The aroma of wine is not afraid of deep alleys, and the entrepreneurial winery is also “burning”

Zhang Lihui, who founded a winery by chance and received higher education in Canada, is a native Hong Konger. After obtaining a degree in business management, she returned to Hong Kong and engaged in the management of family industrial and trading enterprises for more than ten years. She introduced the most advanced management concepts and methods into company operations, created a set of distinctive brands and images for the company, and successfully promoted products all over the world.

Zhang Lihui’s husband Gong Guoquan is the founder and investor of a private equity fund company. After the birth of her child, Zhang Lihui also turned the focus of her life to her family and lived with her husband in Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and other places. Perhaps it is her status as a stay-at-home mother that has honed her patient and observant character.

In 2008, Zhang Lihui followed her husband to Penglai City, Shandong Province for inspection. It was this chance that made Zhang Lihui and his wife have an indissoluble bond with Penglai, Shandong Province. During the inspection, they were impressed by the charm of the hills and valleys, and were also moved by the local government’s determination to develop the boutique winery cluster industry.

Zhang Lihui learned that Penglai has been committed to building a world-class coastal wine region. As an excellent coastal wine grape producing area in the world, Penglai has unique natural conditions and planting and cultivation conditions. It is one of the few in the world that has the “3S” rule of sunshine (SUN), gravel (SAND) and sea (SEA) for the growth of high-quality wine grapes. The production area with excellent conditions is listed as one of the “Seven Great Grape Coasts in the World” together with Bordeaux in France, Tuscany in Italy, Napa in the United States, Casablanca in Chile, Barossa in Australia, and Catalonia in Spain.

However, Zhang Lihui and his wife were not hot-headed. They hired experts and after many investigations and inspections, the idea of ​​establishing a winery and creating the highest quality wine with Chinese characteristics was ready to come out.

Penglai originated from the legend of the “Three God Mountains” on the sea. It is also known as the “Penglai Fairy Island” and is a mysterious place. According to Chinese mythology, there are three sacred mountains in the Bohai Sea: Penglai, Yingzhou and Fangzhang, which are the places where immortals live. Since ancient times, they have been the places where Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sought immortality and visited medicine. The legend of “Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea” originated from here. Out of their love for the mysterious colors and long history of Penglai, Zhang Lihui and his wife gave the winery a beautiful name – Xiandao Winery.

Superb technology and continuous innovation

“We originally wanted to build a vacation home where the family could change scenery occasionally. After years of living in cities across Asia, Europe, and the United States and Canada, we just wanted a quieter life. Now, in a way, We have treated the grapevines as our own children. We take care of these grapes and teach them to face challenges with perseverance,” Zhang Lihui said with a smile.

Zhang Lihui and his wife believe that professional things must be done by professionals. Therefore, they hire collaborative experts and staff to work toward a common philosophy. Xiandao Winery selected a professional architectural firm from Hong Kong to design a brewing factory and winery villa in a modern art style based on the undulating changes of the mountains while respecting the local landforms. In addition, since its establishment, they have also hired planting experts and senior winemakers from the mainland, Canada and New Zealand to form a professional team, using advanced technology to manage vineyards and brew wine.

According to Zhang Lihui, in terms of grape planting, Xiandao Winery has always invited top international experts, such as Canadian expert Kevin Ker, New Zealand planting expert James Bowskill, etc., combined with the local planting team headed by Yu Xiangzheng to lead farmers to almost complete the whole process. Artificial planting methods have transformed Qianshan Valley from ordinary orchards to top international vineyards.

It is understood that the vineyards in the park are hilly, undulating between 60 and 100 meters above sea level. According to the mountain topography and on the premise of protecting the soil structure of the vineyards, the staff of Xiandao Winery have reclaimed about 191 small plots of land. piece. The gently sloping terrain of the park provides good drainage and natural wind. The orbit of the sun also determines the orientation of grape planting, so that each grape can fully enjoy the sunshine. The distance between each row of grape vines is 2 meters, the distance between each grape seedling is 1 meter, and the fruit hanging line is 70 centimeters from the ground. The orientation and spacing of the vines are designed to maximize air circulation and sunlight gain. The end result is that each plot is unique and gives different characteristics to the grapes and wine. The vineyard’s mineral sandy soil characteristics and the combination of multiple grape varieties complement each other, allowing the vineyard to produce very complex and individual wines.

The winery adheres to the ecological concept of brewing fine wine in harmonious coexistence with nature, and minimizes manual intervention in the brewing process.

Grapes can be picked every autumn when they are ripe, and the picking time is determined by experts’ strict judgment. Just like planting, the grape picking process is also done manually in batches. After the ripe grapes are picked, they are carefully selected manually, destemmed using high-end equipment without crushing, and then allowed to be brought into the air bag press or fermentation tank by gravity. There are two key reasons for using the gravity flow method: First, the winery was built on a mountain to protect the environment, and the terrain gave it the conditions to build a four-story building. The gravity flow method does not require electricity. Second, reducing the use of pumps better preserves the original flavor and quality of grapes.

Xiandao Winery invited New Zealand chief winemaker Allen Hedgman. He is very good at using natural native yeast. Although it is more difficult to process than artificially cultivated yeast, it can improve the final quality of the wine. Coupled with the careful management of local winemaker Yue Xiuchao, it is even more So that the public can taste the taste of hills and valleys.

The grapes are then fermented in oak and stainless steel barrels until canned and bottled. The winery’s stainless steel fermentation tanks or wine storage tanks are equipped with automatic heating and cooling control systems, which can ferment and store at a set temperature at a constant temperature. Oak barrels can help the wine develop its aroma through moderate oxidation and integrate the aroma in the barrel into the wine.

 

The winery’s winery and manor villa are also very distinctive. They are located on the hilltop flatland in the west of the park. They adopt a contemporary architectural style and are designed in a fan shape to enjoy the surrounding landscape. From the indoors, you can overlook Qiu Shan, Longdai, and East. Looking at the park and reservoir. At the same time, the building uses a large number of famous local stones and bricks in building materials, allowing the winery to blend in with the local area. The brewery has a total of four floors. In addition to the brewing workshop and wine cellar, it also has many sightseeing facilities.

Winning awards and gaining fame

In 2011, the first batch of grape seedlings at Xiandao Winery began to take root. In 2019, the first-year products of the winery – “Yihu Dry Red Wine 2018 (Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot)” and “Yihu Dry White Wine 2018 (100% Chardonnay Li)” finally came out. From the initial search for suitable grape varieties, to the cultivation methods of grape seedlings, to the official launch of the first vintage wine in 2019, Zhang Lihui and his team have devoted 15 years of hard work.

Fortunately, all the efforts were in vain. These two products have won many prestigious domestic and international awards, fully demonstrating the strength of the winery and making Zhang Lihui’s confidence grow day by day. Since 2017, Xiandao Winery has won the award of “Excellent Demonstration Garden of Penglai Production Area” for two consecutive years. From 2018 to 2020, it has won the “Best New Wine Award of Penglai Production Area” and other awards.

 

As of the beginning of 2023, Xiandao Winery has received more than 70 awards in mainland China, Hong Kong and internationally, including Decanter Silver Award, Berlin Wine Trophy Gold Award, HKIWSC Gold Award, etc.

According to Zhang Lihui, Xiandao Winery positions itself as a boutique winery that integrates humanities, art, and ecology. The winery covers an area of ​​approximately 242.37 acres (approximately 16.16 hectares). The current grape planting area reaches 174.3 acres (approximately 11.62 hectares), with an average tree age of 12.5 years. It mainly grows international varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. Dorado, Tempranillo, Carmenere and Chardonnay, the average yield per mu is about 300 kilograms.

Adhere to the concept of sustainable development with actions

 

Stemming from its unremitting commitment to respecting local terroir and culture, Xiandao Winery has always emphasized environmental protection, adhered to the concept of sustainable development, and produced high-quality wines in harmony with nature.

It is understood that at the beginning of the vineyard construction, Xiandao Winery tried its best to maintain the original mountain topography and soil structure, cultivated 191 terraces, and used the retained slopes, edges, ditches, and valleys to form natural drainage The channels also allow a variety of vegetation in the garden to continue to grow naturally. At the same time, we are cooperating with relevant government departments to carry out ecological transformation of the two original open-pit granite quarries to protect the environment and fulfill our social responsibilities with actions.

“We also attach great importance to and insist on the use of natural resources and low-carbon transportation. For example, we use natural weeds to maintain water and soil between rows and reduce water loss; we recycle organic matter such as grape branches and fermented skin residues, and use them as organic nutrients after fermentation; We design the height and width of the winery and even the number of windows in a way that is tailored to local conditions. We use natural lighting to reduce power consumption. We use a gravity feeding system to reduce energy consumption. We also use natural or environmentally friendly materials from planting to brewing to packaging. and materials.” Zhang Lihui introduced.

Not only that, while Xiandao Winery produces high-quality wine in the Penglai Qiu Mountain area, it also promotes environmental protection, actively cooperates with the local government to promote ecological development, creates new job opportunities to add vitality to the countryside, and establishes a longer-term partnership. “In order to create a winery that integrates humanity, art, and ecology, we fully collected the natural scenery according to the terrain and designed a brewing factory and winery villa that combines modern artistic style and green environmental protection concepts,” Zhang Lihui said.

Zhang Lihui said that Xiandao Winery takes “making a bottle of winery wine with hilly and valley terroir” as its concept and focuses on the production of high-quality winery wine, covering the cultivation of high-quality wine grapes, wine culture promotion and exchange, wine-themed hotels, and leisure tourism. and other business clusters.

“In the future, we will still face more challenges to present the story of this land through planting and winemaking, but we will continue to work hard towards building a century-old boutique winery,” Zhang Lihui said.

 

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/LoyHuiWI4SG8BOeBjFKEkw