Grape wine

Grape wine

　　Grape wine is a specialty liquor of Yinchuan. At the foot of the Helan Mountains lies an emerging "grape city," hailed as the "Turpan of Ningxia" — this is the grape kingdom of Ningxia: Yuquanying Farm and Yuquan Winery.

　　Grapes are a delicious fruit. Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, once said: “In the south, there are longans and lychees, but can they compare to the western grapes and honeyed stones?” In Cao Pi’s view, grapes were a superior fruit compared to the southern longans and lychees. In an official decree, Cao Pi specifically praised grapes: “China has many rare fruits, yet let me speak further of the grape. When midsummer turns to early autumn, clusters hang ripe. Drunk the night before, waking in the morning, you eat them dew-covered — crisp without being sour, cool without being chilling, flavorful and juicy, quenching thirst and soothing vexation. Fermented into wine, they yield a brew sweeter than rice wine, more intoxicating yet quicker to wear off. Just hearing of it makes one drool, let alone tasting it fresh. What other fruit from distant lands could rival it!” During the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties periods, imperial gardens widely cultivated grapes, as did scholars and nobles in their villas and estates. Grapes also serve as a tonic. The Compendium of Materia Medica states: “Grapes boost qi and strengthen the spirit, improve muscle vigor, build resistance to hunger and cold, and over time help lighten the body and prolong life.” Grapes also have benefits such as enriching qi, nourishing blood, strengthening the stomach, and promoting diuresis. Grapes are highly versatile — they can be used to make wine, canned goods, jams, juices, and tartaric acid extracted from the skins and pomace can be used to produce brandy, while the seeds can be pressed for oil. Especially notable is grape wine production, which gradually spread across inland China after Emperor Taizong of Tang, making grape wine one of China’s renowned alcoholic beverages. The famous poem by the Tang poet Wang Wei praising grape wine — “Fine wine in a luminous cup, I lift my cup just as pipa music urges me to drink on horseback” — has become an enduringly popular line. After visiting Ningxia, Chinese wine expert Li Hua pointed out that the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains are ideal for growing wine grapes, earning it the title of “China’s Bordeaux.” Ningxia is now vigorously developing grape cultivation and wine brewing in this region.