On the arid eastern flank of the Helan Mountains, watered by the Yellow River, Ningxia has risen in barely two decades to become China's premier fine-wine region. The winters are so brutal that every vine must be buried under earth to survive, but the dry, sunny season ripens Cabernet Sauvignon into deep, polished, Bordeaux-styled reds that have begun to win international awards.
Backed by heavy state investment and a wave of ambitious boutique wineries, Ningxia Cabernet is the spearhead of Chinese fine wine — the most dramatic new-region story of the twenty-first century, and a serious new name on the world's red-wine map.