When renowned tech founder Cher Wang wants to build something, she goes all in. Taking into consideration her family's lineage, it would almost be safe to say that an intense conviction and an obsessively methodical approach to things was simply in her blood. After all, whilst she had founded the massive tech company HTC (a pioneer in having helped usher in smartphones and laptops), her own father, Wang Yung-ching, had built the legendary plastics company Formosa Plastics, paving his way to become one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Taiwan. And so when thinking about the intensive work that Canaan Winery, the only Chinese winery to be crowned in the World's Best Vineyards list, puts in to its R&D (literally ran like a lab with its own nursery and the widest set of grape varieties farmed and studied), it really is unsurprising that both vineyard and owner share many similarities.

Let's go to the beginning.

Cher Wang.

In Search Of The Promised Land

It was 2006 and Wang had sought out looking for the best parcel for making wines in China. She would thus commission an elite team of specialists from renowned university wine programs such as University of California, Davis and Purdue University, to scour China for such a parcel. These 16 specialists would count amongst them deeply seasoned winemakers, soil specialists, nursery experts and horticulturalists, including some world renowned wine names such as Professor Christian Butzke, Richard Smart and Paul Skinner. Together they would spend over 2 years combing 17,000km of land, taking them through 11 provinces of China and 9 grape growing regions, systematically sending to the US over 400 soil analysis, before zeroing in on Huailai, in the Hebei Province of central Northern China.

It was here that they found a vast basin that contained a breathtaking multitude of microclimates that would in turn allow for the widest set of grape varieties (both red and white) to be farmed to great quality. Winemaker Zhao Desheng mentions that in the expansive realms of the Middle Kingdom, there is but just two locations that feature such a uniquely steep and extensive terroir that contains such multitudes of climates: Huailai and Shangri-La. By 2009, the first vines would be planted - what would eventually become 15,000 square meters forming one of China's most extensive and technologically advanced vineyards - this would be named Canaan, after the biblical reference for the "Promised Land", which is the result of Cher's Christian faith.

All Roads Lead To Huailai

Yet perhaps what was most surprising was that Canaan was not the first ones to the Huailai basin. As it turns out, just about a decade ago, a historic vineyard had too saw the potential in the region and had broke ground just beside where Canaan would later establish itself - this was the momentous Sino-French Demonstration Vineyard, the birthplace of China's unofficial signature grape varietal Marselan.

Dialling back time to 1997, both China and France had sought to deepen the two countries' bilateral relations. On the Chinese side was then Premier Wen Jiabao, and on the French side, then President Jacques Chirac. Whilst their talks and the subsequent agreement between the two countries spanned several industries, perhaps most interestingly, there was momentum for France to export some of its winemaking expertise over to China. A team of experts were thus sent to scout for a suitable location in China, and after 2 years of searching, located a 90-minute drive away from downtown Beijing, it was Huailai that they had selected in 1999. Nevertheless even these French experts were not the first to see the promise of Huailai - grape cultivation in the area dates back more than a thousand years in fact, with the area known as the "Home of Chinese Grapes", and even as recent as 1976, Huailai was the first to produce a dry white and a traditional method sparkling wine.

A historic winery the result of a meeting between French President Jacques Chirac with China's Premier Wen Jiabao.

Perhaps The Most Important Historic Site Of Winemaking In China

They would thus commence the construction of the 23-hectare pilot vineyard, whose goal was to determine which varieties would do best in China. Equipment, technology and expertise was sent over from France (famously including the renowned winemaker Pierre Labruyère), along with a gift of a specially crossbred varietal, Marselan (crossed between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache), which was to be first planted at the bilateral cooperation vineyard, and then perhaps even more crucially, the first generation of China's modern winemakers were housed in France where they would learn and bring back to China the art of winemaking - Canaan's winemaker Zhao Desheng was amongst the first batch selected for the program. The vineyard was managed as a lab for China's winemaking experiments; vine cuttings were flown directly to Huailai from France (including the first Marselan cuttings which today account for 90-95% of all Marselan in China), and the vineyard was divided into distinct plots where the variations of microclimate, soil composition and vine behavior could be studied, which in turn led to the development of practices best suited for expressing terroir in China. It would see its first harvest in 2003.

The next two decades would see the vineyard perfectly demonstrate the great potential of Marselan and also China's now famed sweet wine varietal, Petit Manseng. Amongst its many successes, undeniably most important was that the vineyard would go on to aid in the development, learning and propagating of numerous key winemaking ventures in China today. Nevertheless, by the mid-2000's, it was decided that the historic winery ought to be privatised and had begun preparations for bidding. It would take on the name Domaine Franco-Chinois (or DFC, as it is known locally) in 2005, and by 2008, bids were solicited. Whilst several names appeared, it was ultimately HTC founder, Cher Wang, who had emerged victorious in 2010. Fellow bidder, ASC Fine Wines, a well established distributor in China, had found itself derailed by corporate issues it was facing, and its vice president, Richard Li, would find himself moving over to Wang's side of the fence, to helm both DFC and Canaan. It's worth noting that whilst DFC was certainly well underway producing wines for decades, having most notably helped established the popularity and viability of Marselan, it wasn't until 20 years later in 2019 that it began selling its wines to the public - up till that point, you'd have to find a personal connection with the winery's team in order to get a taste of its wines!

Canaan Winery.

A Lab In The Huailai Baisin

And so something has to be said about just how special the Huailai basin is. As mentioned, even in the vastness of China, it stands as one of the most unique sites - a section of the Great Wall even snakes through parts of its mountains. Featuring Guanting Lake, which serves as a natural air temperature regulator, it is flanked by high elevation mountain ranges which allows for a steep gradient of temperatures going up the altitude, which creates parcels that range in climates similar to Bordeaux, all the way to Burgundy, and even further east to the cooler Austria-German climate. With quite the similarity to DFC's mission, Canaan had too sought to discover how it could produce the best wines in China, which once again came down to matching the best varieties for the climate and terroir - this led to the creation of three parcels, Site 16, Site 17 and Site 133, which would offer up the ability to produce both white and red wines.

The Huailai terroir.

“One of the initial challenges was getting access to the land. When the project developers negotiated for the land, they had to convince the local regional officials, as well as a large number of the individual villagers/owners. To my knowledge, this project was one of the first to consolidate a large acreage of land to develop vineyards,” says Skinner, of the team commissioned by Wang in search of a vineyard site. Unique to the situation, Skinner elaborates that the region had previously featured a traditional farmland ownership system which meant highly fragmented micro parcels owned by numerous local individuals, which at the time had low fertility and was underproductive, having been used to farm corn up until Canaan's ownership.

Canaan isn't just going to be another Cab Sauv player.

Today the three sites grow the largest range of varieties, from international to local, both native to China and of other winegrowing regions, for example Durif, Tempranillo and Dolcetto. More recently, the winery has even begun experimenting with skin contact orange wines made of Müller-Thurgau and Ehrenfelser. As mentioned earlier, the winery, helmed by Zhao Desheng (who had returned from Bordeaux in 2003 to join DFC), has been managed with a high degree of scientific precision and professionalism at the highest standards, constantly experimenting, observing and evaluating the results, as if still hard on the hunt for the perfect wine to be produced from China. DFC's vines are for the most part of French origins, whereas Canaan's features quite a significant number of American vines (as a result of the American team who helped identify the location). Whilst Canaan's massive winery is said to be sleek and modern, and the much more modestly sized Domaine Franco-Chinois is said to be more homely, they both hum to the same beat these days, with both sharing an owner and led by the same winemaker - they even produce wines in the same winery!

Winemaker Zhao Desheng.

Winemaking At Canaan

Getting into Canaan's vineyards, it immediately strikes out as being a rather peculiar site. Amidst the continental climate with monsoon seasons, warm summers, and dry and cold winters, it's a sight to behold seeing the rows of vines buried in the soil, a costly measure that the vineyard undertakes to protect the vines from the intense weather. Tall trees surround the vineyards to serve as an additional windbreak, as the strong winds pose a serious sandstorm liability that once again threatens the vines. As chief winemaker Desheng emphasises, each of the vineyards whilst sharing the same vicinity, could not be any more different where it comes to terroir and climate. Add another layer of the numerous varieties being grown, and it's clear that a one size fits all strategy simply can't work, and thus each parcel is treated individually based on what will prevail. Nevertheless some common practices across the vineyards includes sustainable farming with the use of cover corps and natural fertilisers, as well as yield management to lower yields. Yet, even with the sheer effort and dedication put into the vineyards over the past decade and a half, Desheng points out that the winery is still a work in progress in truly expressing the terroir in its wines.

Canaan's winery team.

As a matter of continual efforts to study and learn about the vineyards, the winery now features separate fermentation tanks for each block and clone, allowing them to isolate any differences, and then also subsequently assemble its cuvees meticulously. Various types of barrels are constantly assessed at the winery as well. In total, although Canaan and DFC (320 hectares in total) have a total capacity to produce 1,000,000 bottles per year, they've held back thus keeping actual production closer to 500,000 bottles per year to ensure quality. Winemaker Desheng mentions that the goal for Canaan (and DFC) is to ultimately produce the best quality wines that express its terroir, and to do so without a fixed mindset as to what variety that might come from (although they do certainly want to have both whites and reds, and even natural wines). For him, the goal of expressing the terroir is also very closely tied to the goal of producing a distinct wine that is neither Old World nor New World, but instead one that is firmly China, and perhaps even more particularly Huailai.

The wines of Domaine Franco Chinois.

One Hundred Poems

Finally going into the wines themselves, it's firstly important to emphasise that Canaan and DFC, whilst sharing similar ownership and management, have their fruits kept separate, which are then vinified using the same winery, producing two distinct lines of wines, respective to each winery - and so the two vineyards don't ever mix their fruit, and their product lines are also kept separate. Whilst DFC bottles under the straightforward and eponymous Domaine Franco Chinois, Canaan goes by the name Shi Bai Pian (诗百篇), which translates as One Hundred Poems, and is a reference to the famous Chinese poet Li Bai. Taken from the poem Song of Eight Drunken Immortals, which was penned by Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu, the English transliteration goes as follows:

The Eight Drunken Immortals.

[Li Bai] drinks a gallon of wine, writes a hundred poems

Then sleeps it off in the back of a wine shop in Chang-an

When the Emperor asked him to board the royal barge

He shouted back, I am a drunken immortal!

Shi Bai Pian was selected as it resonated with Chinese society, as Li Bai remains till this day a well studied and beloved poet. The winery goes further to develop the name Shi Bai Pian into its brand Chapter and Verse, which the winery uses to symbolise the many aspects of winemaking and its journey in the pursuit of making the best quality wine from China.

Canaan's Shi Bai Pian range. (Image Source: Tersina Wine Journal)

With all that said, today we'll be trying a recent high point for the winery - the Chapter And Verse Syrah Huailai Reserve 2019. This was named the Chinese Wine Of The Year for 2024 by notable wine critic James Suckling, which is something the winery is of course really proud of.

So let's give it a go!

Wine Review: Canaan Chapter And Verse 2019 Syrah Huailai Reserve (迦南酒业 诗百篇･珍藏西拉红葡萄酒)

Tasting Notes

Colour: Dark Ruby, Inky Purple

Aroma: Opening with heaps of dark cherry, cherry frosting, raspberry jellies and plum pie, it tends towards a more confectionary quality, with a touch of greenness of eucalyptus, and a side of earthiness of soil, tobacco and alittle of rustic animal hide. It's expressive and heady, with sensual and rich aromatics.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, it's opulent and rich yet lifted, and without being heavy. The flavours are full and well saturated with rich notes of raspberry and dark cherry paste, accompanied by some rose petal florals, as well as rose scented talcum. Light acidity and tartness comes through.

Finish: The acidity carries through, with raspberry and dark cherry preserves staying on. Cracks of pepper and a touch of savouriness, leading to an otherwise clean and seamless finish. Some chalkiness and roses linger on.

My Thoughts

A rich and well-saturated Syrah that is thoroughly expressive and yet demonstrates restraint in not becoming heavily ripe and heavy. It keeps all the flavour and aromatics and delivers them with vibrance, yet tempers the body to maintain that accessibility and drinkability. The flavours are big and giving, whilst still showcasing nuances that add to its complexity. If it tightened up and added that much more tension and depth, it would easily make for a total showstopper. Interestingly, having tried several other reds from Canaan, I've come to find this soft and aromatically floral powderiness to be something very much distinct to the winery, and could possibly be some hint of the terroir showing.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot