In 2000, the year of the new millennium, this young man from a winemaking family of France's Loire Valley arrived in Manas, at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains. He probably never imagined he would stay for more than two decades — growing from a newly arrived foreign winemaker into an industry figure honoured with China's "Friendship Award".
I. From the Loire Valley to the Tianshan
Fred's family has made wine in the Loire for generations. He brought the Old World's craft to China, yet "second home" was no polite phrase for him — in 2010 he received China's "Friendship Award", one of the highest honours China bestows on foreign experts for outstanding contribution, given that year to just 50 individuals nationwide. In 2012 he was named Brand China Industry Person of the Year. Over two decades he carried the methods of Bordeaux and the Loire into the Tianshan — and was kept there by this oasis.
II. Not one man, but an international team
Behind Fred stands a CITIC Niya team of more than 50 international wine specialists: over 20 with doctoral or master's degrees, five of whom also supervise postgraduates at major universities; ten national-level wine judges, more than 20 national-level tasters, over 20 senior winemakers and seven Xinjiang wine masters. The company also operates four national-level research platforms and seven provincial wine research centres.
One report is unavoidable in the map of Chinese wine science: the Manas terroir study. Researched with Professor Duan Changqing's team of China Agricultural University since 2009 and first published in 2016, it interprets terroir through "precision control and directed vinification" — a first for the industry.
III. 2026: a full upgrade of the series
In 2026 the Winemaker series was comprehensively upgraded: the Cabernet Sauvignon now comes in four tiers — Réserve, Supérieur, Commémorative and Classic — joined by two whites, a Chardonnay Réserve and a Riesling. The Réserve, at 14% vol, comes from the Manas sub-region; the Riesling, 12.5% vol, is made in a very different terroir — the Yili River Valley of Xinjiang, near Sayram Lake, where a mild, moist, breezy climate lets the grapes keep natural acidity. Riesling excels there.
Yield limited to 500–800kg per mu; fruit hand-selected through three rounds of sorting; an international winemaking team in charge; internationally standardised, fully automated equipment; 12–18 months of barrel ageing. Behind every standard is the discipline of "origin ecology" — less is more, and slow is fast.
IV. Terroir is the answer time writes on the land
Chinese wine never lacked land — it lacked the patience to read that land thoroughly. The value of men like Fred is bringing Old World experience, then spending twenty years understanding a New World terroir. Nearly 300 gold and silver awards at home and abroad (per the official count) are the echo of that patience. His name may not sit on every label, but a series named "The Winemaker" is itself a serious answer written to Chinese terroir.
V. Three ways to open it
At the table
Réserve Cabernet with grilled meat, Chardonnay with seafood — wines designed for both Chinese and Western tables.
With friends
Easy to open any day, clean and direct fruit — the wine for a relaxed evening.
For the occasion
Réserve and Commémorative carry the series' sincerity — a gift with both story and stature.
Curious to taste what a French winemaker has been making under the Tianshan for over twenty years? WeChat: +86 186 8275 6100 — Mingpinhui supplies it directly; let our consultant match the tier to your table.
Manas sub-region · Yili River Valley
