The Jia Bei Lan cabernet dry red 2009 wine from the He Lan Qing Xue vineyard in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region became the first Chinese wine to capture the crown prize of Best Bordeaux Varietal over 10 pounds at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2011, Ningxia's Forestry Administration said.

Founded in 2004, the annual Decanter award is considered the most renowned and authoritative wine contest in the world. This year's contest attracted 12,254 sample wines from 46 countries including vineyard patriarchs in France and Italy. Each sample underwent blind tastings by 159 judges from 23 countries.

The east stretch of Ningxia's Mount Helan, located between the Yellow River plain and the alluvial fan of Mount Helan, features soils affluent with organic matters and is thus dubbed the Chinese Bordeaux.

It is one of the three national preserves of wine grapes in China, with a vineyard covering 21,600 hectares and the grape output of 148,000 tons. Chinese wine brands Xi Xia King, Chang Yu and Yu Ma have each set up a branch there.