A late-harvest sweet white wine from the coast of Shandong has taken the top score at the 2025 International Wine and Spirit Competition’s China Wine Competition, highlighting the growing potential of China’s aromatic and sweet wine categories.
The results, released this week, awarded 11 gold, 56 silver and 95 bronze medals to Chinese wines, with the highest score reaching 97 points.
That distinction went to the 2019 Petit Manseng Vendange Tardif, produced by Shandong Taila Vinery Co., Ltd. The wine was praised by judges for its intensity, balance and purity.
Unlike most of Shandong’s wineries clustered around Yantai, Taila Vinery is located in Rushan on the province’s coast, where the mild year-round climate eliminates the need for winter vine-burying, a practice still common in northwestern regions. Founded in 2010, the estate now cultivates more than 5,000 mu (about 330 hectares) of wine grapes.
Three other wines earned 96 points: Ningxia Qixinglu Cabernet Sauvignon Dry Red 2022, Xinjiang Niya Legend Marselan Blend Dry Red M5 2020, and Ningxia Moon Palace Full Moon Red Wine 2023.
The Moon Palace Full Moon Red was created under the brand of Chinese wine influencer Lady Penguin The Niya Legend Marselan blend comes from CITIC Niya Wine Co., Ltd., owned by state giant CITIC Group and one of the few publicly listed wine companies in China. The Qixinglu Cabernet Sauvignon is made by Ningxia HuiDa Sunshine Ecological Winery, which also took home three gold medals in total and received IWSC’s China Winery of the Year 2025 special award.
Marselan emerges again
Marselan, an increasingly popular variety considered by many as China’s flagship red, also stood out. Two wines took gold with 95-point scores: Chateau Mihope Enjoy Marselan Dry Red 2023 from Ningxia Meiyu Winery, and Silk Road Vineyards Bird’s Nest Marselan Red 2023 from Xinjiang Silk Road Vineyards.
White wines also showed strength, with Chardonnay, Riesling and Viognier all collecting multiple silver and bronze medals.
Ningxia remained the leading region, capturing 79 medals overall with a strong showing of Cabernet Sauvignon and Marselan. Xinjiang followed with 33 medals, while Shandong produced the competition’s highest-scoring wine.
Hebei received 16 medals, reflecting steady development, while other producing regions including Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Gansu, Liaoning, Tianjin, Shaanxi and Yunnan were also recognized, underscoring the broad geographic spread and diversity of Chinese wine.
Founded in 1969, IWSC is one of the world’s oldest and most respected wine and spirits competitions. Known for its rigorous standards and influential judging panel, the competition’s China edition is jointly organized with the Beijing International Wine & Spirits Exchange.
This year’s judges included leading global buyers, educators, media and Masters of Wine, among them Antony Moss MW, Xing Wei MW, Jeremy Lithgow MW, Vino Joy News founder Natalie Wang, Sunny Hodge, Igor Sotric and Maggie MacPherson.
With an overall award rate above 65%, organizers said the results demonstrate both the rising quality and consistency of Chinese wines. Judges pointed to Cabernet Sauvignon and Marselan as standouts, while emphasizing that the country’s growing diversity of regional styles is making it an increasingly strong competitor on the global stage.
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