Chinese wine is upping its game and “going international”.Will these two top reds be the heralds of a new vinous frontier?

IF you tell people you're going to a Chinese wine tasting the first thing they usually do is grimace .But then they want to know more .Because ,despite the fact that China is the world's sixth-biggest wine producer ,only around one per cent of Chinese wine ever leaves the country .So most people have no idea what it actually tastes like.

To rectify this ,the International Wine &Spirit Competition recently organised the Uk's first large-scale tasting of Chinese wines for the trade . There were more than 50 medal-winning wines on show (although the majority were "bronze",which isn't much to shout about),ranging from old world-style Cabernet Sauvignons to Rieslings and even sweet ice wines.

I found a lot of them a bit clumsy, particularly in their use of oak. But increasingly there are some top-class wines coming out of China, such as Chateau Changyu Moser XV, a Cabernet blend from the country's oldest and biggest wine company.

Founded in 1892, Changyu Pioneer Wine Company has eight chateaux in six different parts of China(as well as several interests overseas). The XV is made at its flagship winery in Ningxia, west of Beijing, which has a climate a bit like Mendoza in Argentina, according to Austrian winemaker Lenz Moser, who's been a consultant for Changyu since 2005.

"It's only since 2015 or '16 that the Chinese have really got to grips with winemaking," says Moser. "The investment, the hardware, was there already. But 2015 was all about the 'software'- the know-how and better winemaking practices. There was also a real change in mindset, a willingness to 'go international',N coupled with the drive and passion to make it happen."

European winemakers like Moser have been instrumental in raising China's game.

"We're going to see a huge increase in quality."Alice Lascelles