Silver Heights
银色高地
Few others have achieved as much recognition for their commitment to China’s wine industry as Silver Heights’ Emma Gao, one of the few female owner-winemakers in the country.
With a foot in both the traditional and innovative, spurred by her awareness of climate change, Emma’s wines blend technical expertise with a profound respect for nature and tradition, encapsulating Ningxia’s style as both an established and evolving wine region.
An incredibly vivacious and committed winemaker, Emma Gao ensures Silver Heights continue to set the standard for authentic, environmentally-conscious, quality-driven Chinese wine.
Winemaker: Emma Gao
Established: 2007
Location: Eastern Foothills of Helan Mountain
Farming Method: Biodynamic, Demeter-Certified
Vineyard Size: 70 hectares / 150,000 bottles per annum
Vineyard: 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 10% Pinot Noir, 10% Marselan, 10% Chardonnay, 10% various white varieties (incl. Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Malvasia, Muscat, Gewurztraminer), 10% various red varieties (incl. Grenache, Barberda, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Syrah, Dornfelder, Malbec, Carmenere
Emma’s father, Gao Lin, with the vineyard before planting, 1999
Born and raised in Yinchuan, Ningxia, Emma, then an aspiring 16-year-old actress, followed her father, Gao Lin, to study economic agriculture in St Petersburg. Inspired by the prestige and refinement of wine culture in Bordeaux that flooded China after the 1997 Asian Economic Crisis, Gao Lin sought to bring wine culture back to China. planting Cabernet Sauvignon vines near their hometown in 1999.
The same year, Emma agreed with her father to move to France to study oenology and the University of Bordeaux. With a Diplome National d’Oenologue, Emma landed a position at Château Calon-Ségur, where she met her future husband, cellar master-to-be Thierry Courtade.
Returning to China in 2004 and working in wine sales in Shanghai. Emma took an opportunity to work several vintages in Xinjiang and made her first independent cuvée. However, upon returning to bottle the wine, she found it had been labelled as being made by a French winemaker.
The timing was perfect - with 8-year-old vines, Emma moved back to Yinchuan and guided Silver Heights through their first vintage in 2007 - producing 10 barrels of ‘Emma’s Reserve’.
A chance trip to Burgundy’s Domaine Leroy in 2009 introduced Emma to biodynamic farming, setting in motion an 8-year-long decision to pursue biodynamic farming herself.
During that time, Emma’s wines were used in the ‘Ningxia vs. Bordeaux’ critic’s tasting in 2011, where ‘The Summit’ was ranked second place. Her wines were also served at State Dinners with Angela Merkel and Emmanual Macron in 2016 and 2019, respectively.
In 2017, Emma suffered a spinal injury that incapacitated her, reducing her winemaking capacity. Frustrated with the outcomes from surgery and modern medicine, she found relief instead through Chinese traditional medicine and acupuncture, inspiring Emma to look at her life, and winery, from a more holistic perspective. Based on her experince with biodynamic farming methods 8 years earlier, she implemented it immediately, uprooting grapevines and planting greenery, shrubbery and other fruit-bearing plants amongst grapevines. By using biodynamic practices in conjunction with traditional farming methods based on the Chinese lunisolar calendar, Silver Heights achieved Demeter certification in 2023, the only Chinese winery to do so
Vineyards
Jishan Vineyard - 40ha
South, Sandier soil, 1200m altitude
Xiayingzi Vineyard - 30ha
North, Stonier soil, 1200m altitude
Wines
Bloom Sparkling
80% Chardonnay, 12% Pinot Noir, 8% Ningxia Rice Wine. The Chardonnay is vinified and blended with off-dry rice wine before being left on lees for 8 months. Disgorged and topped up with Pinot Noir. Zero sulphur. 6.9 g/L RS.
Chardonnay Reserve
100% Chardonnay from the Jishan vineyard, with sandier soils. Hand-picked before going through gentle, slow pressing with one day maceration, then temperature controlled fermentation with careful oxygen protection. Aged in 100% one-year-old Burgundy (500L) puncheons for 8 months before bottling.
The Last Warrior White
70% Chardonnay 30% Sauvignon Blanc. Hand-picked, gentle, slow, cold maceration and temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel for 3 months. Naturally no MLF. Direct bottling.
Sand Lake Moon Amber
50% Malvasia Bianca, 50% field blend of Viognier, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Muscat Blanc, and Sauvignon Blanc. Fermented on skins in stainless steel for 30 days, with 6 month post-ferment in traditional clay vessels (táo guàn / 陶罐). Aged in neutral 225L oak barrels for 10 months. Unfined, unfiltered, zero sulphur.
Jiayuan Marselan
100% Marselan from Jishan vineyard, with sandier soils. Hand-picked over two harvests for freshness and structure. De-stemmed and fermented in stainless steel for 30 days. Aged in 100% new French 500L oak for 12 months before bottling.
The Last Warrior Red
100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the youngest vines in Jishan vineyard. Hand picked, gentle, slow, cold maceration and temperature controlled fermentation. Aged in 70% neutral French oak and 30% stainless steel for 12 months.
Family Red
75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot from the Jishan vineyard, with sandier soils. Hand picked, de-stemmed, with 5 day cold maceration and temperature controlled ferment for 7 days in stainless steel. Aged 40% second-use & 60% neutral French oak (225L) for 14 months before bottling.
The Summit
100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Xiayingzi vineyard, with stonier soils. 14-year-old vines are hand picked, de-stemmed, with 5 day cold maceration and temperature controlled ferment for 7 days in stainless steel. Aged in 50% new French oak and 50% 1-year-old oak barrels (225L & 500L) for 12 months.