Vineyard by The Sea
The mineral soil of the hills above Hua Hin produces distinctive wines that are making a big impression on wine lovers at home and abroad
- Published: 19/03/2010 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: Realtime
Some 40 kilometres off the beaten track lies a 1,500-rai plot of land where orderly rows of grapevines are set on sandy soil in a blazing tropical climate calmed by coastal breezes. As unusual a viticultural location as it might sound, this is Hua Hin Hills Vineyard, home to one of the most celebrated New Latitude wines, Monsoon Valley.
Chalerm and Daranee Yoovidhya with their Hua Hin Hills vineyard in the background.Photos by ANUSORN SAKSEREE
It was a bright Saturday afternoon. The vineyard's owners, Chalerm and Daranee Yoovidhya, were mingling with their guests _ a mix of hoteliers, artists, food critics, wine lovers, socialites and celebrities both local and foreign. Sharing the same interest in good works and fine wines, they were there to celebrate Hua Hin Hills' first harvest season with a special charity auction as a highlight.
Established in 2004, Hua Hin Hills, the only vineyard in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, is the Yoovidhya's third wine estate, after the floating vineyard in Samut Sakhon and mountainous vineyard in Pak Chong, Nakhon Ratchasima. Thanks to the area's mineral soil, it seems to produce grapes of the most satisfying quality.
Although Hua Hin Hills has been the family's main vineyard for the past few years, this was the first year in which it started to yield enough good wine to justify inviting guests to enjoy the harvest festivities.
''This is the first time that Hua Hin Hills has had an official harvest festival,'' said Chalerm Yoovidhya. ''It is a good time to launch our new wine and a great opportunity to promote wine tourism and Hua Hin's tourism industry.''
Monsoon Valley Cuvee de Siam label designed by Thawan Duchanee
All proceeds from the charity auction went to the Preserve Hua Hin Foundation and Kui Buri National Park Fund. The auction fetched two million baht, and among the items sold were wildlife photographs by Bruce Kekule, art objects by Lotus Arts de Vivre, an exclusive cooking class at Le Cordon Bleu, a Reidel wineglass master class, a home-cooked meal by renowned chef David Thompson. and getaway packages from five-star hotels and resorts including Four Seasons Residence Chiang Mai, Dusit Polo Club Cha-am, Chiva-Som Health Resort Hua Hin and Anantara Resort.
The event also saw the limited edition Monsoon Valley Cuvee de Siam wine introduced with a label designed by Thawan Duchanee, one of Thailand's most famous artists.
''I've had a passion for wildlife conservation for many years,'' said Chalerm. ''I think the Kui Buri project, a home of wild elephants and cattle, is inspiring and has the potential to be another natural attraction.
''But to protect wildlife you need manpower as well as a big budget, which the Kui Buri project obviously lacked. Even though I've been helping them for a few years, this is the first year that I made it public and invited others who are interested in this kind of charity to join. I plan to give a continuous support and will try to persuade Red Bull overseas to do the same.''
A short tour on elephant back is one of the favourite activities on offer at the vineyard.
Wine and tourism at Hua Hin make a good match and Chalerm's vineyard welcomes an average of 500 visitors a day. It was opened as a tourist destination a year ago after the Sala Wine Bar and Bistro (see review on page 6) was built for visitors to relax and taste the wine with their meals.
Born into the Krating Daeng (Red Bull) energy drink dynasty, Chalerm's passion for wine began when he was studying in England. He did not care to drink beer or whisky with food, and when he dined out with friends, he found that there were always a wine list that came with the menu.
''At first I didn't really like its flavour because as a newcomer I didn't know how to choose a good wine _ and on a student allowance, chances of having access to good wines were rare. But, after some trial and error, I gradually came to love it,'' he said.
Returning to Thailand, he worked in the family business, but his wish was to get into wine. The desire persisted, and he eventually realised this was to be his future, and he applied for a winemaker's license.
''Even though I wanted to jump into winemaking, I knew that Thai people at that time weren't familiar with the beverage and had few opportunities to taste premium wines, as they were so expensive,'' he said.
Chalerm and Daranee Yoovidhya handing the 1,200,000-baht cheque to Boonlue Poonnil, head of the Kui Buri National Park.
Launching a new wine was going to be a challenge, so he decided to prepare the Thai palate for the taste of wine by introducing Wine Cooler, which was made from wine grapes but was lower in alcohol. Sweet, cool and refreshing, it was made to be easy to drink.
Preparations took a good 10 years, and when he believed it was a good time to start making wine, Chalerm began buying grapes from local farmers. Unfortunately, this didn't work.
''Most farmers didn't do what we told them,'' he said. ''They thought their traditional methods of growing grapes were the right ones. This taught us that in order to produce top-quality wine and to gain consumer's trust, we needed to grow our own grapes in our own vineyards.
''We didn't plan to have a vineyard in Hua Hin. To us it was just a pleasant seaside destination where we had our holiday home. But we were given a seven-rai plot in Huay Sai, so we thought about planting vines there. Although the soil was mostly sand and the land is near the sea, the grapes turned to be better than we expected.
''We decided to stick to this area, because land was a lot cheaper than in Khao Yai. In Khao Yai at that time it was 400,000 to 500,000 baht a rai, while here it was closer to 50,000 baht a rai. We took the soil to the lab, studied the water that came from the hills and found this location had great possibilities for good wine. The soil is rich with minerals and gives the wine a distinctive taste.
''Another significant difference was that Khao Yai didn't have five-star or international establishments, but Hua Hin had everything including international tourists who we'd envisaged as our target customers.''
Some of the distinguished guests participating in the charity auction.
His aim was first to introduce his wine to the international market. The tax and duty on wine in Thailand are among the highest in the world, so Chalerm chose to focus on exports. He reasoned that if he gained recognition in the international market, it would be easier to succeed domestically.
''The wine industry in Thailand was struggling at first, but now we have the Thai Wine Association to set standards of quality, growing methods and hygiene,'' he said. ''It's better for every winemaker here to keep to the same standard than each coming up with his own ideas if we want to compete on the international stage.''
Thai Wine Association (TWA) currently comprises seven wineries and the Thai grape and wine industry employs about 1,300 people. Altogether there are 2,500 rai planted with vines which produce something in the region of a million bottles a year with a value of 400 million baht. Wine tourism welcomes 450,000 visitors a year and generates revenue of 100 million baht at cellar door.
''We aren't trying to compare our wine with those classic wines whose history goes back hundreds of years,'' said Chalerm. ''We're simply trying to make wine that pairs well with Thai food and can be found in Thai restaurants throughout the world. Today, there is greater recognition of Thai wine in the international market, and this is reflected in the volume of sales and the number of awards and prizes we are winning.
''Thai people's perception of Thai wine has also improved, but we still have the problems of tax and pricing. High prices mean that the younger generation has little chance of trying good wine, and they're less likely to find good quality among the cheap price tags.
''We decided that the answer was to import wine from oversea and blend it with our own wine and sell it at lower price, so consumers can have access to wine of good quality. At blind tastings, people tend to love Hua Hin Hills wines _ especially chilled white wines.
''Wine is part of our family, and it's a joy to see it growing. We've learned a lot from our wine, too, and always trying to improve it,'' said Chalerm.
Relate Search: Hua Hin Hills Vineyard, New Latitude wines, Monsoon Valley, Chalerm and Daranee Yoovidhya
About the author
- Writer: Vanniya Sriangura
- Position: Reporter
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