This article is part of our Founder Series, a collection of articles written by Lost Plate’s founder Ruixi Hu. These articles share stories about her journey building Lost Plate to what it is today, and the memories that she has collected over the years.
You probably don’t think of China when you think of wine. That’s about to change.
Hidden in China’s remote northwest, where the vast Gobi desert meets the Helan mountain range, a quiet wine revolution is unfolding. Ningxia, once known for sheep herding and sandstorms, is now producing some of the most exciting wines in the world—and almost nobody knows about it.
But the world is catching on. International wine judges are handing out gold medals. Sommeliers are taking notice. Marselan, a red grape you’ve probably never heard of, is becoming China’s signature varietal. And for curious travelers who like to discover what’s next before everyone else does, there’s never been a better time to visit.
In Ningxia, greatness is born not from abundance, but adversity. Vines are planted at elevations between 1,100 and 1,300 meters, where they receive over 3,000 hours of sunlight each year—ideal for ripening. But what makes this terroir truly exceptional is its dramatic daily temperature shifts. Sweltering days give way to brisk nights, locking in acidity and building structure in the grapes.
The Helan mountain range act as both barrier and blessing, shielding vineyards from desert sandstorms while enriching the soil with mineral-laced sediment. Beneath the surface, a mix of gravel, sand, and loess overlays limestone bedrock, encouraging vines to root deep and struggle—yielding a concentrated fruit full of character. Lifeblood comes from the Yellow River, diverted through centuries-old canals, to transform the desert into fertile ground. This is not idyllic wine country in the classic sense—but it may be the future of it.
Cabernet Sauvignon has long dominated Chinese vineyards, but Ningxia’s most compelling story is the rise of Marselan—a relatively young varietal born in southern France from a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache. China now grows more Marselan than any country in the world, and nowhere does the grape find a more expressive voice than in Ningxia.
Here, Marselan yields wines that are unmistakably local: fragrant with violet, red plum, and black cherry, edged with spice and that telltale flinty minerality that defines Ningxia’s soil. The best examples balance approachability with age-worthiness, their fine tannins and bright acidity making them equally suited to casual sipping or serious cellaring.
Unlike Cabernet, which can feel interchangeable across continents, Marselan in Ningxia feels grounded—like a story told in a new accent. For Chinese winemakers, it’s not just a grape. It’s an identity.
What sets Ningxia apart isn’t just its wine—it’s the people behind it.
Take Emma Gao, the powerhouse behind Silver Heights, who trained in Bordeaux and brought that French precision home to Ningxia. Her return marked a turning point—not just for her family’s winery, but for the entire region. Today, she’s one of China’s most respected winemakers, crafting elegant, terroir-driven wines that consistently earn international acclaim.
Then there’s Domaine Charme, an architect-owned winery nestled beneath a mountain peak shaped like a Buddha’s face. Every detail here is intentional – from the “Pyramid of Charme,” aligned with the meridian to channel energy between heaven and earth, to a wine cellar designed with natural airflow. Their organically cultivated, gravity-brewed wines are just as unique as the place itself.
Meanwhile, the next generation is already making waves. At just 20-something, Liang Ning, one of the youngest known winemakers in Ningxia, is turning heads at Ganlu Winery. Born and raised in Ningxia, Liang blends youthful ambition with technical expertise that he learned locally. He runs a one man show, even designing the label and bottling the wine himself.
And all of them, no matter their background or age, face the same annual ritual: burying every single vine by hand before winter arrives, a brutal but necessary task to protect against the harsh cold. Come spring, they dig them out again—row by row, vine by vine. It’s a process that demands both patience and grit, and it defines the spirit of Ningxia winemaking as much as any barrel or bottle.
No journey to Ningxia is complete without a proper feast. The local Hui Muslim influence means lamb takes center stage, often prepared with dramatic flair.
Many of the winemakers here don’t have tastings rooms open to the public (or sometimes at all) due to the time it takes to focus on their wine year-round.
Through curated partnerships, Lost Plate offers privileged access to many of these smaller estates with private tastings that are often unavailable to independent travelers. Our 3-day wine tasting trip includes all tastings at 7 wineries, every meal, our local expert guide, and your accommodations.
Getting There: Fly into Yinchuan Hedong International Airport (INC), served by direct flights from major Chinese cities. The wine region lies about an hour west of the city, along the Helan Mountain East Foothills.
When to Go:
The best wine regions in the world share a common fate: once discovered, they change. Roads get busier. Tastings get booked out. The character softens. Ningxia isn’t there yet. It still feels like a frontier—albeit one with Bordeaux-grade ambition.
To visit now is to experience something raw and real. You’ll taste wines that rival the best in the world before they appear on auction lists. You’ll stand in cellars not yet overrun by tourists, shake hands with winemakers still blazing their path, and drink deeply from a landscape that defies expectation.
Ningxia doesn’t ask for hype. It’s already earned the respect of those who know. What it offers is rarer: the thrill of discovery. The chance to say, years from now, “I tasted it before the world did.”
This is a story about how a yak herder, a French grape, and how a forgotten village gave rise to one of the world’s rarest wines. We begin high in the mountains of Yunnan, one of China’s Western-most provinces, where the Mekong River slices through Tibetan foothills and Catholic church spires rise from the center of timeless villages. There we meet Hongxing, a small boy herding yaks for his family in the remote village of Cizhong.
In the bustling alleys of Xi’an’s Muslim Quarter, where street food and local delicacies narrate the city’s rich history and culture, one small restaurant stands out for its unique flavors and unwavering commitment to tradition. Zhiliang Steamed Dumplings is not just a beloved staple for locals; it’s become a must-try stop for travelers seeking the authentic taste of Xi’an.
When I close my eyes and think of Chengdu, it’s not skyscrapers or pandas I see first – it’s a smell: chili oil, caramelized sugar, and the comforting aroma of yeast drifting up from sizzling griddles filled with golden half-moons of dough. These are dan hong gao (蛋烘糕), translated directly as egg baked pancakes, and to me they’re my entire childhood wrapped up in a delicious package.
Signup for our newsletter!
Email: info@lostplate.com
China/Thailand/Vietnam Tours:
+86 156 9210 9030
Portland Tours:
+1 503 409 5593
WeChat: lostplate
Join our newsletter for promotions and tour announcements!
