Asia Wines

Asia: The Wines of the Southeast

Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bali...

Are you forming a picture of harvesting grapes in vineyards and wineries making classic red wines?

If not, you are not alone. The first reaction most people have when they encounter traditional wines from exotic Southeast Asia is disbelief.

But believe it. The wine growers in this area are dedicated to bringing in grapes that can compete with the best that their neighbor, Australia, has to offer. Not only that, but with the endless summer weather, they are managing two and sometimes three harvests a year. Imagine that in the grape growing regions farther from the tropics.

The wines in Indonesia are draped on arbors made from living trees. The workers live among the vines and are instantly available to take care of any problems. In Thailand the grapes grow in "floating vineyards" surrounded by water. The care and harvesting are done by workers in boats.

What kinds of wine could possibly be the result of such heresy? A critic for the International Flight Catering Association found some on display at the 2000 London International Wine Trade Fair. The reaction? "There was a red and a white wine which, it was suggested, would be ideal accompaniments to oriental cuisine; Indeed they were, but they were also seriously good wines which would hold their own in international company. In a blind tasting, never in a million years would anyone have been able to guess the country of origin. "

Mike Dunne, the Sacramento Bee's food editor, reported in June of 2004, "The Monsoon Valley 2001 Red Wine not only was the first Thai wine to be entered in the Los Angeles County Fair Wines of the World competition a few weeks ago, it was the first Thai wine to wine a medal, a bronze."

As the people of Southeast Asia find more prosperity, they are drinking more wines. While Australia and France have been the main suppliers so far, if the native vintners have any say, home made wines will be the fashionable way to go. After all, just a few years ago, growing grapes for premium wines in California and Australia was a radical thought.