"Riesling Fellowship" awarded in China for the first time

This is the first time the award has been presented in mainland China.

33 Riesling Fellows worldwide

The "Riesling Fellowship" is an individual award presented by the German Wine Institute since 2007. There are a total of 33 "Riesling Fellows" worldwide, including outstanding experts for German Riesling such as Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson, Stuart Pigott and the Master of Wine Fongyee Walker.

New chapter for German Riesling in China

To date, there have only been five Riesling Fellows in Asia. The honouring of Shenghan Wang and Yang Lu marks a new chapter in the promotion and dissemination of German Riesling on the Chinese market. Through their years of creative work, the newly honoured "Fellows" have greatly increased the popularity and awareness of German Riesling among Chinese consumers.

Favoured by female consumers

The wine content, e-commerce and cultural community brand "Lady Penguin", founded by Shenghan Wang, has more than five million followers and more than 600,000 subscribers. German Riesling has always been a bestseller on the "Lady Penguin "platform. Through blogs on German Riesling and co-branded products in collaboration with German wineries, Shenghan Wang has significantly increased the popularity of German Riesling among consumers. This award from Wines of Germany China is so meaningful to me that I will redouble my efforts to promote German Riesling in the future," said Wang Shenghan in her acceptance speech. Wang Shenghan believes that the most important reason why Riesling is successful on the Chinese market is that it has conquered the female consumer group.

Riesling - honest and authentic

Yang Lu is the world's first Chinese Master Sommelier, founder of the Grapea & Co. Wine Academy and Topsomm Sommelier Service Consulting. He is committed to promoting the high quality and diversity of German Riesling in wine education and among sommeliers, and is making a significant contribution to strengthening the influence of German Riesling in the wine industry. "A few years ago, a wine magazine asked me in an interview to describe myself with a grape variety. I blurted out 'Riesling' without hesitation, as I considered myself to be an honest and authentic person," said Yang Lu.  Looking back on the young man's enthusiasm back then, he realises today how difficult it is to remain true to this claim as a great Riesling. "I feel all the more honoured and very proud to become a Riesling Fellow," explains Yang Lu.

The promotion of German wine has reached a new milestone. The honour is not only a recognition of the outstanding work of the Riesling Fellows, but also an encouragement for their future path.