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Emma Gao is a Chinese oenologist, who is the chief winemaker at Silver Heights winery, one of China's most prestigious vineyards.
Emma Gao | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1978 |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Occupation | Winemaker |
| Employer | Silver Heights Vineyard |
Born in China, Gao moved to France in 1999, aged 21, to study oenology at the University of Bordeaux, where she was awarded a Diplome National d’Oenologue.[1][2][3] She subsequently worked at Château Calon-Ségur, where she met her future husband, Thierry Courtade.[2] She returned to China in 2004, first working at a winery in Xinjiang, then working in wine sales in Shanghai.[4] In 2007 she and her father founded Silver Heights winery on land he was already cultivating in Ningxia.[5]
By 2018 Silver Heights had become known as a "leading boutique winery".[6] Gao's first vintage as chief winemaker was praised by Chinese and international winemakers, and two of her red wines are among the best known produced in China.[7][2] They are a Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Emma’s Reserve’ and a Bordeaux blend ‘The Summit’.[2] Dubbed a 'micro-vineyard' Silver Heights produces 40,000 bottles of wine each year.[4] In 2017 Gao began to convert their winemaking processes to purely biodynamic ones.[3] In 2020 the company made its first exports to the UK, US, Singapore, Belgium, Denmark and Italy.[5] Pioneer of Chinese wine, Gérard Colin, stated that Gao is "considered the best winemaker, with practically the best wine, in all of China".[1]
Gao has spoken out about how the climate crisis is affecting wine production, in particular causing damage to the vines due increasingly harsh winters.[5]
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