Grace Vineyard

Grace Vineyard was founded in 1997, by Mr.Chen and his French friend Gylvain Janvier. The vineyard is located in Shanxi province in middle-east of china, where is known for its coal production. The surface of the vineyard is 120 ha. In 2001, when the vineyard was 4 years old, they produced the first brew of wines.

The land of Grace Vineyard is composed of sandy soil. The climate is dry, and there is a great difference of temperature between day and night. It doesn’t rain often in summer and the sunshine is strong. The grape varieties are cabernet sauvignon, cabernet blanc, pinot noir, shiraz, chardonny and Riesling. The production is 1.5-2.0 million bottles per year, which is not huge to china, therefore Grace Vineyard focuses on the quality of the wine, which make this brand famous in china. Its name appears often in foreign magazines as Spectator and it’s recommended by many experts as Jancis Robinson.

CHEN Fang, CEO of the Grace Vineyard since 2002, was only 24 years old when he took charge of the vineyard. Last week we had an opportunity to interview CHEN Fang through Weibo. Let’s know more about Grace Vineyard.

 

Q: I heard that your first year brewed wine has won a great reputation.  Were there some French professionals involved in?

A: Yes, from the origins selecting, and nursery importing, to planting and producing, we have been sincerely cooperated with French experts for the foundation and the future development of the brand ‘Yiyuan’. We’ve also sent our employees to France, Australia to visit and study. We focus on the brand building, which needs a convincing history and stories, instead of commercial marketing. Otherwise it is really difficult to make your own taste and make it standing out. Fortunately, we began this project just when Chinese economy was taking off. Since the people’s income has risen, they talk more about the taste and way of life, and they are able to pursuit a life of higher quality.

Q: What’s the competitive edge of your winery brand?

A: It is the quality. I am very confident of my product, because “our family honor is written in the brand”, and I put my daughter’s name in the label. Me my family and every member of the group have the responsibility to make great quality wines.

I can give you an example: in 2007, the yield decreased due to the weather, we did not make even one bottle of wine, and we announced sincerely to our clients. At that time, if I did not to follow the wine making rules as most of the wine merchants, stick any label on the bottle, it can be sold well as any bottle of wine. But we chose not to do this, and to take the ‘no income’ consequence ourselves. The brand’s quality and reputation is the most valuable thing to us.