Huailai County, Hebei Province, located at the foot of Yanshan Mountain and on the shore of Guanting Lake, is a famous wine producing area in mainland China and the location of the Franco-French manor in the Sino-French wine cooperation project.
Driving into the Sino-French manor, under the blue sky and white clouds, the main building is located between the neat vineyards, which looks like a huge grape sorter from a distance; The main color palette is the red of the Forbidden City and the gray of the Great Wall, highlighting Chinese characteristics.
In 1997, China and France agreed to establish a Sino-French cooperative grape planting and winemaking demonstration farm in China to promote French wine grape varieties and winemaking technology and promote the development of China's wine industry. After inspecting and screening Shandong, Tianjin, Ningxia, Hebei and other places in China, the expert team of the two countries finally decided that the project will be implemented in Donghuayuan Town, Huailai County, Hebei Province. In 1999, the Chinese and French ministers of agriculture formally signed a cooperation agreement in Paris, and the Sino-French estate was born.
"The soil conditions, the climatic conditions, the altitude and the rainfall are very favorable for the growth of the grapes, so the expert group is convinced that this is a place where good grapes and wines can be grown in the future." Li Ren, president of Sino-French Manor and Canaan Wine, said.
There is a saying in the wine industry: seven parts planting, three parts brewing. Huailai has a good geographical environment for growing grapes, but what is lacking is excellent wine grape varieties. In 2001, the first batch of grape seedlings arrived at the Sino-French estate from France, where they flowered and bore fruit in Huailai.
At that time, the Sino-French estate introduced a total of 16 grape varieties and 21 strains from France, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Marselan, Chardonnay, etc. How to select the most suitable varieties for growing in the soil from the many grape varieties has become an important task on the shoulders of Chinese and French agricultural technicians. Zhao Desheng, chief winemaker of Sino-French Manor, said that after years of cultivation and screening by technicians, Sino-French Manor has now screened grape varieties suitable for planting in Huailai area and even China, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Marselan, and Petit Manseng.
In addition to the introduction of excellent wine grape varieties, Sino-French estate has also introduced winemaking technology and management concepts from France. Zhao Desheng said that in the early days of the plantation, France sent a team of consultants to Huailai to work with the Chinese team to teach grape cultivation and winemaking techniques. After years of development, the brewing technology and winemaking quality of Sino-French Estate have reached the world-class level.
"From planting the first French grape seedling in Huailai in 2001 to today, the annual output of Sino-French manor has exceeded 50,000 bottles, which has become a witness to the friendship between China and France. In the future, we will continue to work hard to continuously improve quality. Li Ren said.
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Source: People's Daily client Hebei Channel
Editor|Zhang Shugang
Review|Niu Fei, Zhang Xin, Li Yue, review|Zhao Liangge