Huadong Winery: Women lead the way

One of Mao Zedong's best-known sayings is "women hold up half the sky." At Huadong Winery, in the mountains above the port city of Qingdao, two women aren't doing exactly that, but they are leading the winery to new success.

Huadong's vice general manager is Liu Hong Mei, who, like many of China's new business leaders, studied abroad and returned to help implement Western-style management methods at her winery. A basic tenet of that strategy is to pick the best person for the job, regardless of gender or connections. This is not something that's always done in a nation where Communist Party officials often look out for their friends.

Liu's approach is fine with Huadong's winemaker, Gloria Xia, who has plenty of experience after training with Australian consultants for 12 years at Huadong. "People are usually surprised to find two women in such key positions," says Liu, 31, who studied in Wales. "But more women are becoming involved in the business, and it is becoming increasingly acceptable."

Renowned for its white wines, in particular its Chardonnay, Huadong is experiencing heady times. Liu is overseeing a $4 million expansion that will include a restaurant, new cellars and offices, and the Parry Museum. The name is a tribute to Michael Parry, the Englishman who founded the winery but died before it gained success. This year, Huadong will release a new wine, Chateau Huadong-Parry, made with Merlot and Gamay.

Liu is also overseeing the planting of new vineyards in Penglai, in the northeastern Shandong province, and construction of a state-of-the-art production facility in Qingdao. "My ambition for Huadong is to produce the best wine in China," says Liu. "I love wine; I think it is romantic. The Chinese know too little about wine. I need to tell more people about it."

Grace Vineyard: Quietly earning respect

Hong Kong businessman C.K. Chan spent $6 million to build Grace Vineyard's Chateau and get the winery up and running.

Grace Vineyard is one of the most ambitious wineries in China, striving to create serious, Western-style wines. Making that ambition a reality is a job that largely belongs to Judy Leissner, daughter of owner C.K. Chan, a Hong Kong businessman who developed a passion for wine on his many visits to France.

Chan acquired a plot in the Yellow River region of northern China, built a sizable château on it and brought in Bordeaux veteran Gerard Colin to run the vineyard.

Leissner, 27, looks after the commercial side of the operation, visiting frequently from Hong Kong, and helps to clear up any cultural misunderstandings that arise between Monsieur Colin and his farm workers. "Profit-making is not our main focus for now," says Leissner, whose father has poured $6 million into the project so far. "It is a long-term investment. We have to buy the know-how, import bottles and barrels and hire a winemaker full time."

Despite the low-key approach and minimal marketing, word has quickly spread that a Chinese winery is producing quality wines. The prestigious Peninsula hotel group has a Grace house wine and stocks various other vintages-- a major coup for a small domestic winery.

"What distinguishes us from other wineries is quality. Everyone is growing Cabernet Sauvignon, so we tried different varieties and some local ones," Leissner says. In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon, Grace bottles Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Grace controls 165 acres of vines and produces more than 40,000 cases a year, all estate-bottled.

Leissner studied at the University of Michigan and then worked as a merchant banker before becoming captivated by the wine world. Like so many others in the fledgling Chinese wine business, she considers educating locals to be a major part of the job.

"Wine is here to stay in China," she says. "You don't need to teach people how to enjoy life. When they have money, they will learn how to do it very quickly."

Suntime Winery: A state-owned company aims higher

Yang Huafeng of Suntime Winery focuses on crafting wine for China's burgeoning middle class.

When Yang Huafeng finished at the top of his Beijing university biochemistry class, he had his pick of jobs with local or international firms. But instead of opting for a safe posting, Yang decided to join the fledging wine industry and is now part of what may be the fastest-expanding wine production company in the world.

"When I graduated in 1992, my specialty was biochemistry, which meant I could make wine, beer or spirits and a lot of other things," says Yang. "But I chose the wine industry because it was an empty market, a small industry."

Suntime, a state firm, has set its sights on making affordable, drinkable wine for China's burgeoning middle class. As winemaker and technical director, Yang presided over the building of four production facilities in the far west of China, and is heavily involved in the marketing side.

Yang learned the tricks of the trade with Dragon Seal wines, near Beijing. Joining Suntime meant moving way out west for a while and leaving his family for the remote region of Xinjiang, on the far side of the Gobi Desert, where the Suntime facilities are based.

Suntime produces 2 million cases of wine annually, all from local grapes. The flagship wine is West Region, with a label that plays on the exotic location. Yang, ever the biochemist, is currently attempting a sweet wine, minus the sugar that is normally added by Chinese producers.

"We are targeting to be bigger," he says. "For the past few years, demand has grown at 15 percent, and it will continue growing at that rate—or faster."

Once facilities were up and running, Yang was needed back in the city to help with marketing. Before starting that task, however, the affable executive decided to see China's changes firsthand--by driving all the way back to Shanghai, a 10-day journey of 3,000 miles.

Jean Georges: A restaurant whose sommelier speaks the language

Yvonne Chiong is sommelier at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Shanghai outpos. The bilingual wine expert is valued at the popular fusion restaurant for her informed recommendations and her ability to put novicewine drinkers at east

The sommelier at fusion maestro Jean-Georges Vongerichten's restaurant in Shanghai stands out in the city for three reasons: She's female, Chinese and not much of a drinker. But nothing intimidates Yvonne Chiong, a fast-talker whose pierced nose and colorful eyeglasses make it easy for diners to locate her across the room.

Chiong, 28, who learned about wine while working in her native Singapore, has been a star at Jean Georges, respected for her informed recommendations and consummate ability to make customers comfortable by simplifying jargon into easily understood Chinese. "She can pair great wines from Europe, and it has helped to have a sommelier who can speak the language," says Vongerichten, who flies in several times a year to check up on things. "A French or American sommelier would be lost. And she has great knowledge."

Newly wealthy Shanghainese are keen to try Vongerichten's food, but also frightened about using the wrong utensil or ordering a wildly inappropriate wine. That's where Chiong comes in. "I took this job because I thought it would be a great challenge, a teaching mission," she says. "Before I came, I had heard all the stories about people mixing Bordeaux with lemonade, but I don't think that happens anymore. I have not seen it."

Chiong is unusual in that she tastes wines, but rarely drinks more than half a glass. "I don't have to consume a bottle to appreciate how good a wine is," she explains. "For me, it's [about] understanding how the wine was created and how it's different."