is primarily in the proportion of cultivated land . China is second only to Spain in hectares of vineyards, and there are now around ten regions considered "wine-producing." The most important is the Ningxia area, which mirrors the Bordeaux wine route or the Italian Chiantishire: around a hundred wineries preside over the territory, with an annual production, in this district alone, of 120 million bottles.

As for quality, the Chinese have been good at studying. They've raised a new generation of winemakers , sending them to Italy and France for training. And today, no one has any major objections to the quality of wines produced in China; quite the opposite. They are fragrant wines, belonging to the following categories: Cabernet Sauvignon, and blends of Cabernet and Chardonnay. Full-bodied, fragrant, persistent, balanced, and with excellent aging potential. Very similar to French wines and their characteristics.

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CHINESE WINE PRODUCTION

The price range, as we mentioned, is currently high. A bottle costs, on average, 188 yuan , about 25 euros , three days' wages for a farm worker harvesting grapes. But considering the vastness of the domestic market, the long march of Chinese wine is clear. We're still in the early stages, that of niche wine, and within a few years, red and white wines should become affordable for China's growing middle class.

Finally, wine has become an integral part of a new development plan for the country's rural areas . Mostly women work there, but the goal is to prevent depopulation of the countryside, to equip it with new crops beyond just cereals, and to make it competitive on the global market. China's new agriculture is thus exploding under the banner of wine. And for Italian wineries, this is an additional problem.

WINE AT THE TABLE: RECIPES TO KEEP

• Fillet steak with fig sauce, a refined and gourmet recipe enriched with red wine
• Wine Donuts: The Original Recipe
• Red Wine Chocolate Cake: A Simple Recipe for a Heavenly Finish
• Orange wine: a fragrant, easy-to-make cocktail recipe.