China’s Second-largest Retailer Bets on Independent Chinese Wines

For years, imported wine has been at the heart of Freshippo’s wine business. From Penfolds to its own private-label imported range, the Alibaba-owned retailer has built its reputation by offering international wines at competitive prices.

Now, China’s retail giant is making an unexpected bet – not on another overseas label, but on a handful of independent Chinese winemakers producing small-batch, terroir-driven wines.

The move marks Freshippo’s first dedicated push into premium domestic wines and signals that China’s emerging boutique wine movement may finally be breaking into mainstream retail.

This month, Freshippo unveiled its new Tracing Terroir project at a launch event in Shanghai attended by wine professionals, media and key opinion leaders (KOLs).

The inaugural lineup features two wines: the Tracing Terroir ‘Majie’ Ningxia Marselan Red Wine, retailing at RMB128 (US$18), and the Tracing Terroir ‘Jinyu’ Penglai Petit Manseng White Wine, priced at RMB228 (US$32). Both wines were co-developed with independent winemakers Majie and Hou Jinyu.

The initiative is a notable departure for Freshippo.

Ranked China’s second-largest retailer behind Walmart China, Freshippo generated RMB107 billion (US$15.8 billion) in sales in 2025, according to the China Chain Store & Franchise Association (CCFA). Its wine business has traditionally centred on imported wines, carrying international brands such as Penfolds while working with importers including ASC Fine Wines. The retailer has also developed its own private-label imported wine range, Freshippo Mingpin, sourcing wines directly overseas to shorten supply chains and improve value.

Tracing Terroir, however, is its first collection built entirely around premium Chinese wines.

Looking Beyond Big Brands

Speaking to Vino Joy News, Sunnie Feng Xin, Freshippo’s buyer for Wine, Spirits and LoNo, said the retailer had already experimented with stocking several Chinese wine brands and had seen encouraging sales.

As consumers have become increasingly receptive to domestic wines, Freshippo sensed an opportunity to go further.

“But we didn’t want to simply put more Chinese wines on our shelves,” Feng said.

“Many independent winemakers are producing exceptional wines. Through these collaborations, we hope to introduce consumers not only to the wines themselves, but also to China’s wine culture and the unique terroirs behind them, while offering outstanding value.”

Instead of partnering with China’s major wine companies or well-established wineries, Freshippo deliberately chose relatively unknown independent producers.

“Independent winemakers are a bit like nomads,” Feng said.

“They stay true to their original vision of winemaking wherever they go. That really resonated with us. The first time we tasted their wines, we were genuinely surprised by the quality.”

The retailer is also taking a measured commercial approach.

Approximately 8,000 bottles of Ningxia Marselan have been produced and distributed across Freshippo’s 500 stores nationwide. Penglai Petit Manseng is even more limited, with just 1,000 bottles available exclusively in Beijing and Shanghai.

For a wine market still undergoing adjustment, relatively modest purchasing volumes also help minimise inventory risks.

China’s Boutique Wine Movement

The producers chosen by Freshippo represent a new generation of Chinese winemakers.

Rather than operating large wineries or pursuing volume, many independent producers lease vineyards, collaborate with growers or establish small-scale wineries, placing greater emphasis on terroir, craftsmanship and personal expression than on scale.

They resemble the craft breweries or boutique distilleries that have reshaped other alcoholic beverage categories.

Ma Jie is one of the movement’s best-known figures.

A graduate of Northwest A&F University’s College of Enology, he later studied in France and Germany before completing 14 harvests across multiple wine regions. He subsequently founded his own label, Petit Mont, producing wines from vineyards stretching from Ningxia’s eastern Helan Mountain foothills to Yunnan, Tibet, Sichuan and Xinjiang.

Hou Jinyu, founder of Jinyu Yunlai, took a different path.

Although not formally trained as a winemaker, he spent nearly two decades in wine education, earning teaching qualifications from several national wine organisations while building extensive tasting experience across the world’s major wine regions.

When he launched his first vintage in 2023, Hou deliberately chose Penglai on China’s eastern coast and produced a dry Petit Manseng – an unconventional choice in a market where the variety is more commonly associated with sweet wines. Through low-intervention winemaking, he seeks to preserve both the grape’s vibrant fruit character and the distinctiveness of the local terroir.

China’s Terroirs Enter the Spotlight

Freshippo’s decision to champion independent winemakers also reflects a broader reassessment of China’s diverse wine regions.

At the launch event, Professor Li Demei, head of the Department of Enology at Beijing University of Agriculture, outlined the country’s unique terroir advantages and argued that China is entering a new stage of wine development.

Li, who was previously named one of Decanter‘s “Top 50 Most Influential People in the World of Wine”, noted that China’s vast geography gives it an extraordinary diversity of wine-growing environments.

In the west, regions such as Ningxia’s Helan Mountain East Foothills, the Hexi Corridor and Xinjiang benefit from dry, continental climates that have become synonymous with premium wine production. In the east, Shandong, Hebei and Northeast China have developed mature wine industries, while Southwest China is home to one of the world’s few low-latitude, high-altitude viticultural regions.

Such diversity, he argued, is difficult for many wine-producing countries to replicate.

Li also believes China has an opportunity to develop its own understanding of terroir.

Much of the world’s existing terroir theory, he noted, has been built around Mediterranean and maritime climates, while continental wine regions remain comparatively under-researched. That leaves room for China to contribute new perspectives to the global conversation.

The rise of independent winemakers, he added, is both a product of, and a response to the industry’s maturation.

The previous generation had to focus on building the industry and ensuring its survival, according to Li. Today’s winemakers have more freedom to pursue individuality and express terroir.

That evolution also mirrors changing consumer tastes.

“If consumers are still offered only the same handful of brands, it is difficult to satisfy today’s demand for diversity,” Li said.

“The emergence of independent winemakers is exactly the industry’s response to that new demand.”

According to the retailer, the Tracing Terroir range will continue to expand its portfolio, bringing in more independent winemakers and showcasing wines from a broader range of Chinese terroirs.