Staff Writer

While Thailand is relatively new to the art of wine production, companies like Siam Winery have quickly made strides in this field, and the company can now boast an award-winning wine – Monsoon Valley – as well as its more popular but less-refined Spy Wine Cooler products.

Winemaker's unique 'floating' vineyards
While Siam Winery owns vineyards located on mountainous terrain in Nakhon Ratchasima province's Pak Chong and Prachuap Khiri Khan's Hua Hin district, both sites cultivate foreign grape varieties, including Albarinho, Black Muscat, Carignan, Chenin Blanc, Colombard, Grenache, Malbec, Mourvedre, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Tempranillo, Torrontes, and Viognier.

Although these grapes are cultivated in line with the methods used in traditional wine-producing countries, they are not the main ingredient in Siam Winery's products. Siam Winery believes that to produce Thai-made wine, local grape varieties should be used, so to produce its wine cooler products and Monsoon Valley label, the company uses a blend of grapes grown along the Chao Phraya River Delta at the confluence of the Tha Cheen River and Mae Kong River in Samut Sakhon province, about 60 kilometers to the southwest of Bangkok. The vineyards are actually owned by local farmers who grow Thai Malaga Blanc and Pokdum for local consumption.

In traditional wine-producing countries, vineyards are usually located at higher altitudes. But Siam Winery's vineyards in Samut Sakhon are just 5-10 meters above sea level and are located close to the Gulf of Thailand. The vineyards are actually like small islands surrounded by shallow channels, which the company refers to as 'floating vineyards'. These vineyards are able to produce two crops a year; from December to March and from June to September.

Harvesting takes place at night and the pickers can make use of boat during this process. The farmers can also make use of a boat when it comes to maintaining the plants.

This particular form of grape cultivation separates Siam Winery from other growers and tends to attract the attention of wine writers.

'Localized' varieties

The Thai Malaga Blanc grape originates from a French grape called Panse de Provence, which arrived in the kingdom in 1685 when the envoy of the French monarch Louis XIV introduced it to King Narai Maharaj. This 'localized' variety now accounts for 90% of grape production in Thailand. 

The Pokdum grape variety gets its name from Pok, the young man who first developed it in Nakhon Ratchasima province and dum, the Thai word for black. Pok created this variety from a grape called Black Queen, itself a combination of two other grape varieties – Golden Queen and Muscat. It turned out that this variety of grape was ideal for producing red wine and Pokdum now accounts for 8% of grape cultivation in the kingdom.

After several experiments, Siam Winery found that a combination of Malaga Blanc and Pokdum grapes could be used in its wine production methods. Now the company and the farmers cultivating the grapes it uses in its production can share a prosperous future in the world of winemaking thanks to the exchange and development of agricultural and technical knowledge for the benefit of the country and its ambitions as an “emerging” wine-producing country. 

Siam Winery offers a five-hour (10 am-3 pm) tour of its facilities and its unique vineyards in Samut Sakhon province from Monday through Saturday. The trip costs 700 baht (US$21) with lunch and wine, or 400 baht for just the tour. To sign up for a tour, call Siam Winery on Tel: +66 (0)3 483 9800.

Transport connections:

Car: You can reach Samut Sakhon province from Bangkok by taking Highway 35. Download a more detailed map here.

Bus: Buses run regularly from the Southern Bus Terminal on Boromratchonnanee Road between the hours of 4.20 am-9 pm. For further information call Tel: +66 (0)2 936 2841-8.

Train: Trains depart regularly from Wongwian Yai Railway Station for Mahachai in Samut Sakhon province. For more detailed information on transport options on arrival, call Tel: +66 (0)2 465 2017.