Xige Estate Ningxia Trip
Xige Estate Ningxia Trip
2024.6.20
From June 17 to 19, our family of three, young and old, had the honor to participate in the “Xi'an Dakeyi Core Customers Xige Estate Ningxia Tour”. We visited up close and learned about the entrepreneurial history and production process of Ningxia Xige Estate wine, which has gained a certain reputation both domestically and internationally. This expanded our horizons beyond what we thought would be an ordinary trip, adding passion and benefiting us greatly.
At noon on the 17th, we, a group of more than ten, arrived in Yinchuan by train. The tour guide assigned by the organizer was Wang Zijie, a young man with standard looks and standard speech, enthusiastic and patient. Along the way, he explained in detail the local customs of Ningxia and Yinchuan, as well as the general situation of the eastern foothills of Helan Mountain, which is most suitable for growing grapes. At lunch, we tasted Xige wine for the first time. Unexpectedly, this first taste left a good impression on me, a person not well-versed in wine; it was fragrant, mellow, and not heady.
Having drunk such mellow red wine for the first time, I became more interested in this trip. Xi'an Dakeyi Trading Company is the general distributor of Xige wine in Shaanxi Province. The tour group members were all meritorious salespeople on the front line, contributing their wisdom and sweat to the sales of Xige wine in the province. Therefore, to make these core customers happy and have fun, Dakeyi Trading Company specially sent team leader Li Yong to arrange and take care of everyone's various needs during the trip.
In the afternoon, we visited Zhenbeibu Western Film Studio, toured the western film set created by writer Zhang Xianliang, and witnessed the charm of the western film studio known for its desolation. It embodies thousands of years of historical vicissitudes, condensed into life scenes that can be easily integrated into film and television shots. To date, nearly a hundred films and TV series have been shot there. Unfortunately, we have watched too few movies, so we lacked the excitement of seeing the real scenes matching the settings in the films.
The next day, we went to the Shapotou scenic area in Zhongwei City. Frankly speaking, the design and layout of Shapotou's tourist attractions are very good; it has been popular nationwide since the early 2000s. It truly lives up to its reputation. However, when faced with some risky recreational activities, my wife and I and our three-year-old granddaughter could not participate according to safety regulations. Fortunately, thanks to guide Zijie's careful arrangements, he adjusted the entertainment projects in time, allowing us and the child to have a great time. That day covered a large area, and we spent more than five hours on the round trip from Yinchuan to Shapotou. Although we were a bit tired from playing and traveling, everyone was still very happy.
That night we stayed in Minning Town, about 50 kilometers from Yinchuan.
Perhaps it's my old curiosity; whenever I have a bit of curiosity about something unfamiliar, I must get close to it, understand it, until I figure out everything about it. So although we played and had fun at several scenic spots, I was always thinking about “Xige” in my heart, longing for it, which was completely unfamiliar. Because almost all tourist attractions and amusement venues have similarities, and I have directly or indirectly known or experienced them, their appeal was limited. The main purpose of this trip was Xige Estate, which seemed distant and unfamiliar, so I was always a bit anxious, silently looking forward to it.
On the morning of the 19th, we left Minning Town and headed to Xige. After half an hour, we arrived near Xige Estate. In the distance, on the high mountains, there were beacon towers and tea stone piers from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Nearby, there was a natural lake, not large, shaped like a pigeon, hence named Xige Lake. That's how Xige Estate got its name!
The narrator told us that the founder of the estate, Zhang Yanzhi, graduated from the College of Enology at Northwest A&F University. In 2002, he went to the Bordeaux Wine School in France for further study, obtaining the French National Winemaker Diploma and a master's degree in Wine Economics and Management in 2005. In 2017, he established Ningxia Xige Estate Co., Ltd. I counted on my fingers and exclaimed: Ah! In just six or seven years, Chinese wine, specifically Ningxia Xige Estate wine, has appeared at some major international events! This news alone is enough to make the world look at Ningxia, Yinchuan, and Xige wine with new eyes!
The outer wall of Xige Estate is a tall circular arch made of 240,000 Helan Mountain stones. Approaching it, one immediately feels a sense of European castle-like loftiness, majesty, and solemnity. From the narrator, we learned that there are about 200 wineries in Ningxia Province, and Xige Estate ranks first in production volume and sales among domestic fine wines. Because Xige owns 30,000 mu of vineyards. These numbers immediately sparked my strong interest. Then came one surprising piece of good news after another: In 2022, Xige wine exports increased by 500% year-on-year, selling well in Europe, America, and Australia, winning international awards for Chinese wine. At an international conference hosted by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Xige wine attracted attention from the international market. In April 2023, when French President Macron visited, at his second stop in Guangzhou, the reception wine was Xige Estate's product. Undoubtedly, this shows confidence in domestic reception wines and is the best recognition of Xige wine internationally! It also best embodies Xige wine's slogan: “Let the world fall in love with Chinese wine.” In the wine storage workshop, huge stainless steel tanks of 20, 30, and 60 tons were neatly arranged, with no stains on the floor and no odor in the air. In the oak barrel storage workshop, French imported 300-liter oak barrels were stacked neatly. Similarly, there was not a trace of strange smell, showing how tightly sealed these huge stainless steel and oak barrels are, ensuring no leakage of odor and guaranteeing product quality. Oh! Looking at these giant wine storage tanks, I slowly chewed over and pondered the “3126” winemaking rule that Xige people adhere to: three months of low-temperature fermentation; twelve months of oak barrel aging; six months of bottle aging. These strictly followed iron-like process requirements ensure the quality of Xige wine!
In the vineyard, I noticed that the lush green grapevines were planted densely with row spacing about two meters. I sighed; this is the path for mechanized picking and transport. At this time, late June, the green grapes were slightly larger than soybeans. Looking at these clear green little elves, I envisioned the entire estate's design, planting, production, brewing, and other processes, imagining how they transform into delicious fine wine. How much wisdom, will, and sweat of the hardworking Xige people went into this: In 2017, Xige Estate was established; in 2019, it started production. In the early construction stage, advanced brewing equipment was imported, with an investment of several hundred million yuan, designed annual capacity of 10 million bottles; in October 2019, Xige passed the world's highest standard “BRC International Quality Certification,” becoming the first winery in China to pass this certification.
During the tasting session, four glasses of different Xige wines were placed in front of each visitor. Through the mellow liquid like agate, one could clearly see the handwriting on the paper beneath, showing the clarity and brilliance of the wine. Gently swirling the glass, smelling the wine aroma, letting the mellow wine roll over my tongue and savor it, I thought of what Zhou Haihong, Vice President of the Central Conservatory of Music, said: “I have a dream that in the near future, as many people will appreciate classical music as drink wine.” Thinking of this, I smiled and thought I should add a sentence after Vice President Zhou's words: “I hope that in the future, the production and sales of Chinese wine can keep pace with our traditional baijiu, and like the flying pigeon, come into ordinary homes.”
When the narrator asked me with her eyes how I felt, I blurted out without thinking: It's like being in a crowd of beautiful women; every one is so beautiful that you can't fully appreciate them, and you can't bear to give up any! Saying this, I remembered the words at the entrance of the storage workshop: “Each tank of wine here is enough for you to drink for 200 years.” So, in a joking tone, I said: “200 years is too long; do you have small storage tanks? Just enough for 20 years!” This drew a burst of laughter!
At the last meal of the trip, there were still delicious dishes and good Xige wine. I don't know if it's my scientific skepticism or a bit of petty, unsophisticated suspicion. In any case, during the meal and clinking glasses, I quietly picked up a small spoon, pretended to be serious, stirred it in the wine glass, then quickly took it out, letting the wine drops from the spoon fall onto the napkin beside the glass... Watching the even spread of color on the napkin, I felt relieved and nodded to myself, saying: Exactly! It lives up to its reputation, it lives up to its reputation!
After three days of traveling in Ningxia and Yinchuan, and being steeped in information about Xige Estate, I felt deeply. Starting in the mid-to-late 1980s, domestically introduced brands like Changyu, Great Wall, and Dynasty began to dominate the dry red wine market. At that time, I also sighed: “No water is wide enough when you have crossed the sea; no cloud is beautiful but that which crowns the peak.” I thought that after drinking such good red wine, there would be no better ones. Now, after tasting different qualities of Xige wine, the previous wine brands have dimmed in my memory, even disappearing deep in my taste memory. Now I want to say: “Half for the sake of seeking truth, half for you, I'm too lazy to look back at the flowers.”
The time to say goodbye arrived.
We, the tour group members, clinked glasses with Xige Estate representative General Manager Xu and the trip leader Li Yong one by one, jointly wishing Xige Estate and Xi'an Dakeyi Trading Company to work hand in hand and continuously create better results! At this moment, I thought of the bold vow of Xige Estate owner Zhang Yanzhi: “Let the world fall in love with Chinese wine!” This was put forward by Mr. Zhang Yanzhi himself. It is not only the slogan of Xige people but also Mr. Zhang's sentiment and ideal!
Looking at the colorful wine in the glass, smelling the faint wine aroma, I believe that the realization of Mr. Zhang's ideal is just around the corner!
2024.6.25
