Why China does not need a signature grape
Marselan is being hailed as China’s rising star. But Master of Wine Fongyee Walker believes quality, not a single variety, should define the future of Chinese wine. Nimmi Malhotra reports.
As China’s wine industry matures, there’s growing interest in defining its identity on the global stage. Increasingly, Marselan has emerged as the frontrunner to become the nation’s signature grape.
But for Master of Wine Fongyee Walker, this push towards a national grape risks oversimplifying a complex and still-evolving landscape.
“I think Marselan definitely has the potential to be a signature,” she said, “but whether you want it to be a signature is another question.”
Based in Beijing, Walker is the co-founder of Dragon Phoenix Wine Consulting, a wine education company. Over the last two decades, Walker’s business has played a pivotal role in shaping wine education in China. She has featured in several documentaries, including Red Obsession and Waking the Sleeping Grape and remains one of the most authoritative voices in the Chinese wine industry.
Walker warned that designating a single flagship grape could limit the diversity and growth potential of Chinese wine, citing international examples where a similar strategy has backfired.
“Pinotage is the signature grape of South Africa, but in reality, it’s very hard to make a top-level Pinotage,” she said, noting that only 5% of vineyard area in South Africa is dedicated to the varietal.
The same, she argued, has happened elsewhere: “Spain has the same issue with Tempranillo. We forget Spain grows Bobal too.” Australia and New Zealand, she added, have become closely tied to Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc respectively, at the expense of other promising varietals.
Marselan’s potential in China
Today, Marselan is planted across all of China’s major wine regions, from Ningxia to Yunnan, covering approximately 4,000 hectares. While still behind more established red varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in terms of total plantings, its rise has been swift.
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Yet Walker cautions against adopting Marselan too widely.
“We have limited understanding of how the grape performs across the country’s vast and highly variable terroirs,” she said. According to Walker, Marselan is not well-suited to Shandong or Yunnan and should not be planted indiscriminately.
“I find that Marselan from Shandong is rather challenged by the climate and cannot achieve a good phenolic texture,” she explained. “Marselan is well adapted to deeper soils (like the loam or loess) rather than the rockier soils of Shandong or Shangri-la.”
Beyond terroir, Walker questioned Marselan’s ability to deliver wines that truly compete at the highest level.
“It’s a tough job to produce a refined premium wine,” she said. “The main problem is the tannin structure which is not that elegant in this grape. There is also a challenge in balancing the sweet fruit with acidity.”
Walker also believes Marselan may have greater potential as a part of a blend, rather than a stand-alone varietal. “I much prefer Marselan as a blend. It’s a fantastic blending grape,” she said. “I really like the Syrah-Marselan blends that are being done in Xinjiang – very rich but nice.”
Rather than pinning its hopes on a single varietal, Walker believes China should aim for a different benchmark.
“Try to become known for quality – not for a variety,” she declared.
It’s a call for a more nuanced approach to building a national wine identity. One that accounts for the immense geographic and climatic diversity of Chinese viticultural regions.
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