The next morning, a bus trundles down the dirt tracks that separate the estate’s grape varieties. It typically carries day trippers from Bangkok and overnight visitors to Khao Yai National Park where hiking trails and nighttime safaris are the main attractions. But today, I am the only one being shepherded through the grounds by Lisa, an enthusiastic GranMonte tour guide who grew up in a nearby town. As we drive, she points out the occasional bundle of pale green grapes still clinging to the vine long past harvest season. Inside the winery, she pulls back a heavy wooden sliding door to reveal a side room where oak barrels contain the latest productions. A sweet scent hints at the forthcoming tasting session.
The tasting room is lined with GranMonte wines and the trophies they’ve won—awards from the AWC Vienna and Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition, to name a few. Lisa serves me a quarter glass of the 2021 Heritage Syrah, a strong-tasting red with hints of plum, coffee, and a powerful punch of tannins. At only 11 a.m., it’s quite an assault of flavors, but the softer 2021 Midnight Harvest Chenin Blanc hits the palate with a fruitier taste of peach and, paired with a palate of local cheeses, goes down more easily. Busaba is the next wine, and at only 8.5% ABV, it is different again. Lisa highlights the notes of fresh cut grass and gooseberry, but to me, the acute candy-like sweetness and dusty pink coloring sets it apart from the others.
In today’s market, Thailand is not the sole originator of tropical wine; Cabernet Sauvignon from Colombia and Chardonnay from Brazil have been on the scene for longer, with roots in the regions of Urabá Chocoano and Serra Gaúcha, respectively. But connoisseurs the world over are steadily seeing Thailand as a wine country to watch, says Nutawan Jumpanak, the chief sommelier of the Anantara hotels in Bangkok. She notes how even growers from Champagne have visited Lohitnavy in GranMonte to learn how they might adapt and evolve their techniques as European summers grow ever hotter in the global climate crisis.
“We have Thai wine [in our hotels] to showcase what we can do,” Jumpanak a Thai native from the northeastern province of Chaiyaphum tells me, as we make our way from the bustling hotel lobby of the Anantara Siam Bangkok to a central courtyard where sunlight bathes the multiple restaurants that encircle a central bar. “We use the wine from GranMonte and the customers are very excited to try them.”
We perch at a high table just within earshot of the bar staff who Jumpanak occasionally beckons over to serve up snacks or another glass of wine. With a nose she describes as “better than a dog’s,” she sniffs the first glass of rosé before her. It’s from Monsoon Valley, another Thai winery that grows their own grapes in Thailand and is working to raise the profile of tropical wine. Jumpanak sips, holds the wine in her mouth for a few seconds, and nods in approval. The flavor profile is “a fresh strawberry,” she says, and explains that rosé wines go well with the spicy elements of Thai food.
So does GranMonte’s Chenin Blanc, she notes, with its pear flavors and toasty notes. Fittingly, one of the earliest wines produced by GranMonte—a 2001 vintage first sold in 2003—was a Chenin Blanc. However, GranMonte’s Crémant with its delicate flavors of apple, pear, lime, and cashew, is Jumpanak’s firm favorite. A glass of good bubbly “can change your world,” she says, laughing.
Maybe the sheer surprise of Thai wine could do the same for traveler. Jumpanak says that tourists to Thailand—whether they are wine connoisseurs or simply consumers—should try the country’s tropical wine; the long drive from Bangkok, she adds, is worth it for the “wine education.” Conlin, the master of wine in the Napa Valley, says she doesn’t expect expert collectors of wine from more traditional regions like Burgundy or Piedmont to be swapping out their bottles for tropical wines any time soon— “but those with a thirst for continuing to learn about the world of wine should approach tropical wines with an open mind, as wine production constantly evolves,” she says.
In the meantime, the early morning wake-ups will continue for Lohitnavy and everyone else at GranMonte. They’re experimenting with different varietals and growing locations in the Asoke Valley, continuing to explore opportunities to create ever more types of tropical wine. Lohitnavy is hopeful that, with time, the region will further grow its wine-making capabilities—and that GranMonte will be its renowned ambassador. “I still think there are other grape varieties that are more suitable for Khao Yai,” she says, determined. “We just have not found them yet.” From what I’ve seen—and tasted—it’s only a matter of time.
