this is emma gao of the SILVER HEIGHTS vineyards, located in ningxia china. her wines have won praise and awards worldwide amongst the most finicky of sommelier noses - quite a feat from a few hectares of a 1200m high and dry plateau. emma, a winemaker prodigy cum successful wine-trepreneur, is also the GM of a foreign-owned vineyard in penglai (a four hour drive north of qingdao), in the heart of shandong's wine industry and where this portrait was taken. it's an outtake from a series shot for the may issue of dragonair's inflight magazine, SILK ROAD.
as a neophyte connoisseur who's yet had a reason to spit out a gulp, i was nonetheless taken aback when i got to sample the 'summit' cabernet over an exquisite lunch prepared by emma's mom. it's a richly coloured ruby nectar with strong oak overtones (i'm a sucker for woody flavours in a wine) and its nose is of rich dark fruit - not your average carafe of great-wall-glory grape juice at the local supermarket. i brought home an extra bottle, compliments of the house ;-)
NOTE: THIS IS A REPOSTING OF AN ENTRY FROM APRIL WHICH HAD TO BE RETRACTED UNTIL PUBLICATION OF THE MAGAZINE. APOLOGIES FOR THE DOUBLE VISION.
'wine queen' • penglai, china
© MARC MONTEBELLO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
[click on image to enlarge]
Labels: 2011, china, corporate, editorial, lifestyle, photographer, photography, photos, qingdao
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