Skyline of Gobi Chardonnay Muscat

Tiansai Vineyard was established in 2010 and is designed to be a modern experiential estate. It is located in Yanqi Basin, Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang. Embraced on three sides by mountains and one side by a lake, it enjoys sufficient sunlight, heat and pure snow water to make the land heaven-sent for organic wine grape growing. Tiansai Vineyard is a fitting name, as its Chinese meaning describes the geographic and natural situation here at the foot of the Tianshan mountain – so Tian, while Sai means a vineyard beyond the Great Wall. – decantershanghai.com

Having worked in China’s judicial system as a judge and later in the automobile industry, Chen Lizhong’s foray into wine was quite a career change. Her winery, Tiansai Vineyards, is considered as a market leader in China and is located over 1,100 metres above sea level in Yanqi of China’s northwestern Xinjiang. Producing wines mainly from Bordeaux grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, the winery was one of the first wineries in the region to be certified organic by Chinese authorities and has two seasoned winemakers consulting on its team, including China’s foremost wine expert Li Demei and Lilian Carter, former winemaker for Pernod Ricard’s Helan Moutain Wines in Ningxia province.