Bar and restaurant owners are taking China’s struggling wine scene into their own hands – literally.
In the face of falling imports and production, they have gone from pulling corks and pouring wine to picking grapes and pumping over in order to make private labels.
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The conditions are particularly ripe given the rising quality and reputation of Chinese wines.
"Interest in local wine is growing among restaurants and consumers," says Ian Dai, who is helping venues like contemporary restaurant Bastard in Shanghai and Chinese wine bar Zoodle in Beijing to make their first labels.
Dai, who produces under his Xiao Pu (Petit Garden) brand, cites two other trends. One is the rise of adventurous winemakers.
"We have a lot more young winemakers ready to try experimental styles, which really triggers the restaurant and bars," he says.
The other is volume, with a past barrier being the need for large quantities.
"These days, due to smaller scale wineries and wine-making projects, it's possible to make a smaller quality of own-label stuff."
Andrew Moo of Yaya’s Pasta Bar in Shanghai is among those who joined Dai in the winery this year: "We’ve been selling [Dai's] wines since we opened. When this opportunity presented itself, we couldn't say no!"
Moo tasted a range of grapes and wines in the Ningxia region, then chose a "rather unconventional" blend of Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
"It was great to work closely with Ian to make the first Yaya's wine," says Moo. "Something fun to enjoy with a bowl of pasta!"
Experience vs status
The driver of wine sales has long been status buying – think famous brands, regions and styles: like Penfolds, Bordeaux and red blends – for gifting and entertaining, a sector long in decline.
But there are bright spots in the scene, including a small but growing group that seeks wine experience and enjoyment over factors like scores and medals.
For bars, that often means niche products, from "low-intervention" options, like natural wine and pet-nat, to boutique Burgundy to Chinese brands. Much like house labels in the successful craft beer and cocktail bar niches, private wine labels are an "exclusive" product that gives a new experience.
Luo Yuchen, who bottles under his Farmentation label, is helping a handful of bars and restaurants this year to tap into that desire for the new.
"The traditional brands are not so trendy now. People are looking for something good but different," he says. "They want something to drink without pressure."
He cites the wine scene's modest size and the need to attract newcomers, giving natural wine bars as an example of success.
"The great thing is [these bars] introduce a lot of nontraditional consumers to wine, maybe because of the fruitiness or the nice labels or for whatever reason," says Luo, who sees growth tied to more easy-drinkin” wines.
Easy drinking is exactly how Jiro Hsu describes the wine Bastard is making with Dai, who also created a pet-nat for the restaurant last year.
“"We were just going through [Dai's] warehouse, trying to blend different grapes," she says about deciding on a style.
"We made a blend of red (Pinot Noir) and white (Chardonnay). It represents Bastard and is also a 'glou-glou' daily drinking wine. It's not funky at all."
Wine as lifestyle
Just as important was the firsthand experience.
"[Dai] is really open-minded and good at explaining the different regions of China," she says. "He brought us to different wineries to see the vineyards."
This highlights another benefit of DIY private labels. The projects can go past making wine to documenting that adventure, including on social media for a bar's followers.
Images of vineyards beneath blue skies, of grape-stained hands at a sorting line; of vividly colored must; of tired but happy people sharing meals after a long day. This all offers a sense of wine far beyond the tasting notes on a back label.
And it is involvement Dai encourages.
"If it's possible, [the clients] pick the fruit or definitely help crush the fruit," says Dai. "We prefer they stay until the wine is ready to go into a barrel, which is a seven-day process at least."
A wine documented
One of China’s top social media leaders for wine, Wang Shenghan aka Lady Penguin, is a high-profile example of this trend.
Wang's first wine is a Ningxia blend of Marselan, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon that she aims to be more "modern, round and feminine" than most from the region. And she is reporting on it at length.
"I will share every detail of this process with you," she said at the onset. "And I am sure it will be more vivid, interesting and enlightening than any wine knowledge you have seen so far."
Wang, who has a bar called Lady Penguin Wine House in Beijing, has posted about everything from the aromas, flavors and structure of her chosen grape varieties to the physical challenge of harvest to working with "one of a kind" consultant Deng Zhongxiang to understand Ningxia's terroir and access "top-notch grapes".
And alongside answering followers' technical queries, she has sentimental moments.
"It's turned into wine," she wrote in one post while holding a glass with a tank sample. "It's like a mother watching her daughter grow up."
This builds anticipation for Wang's followers as she pursues the goals of making a better-value Ningxia wine and raising China's wine reputation.
"It is our hope that our wine can offer a good example of Chinese 'affordable fine wine' to a bigger crowd."
The hands-on factor
People outside China might see these examples and think "been there, done that". And private labels are not new in China, either.
Grace Vineyard, one of China's most successful operations, made a private label for Hong Kong's Peninsula Hotel with its first vintage in Shanxi in 2001. The Merchants bar and restaurant in Beijing bought all of a Dai wine called My Girl in 2021 to secure exclusivity for its clientele. And last year, Yu Xia Tavern in Beijing featured its own Ningxia Chardonnay, to just to give three examples.
What is significant is the growing engagement, and influence, of venues in the winemaking process, which in turn has been driven by those aficionados in search of something new. When asked what style clients sought most, Dai says there is no single answer, and that excites him.
"In our collaborations with restaurant and bars, we find they are willing to make more experimental stuff," he says. "They might make a Marselan ros0233 while blending in a little Italian Riesling. Or make an Italian Riesling while adding a little Marselan for color."
That gives winemakers the green light for projects that might otherwise exist only in a notebook.
"As winemakers, we might have the idea for these wines, but don't really make them," says Dai. "The bars and restaurants really help us with that."
Ultimately, those venues will bring the fruits of this year's labors to their curious clientele. Who knows? Perhaps some of those aficionados will be inspired by these wines, and the stories behind them, and join next year's harvest.
