It’s so cold, it’s too cold to work. Well that’s what I was told before I got to Chateau Yuhuang this month in Qintongxia, Ningxia Province, China. I was told the winery was closed and I would be unable to do any cellar work.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
"The winery has frozen pipes and all the workers are bottling in the underground cellar”, said Senior Winemaker Mr Wong.
I knew from my last visit that it gets cold. The previous post shows how and why the vines are buried in this region, but to work in a winery that has temperatures sub -14 degrees Celsius........well……. this is a new experience and one I'll have to get used to.
In a warm office, over a bowl of noodles (local mianpiar), it was a great way to spend time with the winemaking team to discuss the past vintage, assess quality and practice my mandarin!