Vineyards? In Thailand? Yes.
Despite what your inner voice may be telling you – there are in fact vineyards and wineries and winemakers and wine in Thailand!
The majority of these wineries and vineyards are up in the far north of the country, in Phichit Province and Khao Yai, where the wines are being hailed as “new latitude” wines.
You see, generally all wine producing regions fall between the latitudes of 30 and 50 degrees due to the climates and distance from the equator. With Thailand’s latitude being at roughly 18 degrees and less, it’s not surprising that you’re unaware of their wine producing abilities in such a tropical climate. Although there isn’t a large wine culture in the region, it is growing and their quality improving, and we’re so excited to get to experience winemaking in this region one day!
One such winery that is making waves in the Thai wine industry is the family owned GranMonte. Formerly a cornfield and cashew plantation, in 1999 the Lohitnavy family saw the potential of the land and vines were planted. Nikki Lohitnavy, the in-house oenologist and winemaker, is the first and only female winemaker in Thailand. Her winemaking knowledge stems from both her education in Australia and her international experience in France, Portugal and South Africa.
So what type of wine is being made in Thailand? The most well-known international varietals are grown in this region such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc, Viognier, Semillon but there are lesser known varieties being grown, namely Verdelho, Durif and Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca.
In the early days of discovering our passion for the wine industry, we visited Phuket, Thailand with no idea about the local winemaking industry further north. It kills us now to know that we were only a hop, skip and a jump away from visiting GranMonte in this hidden wine region but it only makes the desire to revisit even stronger.
Regrettably, I don’t think we had a single sip of wine during our entire tropical stay in Phuket. Jumping right into the culture and natural beauty of Thailand was what we were after, not a neon-blinding and cheap beer induced hangover that so many find in Patong.
And wow. Tropical Thailand is crushingly beautiful.
Kayaking through tight spaces and green caves, elephant sanctuaries, snorkeling with stars in the ocean and rescued kittens all make up some of the greatest experiences we have ever had.
It was around 10pm, on the roof of a boat and about to jump into the ocean to snorkel with the stars of the sea, when the topic of wine regions came up. Upon finding out that we were South Africans, two American wine-lovers explained to us how they had recently purchased a bottle of South African wine because they had “never thought Africa could make wine”.
And it’s true. Not many people think of South Africa as having a prominent wine producing industry, much like Thailand.
Perhaps Thailand and South Africa are somewhat kindred spirits in the industry. Or rather Africa and Asia. We’re making wine, we’re producing quality but our work is often unheard of – we’re wine regions, countries and continents that are often overlooked to our big brother counterparts and that’s why Jéan and I feel it is so important to be on this journey to discover wine in the world that hasn’t yet achieved the recognition it deserves.
Thailand – we will be back,
Tristyn & Jean
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