Eddie McDougall’s Chinese Wine Awards: Putting Chinese Wine on the World Stage
China’s wine scene is changing fast — and Eddie McDougall has been watching that evolution for years.
At the inaugural Chinese Wine Awards 2024, held at Wynn Palace Macau, wines including Puchang Vineyard Rkatsiteli 2020, Dom Franco Chinois Marselan 2014 and Xiaoling Grand Vin De L’Himalaya 2019 were among the highlights of a week of tastings, food-and-wine pairings and book signings.
Behind closed doors, the real judging was underway: 27 international wine professionals tasting more than 750 wines from China.
Created and chaired by Eddie McDougall, founder and CEO of The Flying Winemaker, the Awards marked the first time an exclusively China-made line-up had been assessed by such a high-profile international panel.
A New Chapter for Chinese Winemaking
Eddie’s interest in Chinese wine goes back many years. His work on The Flying Winemaker Discovery Channel TV show in 2013 took him across emerging wine regions in Asia, exploring both new producers and the relationship between local wine and local cuisine.
That experience gave him an early look at what he describes as a “modern” China emerging.
For Eddie, Shandong represents the original home of modern Chinese winemaking, with Changyu established there in 1892. He also visited Ningxia when its wine industry was still in its early stages, with producers such as Silver Heights among its pioneers.
Since then, the pace has accelerated. Production has expanded, new regions have gained attention, and international players have entered the country — including LVMH, which established Ao Yun in Yunnan.
The Chinese Wine Awards grew from this evolution.
An International Panel Meets Chinese Wine
The judging panel brought together an impressive mix of international wine expertise, including Bordeaux specialist Jane Anson, Tim Triptree MW of Christie’s, Gus Zhu MW — the first Chinese Master of Wine — Australia’s Andrew Caillard MW, Hong Kong sommelier Reeze Choi and Japan’s Kenichi Ohashi MW.
The diversity of the panel was intentional.
For Eddie, putting Chinese wines in front of experienced international professionals was about more than medals. It was about creating an opportunity for critical assessment, global exchange and continued improvement.
Beyond the Medals
There was plenty of excitement around the quality of the wines.
Jane Anson observed that fewer than 10 years earlier, wine faults in China had been considerably more common. At the Awards, however, she encountered relatively few faulty wines — and wines she considered worthy of gold medals.
That progress matters.
But perhaps the bigger story is what happens next. For Chinese wine to continue developing, producers need opportunities to exchange ideas, benchmark themselves internationally, and receive honest feedback from experienced wine professionals.
The Chinese Wine Awards were created to help make that conversation happen.
And if the first edition was any indication, Chinese wine is ready for a much bigger place at the global table.
FAQs
What were the Chinese Wine Awards 2024?
The Chinese Wine Awards were an inaugural competition created by Eddie McDougall to evaluate wines made exclusively in China with an international panel of wine professionals.
Who created the Chinese Wine Awards?
The Awards were created and chaired by winemaker Eddie McDougall, founder and CEO of The Flying Winemaker.
How many wines were judged?
More than 750 wines from China were tasted by a panel of 27 international judges.
Why are the Chinese Wine Awards important?
The Awards provided Chinese wine producers with international assessment and exposure while creating opportunities for global exchange of ideas and winemaking expertise.
What were the Chinese Wine Awards 2024?
The inaugural Chinese Wine Awards, created and chaired by winemaker Eddie McDougall, brought together 27 international wine professionals to assess more than 750 wines made exclusively in China. The event highlighted the rapid development of Chinese winemaking and its growing potential on the international wine stage.