Wine-Making Takes Root in Long-Isolated Myanmar

Vines cascade down terraces overlooking the vast mirror of Inle Lake in Myanmar's Shan State, where a burgeoning wine industry has taken root and is keen to tempt the taste buds of the country's growing numbers of foreign visitors.

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4 months ago

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Travel & Tourism, Food

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Myanmar, Inle Lake

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SCRIPT: Myanmar might be more famous for its struggle for democracy. But in the clouded hills of Shan State maverick wine makers have been toiling for years to put the country on the map for the quality of its grapes. SOUNDBITE 1 Hans Leiendecker (man), director of wine operation at Aythaya (English, 16 sec): "The white wine, our sauvignon blanc is the best white wine in Myanmar//In December, January we have nighttime two or three degrees only. it's cold and that produces the nice aromas which the especially white wine has to live from and the acidity which we need for white wine." The challenges are significant -- with short days in the peak budding season and voracious fungal attacks -- only a few hardy grape varieties are able to grow. But at 1,000 metres above sea level and more, both vineyards in the region say altitude is a major factor in their success. Proximity to the major tourist hub of Inle Lake has also helped raise this vineyard's profile. SOUNDBITE 2 Francois Raynal (man), winemaker Red Mountain (French, 17 sec): "Inle Lake is a very touristic place. It receives almost all the tourists coming in Myanmar, they come to see Inle Lake. And we have started to become a tourist attraction of the lake, so we have more and more tourists." Crisp whites are the highlight at both establishments. But it's the reds that fly off the shelves as the whisky-loving country begins to get a taste for wine. From Shiraz to Chardonnay, produce from the winery is mainly destined for the tourist hot spots of Yangon, Mandalay and Bagan, where Western holidaymakers are often surprised to be able to sample a bottle of locally-grown wine. This visiting connoisseur gives it the thumbs up. SOUNDBITE 3 Serge Heymoz (man), tourist and vineyard owner (French, 16 sec): "It is very interesting indeed, but let's be clear, interesting in a good way. I liked the Pinot Noir a lot, it had aromatic qualities that are a little bit different from what we do, but with interesting character." Here on the lake, signs that tourism is booming are easy to spot -- providing much-needed income for local people. And while it'll take a few more years for the vineyards to see a dramatic rise in demand, there's hope that Myanmar wine is also in for a rosy future. SHOTLIST: SHAN STATE, MYANMAR, AUG 4, 2012, SOURCE: AFPTV - Various of waiter at Aythaya estate opening wine bottle and pouring wine - SOUNDBITE 1 INLE LAKE, SHAN STATE, MYANMAR, AUG 4, 2012, SOURCE: AFPTV - Various of workers in a vineyard at Red Mountain estate INLE LAKE, SHAN STATE, MYANMAR, AUG 7, 2012, SOURCE: AFPTV - Wide of Inle Lake sign from the water - Tourists taking pictures of fishermen on the lake INLE LAKE, SHAN STATE, MYANMAR, AUG 4, 2012, SOURCE: AFPTV - SOUNDBITE 2 - Various of Red Mountain workers filling wine barrels - Raynal walking through shelves of bottles - Close of wine bottles - Raynal showing vines to tourist Serge Heymoz - SOUNDBITE 3 INLE LAKE, SHAN STATE, MYANMAR, AUG 7, 2012, SOURCE: AFPTV - Tourists in a boat at Inle Lake SHAN STATE, MYANMAR, AUG 4, 2012, SOURCE: AFPTV - Various of wine bottles at Aythaya estate /// -------------------------------------------------- AFP TEXT STORY: Food-Asia-Myanmar-lifestyle-tourism-wine,FEATURE Wine making takes root in long-isolated Myanmar by Kelly Macnamara INLE LAKE, Myanmar, Jan 29, 2013 (AFP) - Myanmar may be best known for its decades of junta rule, but behind the bamboo curtain maverick entrepreneurs have toiled for years to put the nation on the map for the quality of its wine. Vines cascade down terraces overlooking the vast mirror of Inle Lake in northeastern Myanmar, an unlikely setting for a budding wine industry tempting the tastebuds of tourists now flocking to the country as it opens up. "Everybody is surprised to see a vineyard here in the middle of Myanmar with all this modern equipment," said Francois Raynal, winemaker at the Red Mountain estate in Shan State. The vineyard, which produces roughly 120,000 bottles a year that fetch about 10,000 kyat ($11) apiece, has itself become a draw for foreigners intrigued that vines could grow in the tropical country. Many visitors are Europeans with a "strong wine culture" who want to try the local tipple, said Raynal, a Frenchman who has worked at the winery for a decade. Myanmar's wine pioneer was German Bert Morsbach, who spearheaded the country's original vineyard, Aythaya, after a colourful career in Southeast Asia. He began working in Myanmar from 1989 exporting organic basmati rice, but turned to vines after the business was confiscated by a government minister. In 1998 he planted 4,000 vines imported from France in eastern Karenni state, but a simmering insurgency between the army and ethnic rebels flared in the area and the government forbade him from tending his vineyard. "That was my first experience with wine. Then 'I said I like it here, so much that I will give it another chance with another region up there in Shan State,'" Morsbach told AFP. -- "Fungus our biggest enemy" -- -------------------------------- The challenges of wine growing in Myanmar are not just related to its complex political history. Although it is known for its fertile soil, the country's tropical climate and relatively short days during the June-July peak budding period mean only a few grape types are able to thrive. "Fungus is our biggest enemy. Greenhouse conditions here mean it often grows much better than grapes," said Hans Leiendecker, the German director of wine operations at Aythaya, which expected to sell 100,000 bottles in 2012 and double that number this year. Shan State's clouded hills give the vineyard an elevation of around 1,100 metres (3,600 feet) above sea level, meaning the vines enjoy cooler temperatures than in other tropical areas. "It's cold and that produces the nice aromas," Leiendecker said. Consumers, however, seem to have more of a thirst for red wines and Aythaya has found that Shiraz grows well. It is also testing German Dornfelder, Tempranillo and Chianti. Myanmar's winemakers have by necessity been "very experimental" and could develop well in the coming years, following in the footsteps of China, Thailand and India, said Denis Gastin, an Australia-based writer specialising in Asian wine. He said the success of Myanmar's trailblazing vineyards has encouraged a number of smaller operations to bud -- a situation likely to please hoteliers clamouring for local wines. "We are happy to present a product from our own land. Also it is a quality product. It is fantastic wine," said Yin Myo Su, who runs the upmarket Inle Princess hotel. "I hope we won't be limited to two vineyards -- we could have 20," she said. -- Tourists now flooding in -- ------------------------------ Myanmar's international image has seen dramatic improvement as it emerges from decades of military rule, with President Thein Sein taking office in 2011 and overseeing dramatic political reforms including the election of democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi to parliament. Foreigners have enthusiastically flooded in, filling hotels to capacity. Red Mountain, owned by a Myanmar businessman, sells its wine predominantly at the country's tourist hot spots like Yangon, Mandalay and the ancient temple complex of Bagan. But rival Aythaya's vineyard and restaurant is close to the bustling Shan state capital Taunggyi where the majority of custom is from locals, including wealthy businessmen. The long-term nature of the business -- the number of bottles produced depends on crops planted several years before -- means that even if tourism soars, it will take years before it flows through into production. But is the wine good? Gastin tested the Red Mountain range at a tropical wine symposium last year and was "pretty impressed". "I was quite shocked about the Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, I thought they were really very very good," he said. At Red Mountain, Swiss vineyard owner Serge Heymoz -- who was visiting the estate while on holiday -- also gave the wine the seal of approval. "It is very interesting indeed, but let's be clear -- interesting in a good way," he said. END