As winter approaches, the winemaking grapes at the east foothills of the Helan Mountains enter their "hibernation" period. However, at Jiuxi Winemakers, a vineyard located in the northernmost end of the wine producing area of the Helan Mountains, the grapes stand in the cold wind with tenacious vitality.

The grape planting area of Jiuxi Winemakers

Liang Yuwen, a researcher at the Institute of Horticulture, Ningxia Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, has 31 years of expertise in the field of grape cultivation and winemaking. He is also an expert at Jiuxi Winemakers.

Liang Yuwen, a researcher at the Institute of Horticulture, Ningxia Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences

Twelve years ago, Jiuxi Winemakers cooperated with the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and jointly established a demonstration area for cold-resistant and non-buried grape varieties.

Liang explained that the grape varieties planted for domestic wine production are mainly imported Eurasian varieties. When planting these grape varieties, the temperature should not drop below -15 degrees Celsius. However, the major wine regions in China are located in the northern parts, which contribute to 70 percents of domestic wine production. The average temperatures during the coldest month range from -10 to -30 degrees Celsius. Due to such natural conditions, most regions in China need to bury the grapevines for protection during the winter season.

Since Jiuxi Winemakers introduced cold-resistant varieties, Liang has improved the grape varieties and conducted extreme low-temperature tests on them over many years. Twelve years on, Jiuxi Winemakers has successfully cultivated five cold-resistant varieties, which feature high cold resistance and disease resistance. These varieties do not need to be removed or buried for winter protection.

Liang stated that at present, these five varieties and the corresponding winemaking techniques have passed the test and can be widely promoted in northern wine production areas.

A live show is conducted to introduce the grape cultivation and wine-making techniques of Ningxia.

In December, Jiuxi Winemakers welcomed wine enthusiasts from Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, and Sichuan to see its unique grape varieties. A live show was also conducted to introduce the grape cultivation and wine-making techniques of Ningxia.

Tan Zhiyong, the owner of Jiuxi Winemakers, stated that the vineyard has conducted 11 years of research and innovation on core grape planting techniques, systematically forming a high-quality and efficient comprehensive cultivation system, and broken through the bottleneck problem of grape cultivation in winter.