When Wine Meets Tea: How Chinese Wine Producers Are Brewing a New Trend

In China, the world’s most ancient beverage is finding new life in an unexpected place — the wine glass.

The country’s tea culture has seen a modern revival in recent years, with “new tea drinks” dominating city streets, from fresh-brewed bubble teas to chilled bottled infusions. Now, that wave is spilling into the alcohol industry. Wineries, brewers, and even retail giants are blending tea and alcohol, hoping to brew a new path to young consumers’ hearts — and wallets.

Hong Kong–listed Dynasty Fine Wines Group has become one of the first major players to jump in. Its newly launched “Hi-Tea Wines” line includes four sparkling tea wines flavoured with jasmine, pu’er, oolong, and maojian. Each is made with white wine as the base, infused with cold-brewed tea to capture the delicate aromas of tea and the fruit notes of wine.

Dynasty is hardly a newcomer. Founded in Tianjin in 1980, the company was once a symbol of China’s homegrown wine boom, best known for its Dynasty Dry White. With Rémy Cointreau as its second-largest shareholder, the producer went public in Hong Kong in 2005 and reported revenue of HK$123 million (US$15.8 million) in the first half of 2025.

A Growing Blend of Tea and Wine

Another industry giant, Changyu Pioneer Wine Co., is also experimenting. At its Changge AI Wine Experience Centre in Shaanxi, visitors can sample nine prototype sweet wines — including one with jasmine tea flavours.

Even retailers are joining the race. Alibaba’s instant retail arm Freshippo (Hema) recently rolled out a new brand called Tianfang (甜芳),  including a tea-infused, semi-sweet jasmine white priced at RMB 78 (US$11).

And it’s not just big corporations. In the Helan Mountain East foothills of Ningxia—China’s most celebrated boutique wine region—a growing number of wineries are exploring the same concept. Producers such as Lux Regis, Heyu, and Lingering Clouds have all launched tea-wine lines in the past year.

Lingering Clouds’ “Chádonnay” series, a witty word play on Chinese word for tea Chá and the grape varietal Chardonnay, features seven teas from jasmine and Longjing to oolong and black tea.

Lux Regis has taken a slightly different route, blending honey and tea leaves into its “Honey Tea Wine.” “Wine comes from fruit, tea from leaves — both are tannin-based beverages, so they pair beautifully,” said Feng Qing, owner of Lux Regis. “When we did market testing, the acceptance rate was high, so we moved straight into mass production.”

For Heyu Winery, the experimentation is still underway. General manager Sun Yuncong said the idea was as much about identity as flavour. “Tea is one of the most familiar drinks to Chinese consumers,” he said. “Everyone knows jasmine or Longjing thanks to tea brands, and that makes wine more approachable.” Sun added that tea wine fits perfectly with their “wine + tourism” model, combining cultural storytelling with local experience.

The rise of tea-infused alcohol isn’t just a creative impulse — it’s also smart business in a country where tea is part of daily life.

According to China’s Tea Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, national tea consumption reached 2.41 million tonnes in 2024, worth RMB 325.8 billion (US$44.8 billion). In supermarkets and convenience stores, tea drinks occupy entire aisles. The connection with alcohol, then, was almost inevitable.

The first successful experiment came not from wineries, but from brewers. In August 2024, Henan Kingstar Beer launched a “Xinyang Maojian Chinese-style craft beer” that sold six tonnes on its first day of livestreaming, topping beer category sales. It was soon followed by tea beers made with West Lake Longjing and jasmine.

“The technical barriers for tea-based alcohol are low,” said Guo Fusheng, a liquor branding consultant who also runs an instant retail store. “Kingstar’s success triggered a wave of imitation.” He noted that tea beers sell mainly through short-video and delivery platforms and appeal to curious young buyers who aren’t regular drinkers.

On social media, the trend has exploded. Short-video clips about tea beer have accumulated over 30 million views, while lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu features more than 30,000 posts discussing which tea beer tastes best.

Chasing Young Consumers

Tea wines are targeting the same crowd.

“Lux Regis has always relied on online sales, and our customer base is young,” said Feng. “Tea wine fits that perfectly.”

The winery’s Honey Tea Wine retails for RMB 67 per bottle, or RMB 99 (US$13.9) for two during promotions. “For a non-essential product aimed at young people, even 50 to 60 yuan is already considered premium,” he said. “We prepared 90 tonnes—about 120,000 bottles—and it’s all sold out. For a brand-new product, that’s an excellent result.”

Dynasty’s Hi-Tea Wine series also wears its youth appeal on its sleeve. Gone are the traditional 750ml bottles — replaced by smaller, beer-like designs with pop-off caps and bold, playful labels. A large, stylised Chinese character for “Hi” dominates the front, and the company has enlisted singer Meng Jia, a rising pop star, as the brand’s first ambassador.

Heyu’s Sun believes that tea wine can also carry a cultural message. “Tea embodies elegance and restraint — it’s a symbol of the ‘new Chinese chic’ that resonates with young consumers,” he said.

Still, not everyone is convinced. Guo, the consultant, warned that tea wine faces an uphill battle. “The beer market is over RMB 300 billion. Even a niche idea like tea beer can carve out volume,” he said. “But wine is much smaller. Unless a major company leads the charge, tea wine may stay a novelty rather than a movement.”