3 days / 2 nights
Start & End in: Yinchuan (INC)
From $1,150 USD per person
3 days / 2 nights
Start & End in: Yinchuan (INC)
From $1,150 USD per person
The Essentials:
Discover China’s premier wine destination as we spend 2 days wine tasting our way through the northwest region of Ningxia. From exploring the area’s sprawling boutique vineyards situated against a rugged mountain backdrop, to enjoying copious amounts of lamb, beef, and noodles famous in the area, get ready for a delicious wine-filled adventure!
Join-in trips start at $1,150 USD per person, which may increase slightly due to seasonality. You can browse the calendar for each trip’s specific price. A $300 USD per person deposit is required to reserve your spot. Click here for more pricing details.
Small groups of 4-10, or contact us to ask about a private trip
Two nights at the Wanda Realm located in central Yinchuan (or similar).
This itinerary is subject to changes and adjustments based on seasonality and local operations.
Arrival & Check-In: Airport pick-up is available from INC airport. Flight arrivals should be at or before 3pm. If you arrive early, the nearby Ningxia Museum is a great way to spend the afternoon.
Dinner: Kick things off with a feast: roast lamb with wines featuring one of our favorite winemakers in the region.
Driving: Approx. 45 mins from the airport to the city center.
Silver Heights: Perhaps the most well-known Chinese wines internationally, Silver Heights is owned by Bordeaux-graduated Emma Gao who is known as a pioneer of Chinese fine wine. Receiving international acclaim and awards, Emma is the 2nd generation of this family business which started in 1997 when her father started cultivating grapes here.
Lunch: Enjoy a selection of home-style dishes including wild veggies and stew.
Domaine Charme: This architect-owned winery was built at the foot of a mountain peak shaped like a Buddha’s face. Everything here was built with a purpose – from their “pyramid of Charme” which faces the meridian and brings “pyramid energy” to communicate with heaven and earth – to their wine cellar designed with natural ventilation and air flow. But their wine, made with organic cultivation and natural gravity brewing, is really something special too.
Mountain Wave: Ran by a couple who studied winemaking overseas, they took a big bet by planting “less popular” grape varieties when they started in 2015 (Malbec, Marselan, and Pinot Noir). Come find out how their bet has paid off.
Pu Shang: This small boutique winery is the type of place you dream of stumbling upon. The winemaker is so passionate about making wine, he’s too focused on that to open to the public. But his small-batch, high-end wine is truly something special (especially his Marselan, which has consistently received gold and silver awards at the Decanter World Wine Awards every year) and he’ll let us in for a private tasting.
Dinner: Tonight we’ll enjoy another local specialty – lamb hotpot prepared with a special soup made of local herbs and red wine!
Driving: About 45 minutes each way to/from our hotel and the wine region, with short drives between each destination.
Sweet Dew: The spirited owner of this winery is Ningxia’s only millennial winemaker. He also manages the vineyard, designs the wine bottles, and personally packages and ships everything. Come see this passion project first-hand, where skill and humility shine through each bottle.
Xige Estate Wine Tasting & Lunch: As the largest producer of quality wines in the region, Xige Estate is impressive down to every detail. Sitting on 1,300 hectares of land, they boast a wide range of varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Sauvignon Blanc. Not only will we tour their facilities and try their wines, we’ll also enjoy lunch at their in-house organic restaurant.
Stone & Moon: This passionate team is managed by their French winemaker, who has experience making wine in most of the world’s primary wine regions. With their first vintage only in 2021, it’s already become a guest favorite.
Airport Drop-off: Will be provided to INC airport. Flight departures should be at or after 7pm.
Driving: Today’s wine region is a bit further, so you can expect a 1 hour drive to our first winery and 30 minute drives between each one thereafter, then a 1.5 hour drive to the airport.
As China’s premier wine region, Ningxia has over 200 wineries (and counting). We’ve personally selected 7 of our favorite wineries, where all wine tasting is included, to visit during this trip. Most of these wineries belong in the boutique category, with winemakers passionate about their craft and too busy to open to the public. We’ll meet these winemakers, explore their vineyards, and taste their wines – making this trip an exclusive experience that you simply can’t do on your own.
One of five autonomous regions in China, Ningxia is home to the Hui (Muslim) minority group. This sparsely settled, mostly desert region is bordered by the Helen mountain range, sheilding the area against the harsh winds and temperatures from the Tengger desert to create prime grape-growing conditions. This unique ecosystem is one of the least studied regions in the world and has historically been one of the poorest regions in China. To this day, most of the vineyard operations are carried out by hand, including burying the vines in winter to protect them from the brutal Siberian cold that lasts from November to March.
Accommodations may change based on group size and availability. If so, an equivalent will be used.
As China’s premier wine region, Ningxia has over 200 wineries (and counting). We’ve personally selected 7 of our favorite wineries, where all wine tasting is included, to visit during this trip. Most of these wineries belong in the boutique category, with winemakers passionate about their craft and too busy to open to the public. We’ll meet these winemakers, explore their vineyards, and taste their wines – making this trip an exclusive experience that you simply can’t do on your own.
One of five autonomous regions in China, Ningxia is home to the Hui (Muslim) minority group. This sparsely settled, mostly desert region is bordered by the Helen mountain range, sheilding the area against the harsh winds and temperatures from the Tengger desert to create prime grape-growing conditions. This unique ecosystem is one of the least studied regions in the world and has historically been one of the poorest regions in China. To this day, most of the vineyard operations are carried out by hand, including burying the vines in winter to protect them from the brutal Siberian cold that lasts from November to March.
Accommodations may change based on group size and availability. If so, an equivalent will be used.
The Lost Plate Style: Our trips are designed to give you a hassle-free and comfortable experience, focusing on authenticity and unique activities without the luxury price tag. On this trip, we went the extra mile to create strong relationships with wineries that are not open to the public, getting you access you can’t get anywhere else.
Our Itineraries are personally designed by our founder (psst, that’s her wine tasting at Domaine Charme). We do not “plug and play” typical itineraries like everyone else. Instead, we take you to places that WE would travel to, making sure you get a unique (and delicious) experience.
Our Guides & Trip Leaders are hired and trained by us and lead our trips regularly. This means you’ll get a professional experience led by a team that is passionate about what we do (and drink).
Private trips can be arranged based on availability. This is ideal for families, large groups, or guests who don’t want to join with other travelers. An additional private trip fee will be charged (which is waived for groups of 8 or more). Simply contact us to book so we can check availability.
We are happy to make simple customizations to private trips, such as the start time/date or the duration of the trip.
Beyond that, we generally do not arrange customized tours. We work very hard to create our tour routes and build strong relationships with our vendors to ensure the quality and service they provide. It’s also important for us to share the stories of each destination and vendor that we visit. If your request involves visiting a destination or vendor that we don’t have an existing relationship with, we will politely decline.
Children and teens under 21 are not recommended for this trip. Out of respect for our other guests, we strongly discourage children on this trip. Due to limited capacities on our join-in trips, discounts are not provided for children. Contact us with any questions or concerns and we will assess each situation individually.
Booking a private trip for your family is always an option, based on availability. This allows you some added flexibility on the timing each day and the ages of everyone joining.
We welcome elderly travelers, but ask that guests use their own judgement to determine whether the itinerary of this trip is appropriate without impacting the experience of other guests. We do not recommend this trip for anyone who is unable to be on their feet for 1-2 hours at a time, or requires mobility assistance such as a wheelchair or walker.
Booking a private trip is always an option. This gives you some added flexibility during the itinerary to make sure you have extra time when needed during the day.
Yes! Our join-in trips are perfect for solo travelers because it gives you the ability to travel with others and the advantage of being able to try a large variety of food.
All of our join-in trips have a minimum of 4 people. Our website will accept your solo booking and we’ll keep in touch to let you know when the minimum number of people has been met. If it’s not met, and we are unable to reschedule you to another date that works for you, we will provide a full refund for your booking.
The single occupancy fee for this trip is $176 USD. This is necessary because accommodation is the largest cost of the entire trip, and it is designed to be split by two people. While we do our best to make this reasonable (the single occupancy fee doesn’t cover the entire gap), it is necessary for us cover this cost.
Feel free to contact us at any time if you’d like us to check your dates of interest and we’ll let you know if anyone else has booked the trip or if there are nearby alternative dates.
If you know anything about Lost Plate, you know that you’ll never go hungry. All meals are included on this trip. You can expect hotel buffet breakfasts, plus lunches and dinners that offer a huge variety of dishes in large quantities. There’s a reason why we select every single place – whether it’s a restaurant or winery – and our goal is to make these the highlight of your trip!
You’ll try 2-4 wines at each the 7 wineries we visit, all included in the price of the tour.
All dietary requests must be communicated at the time of booking. When booking online, you will have the opportunity to let us know if you have any dietary requirements or special requests. Please use the following information to understand if this trip is right for you.
Yinchuan is a typical “small” northern city where cuisine preferences haven’t evolved like many other cities to the south and east. Meats (mostly lamb) and carbs (mostly wheat noodles) are the go-to choices for every meal. There’s always going to be a lot of meat on the table, but as long as you are ok with that there will be some alternatives for those that don’t eat meat. Please keep in mind that vegetarian dishes will be heavy on the starches (like potatoes and noodles).
This tour cannot accommodate severe allergies as we do not have full control over the preparation for your food. Travelers that don’t eat nuts are welcome, but kitchens do use nuts and cross-contamination is possible.
If you have any questions not answered here, please contact us prior to booking.
Yes! Feel free to arrive early or stay in Yinchuan after the trip. We are able to pass on our special hotel rates to you so you don’t need to switch hotels as well. Just let us know your dates and we will check rates and availability for you. Please note that airport pick-up/drop-off is not available if arriving/departing outside of our itinerary.
We ask all travelers to independently apply for their tourist visa to China. We typically are not arranging your entire trip to China, so this gives you flexibility on the dates and duration for your visa application. We are able to provide documents such as your trip itinerary and hotel confirmations to aid with your visa application. The price of obtaining this visa is not included in the tour price.
Visa policies change often and vary by nationality. You should do your own research to understand if your nationality will require a visa, and what the process and timeline is for your nationality.
We’ve rated this trip a level of 1 out of 3. While there are no strenuous activities required during the itinerary, but you will need to be on your feet for 1-2 hours at a time while visiting some of the wineries.
This trip is only offered seasonally, generally from May through October, due to extreme winter temperatures. During those times, you’ll find comfortable high temperatures in the mid to upper 20s (celsius) with crisp evenings and mornings. The temperature can swing up to 15 degrees between day and night.
Ningxia enjoys more sunshine than almost anywhere else in China, logging over 3000 hours annually, and it is extremely dry. Summertime highs will reach around 35 degrees celsius, and winter can see temperatures as low as -15 celsius.
We’re excited to provide all of our trip guests a self-curated travel guide to China. This detailed PDF includes information about the following:
Wine Taste Through Ningxia 4-day Trip
From $1,150 USD/person
Email: info@lostplate.com
China & Cambodia Tours: +86 156 9210 9030
Portland Tours: +1 503 409 5593
WeChat: lostplate
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