Producer · Ningxia, China

Kanaan

Fang Wang founded Kanaan in 2011 in Ningxia, roughly 1,000 kilometres to the west of Beijing. Her father, Wang Feng Yu, was a pioneer of grape growing in the region. Fang had no experience at all, and wanted to grow Riesling here too, which earned her the nickname 'Crazy Fang'.

The winery sits in the foothills of the Helan Mountains. Winters are brutal, down to minus 20°C, so every vine is buried by hand in November and dug up again in April. The sandy soil keeps phylloxera away, so the vines grow on their own roots.

Kanaan has 16.8 hectares, mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with some Riesling, Merlot and Chardonnay. All the work is done by hand. Fang spent 12 years abroad, much of it in Germany, which is where her love of Riesling began.

Riesling · £25.99 a bottle