A WHOLE NEW WORLD
New Latitude vineyard and winery GranMonte is making vino from 100 per cent Thai-grown grapes – and it’s winning awards.
New Latitude vineyard and winery Gran Monte is making vino from 100 per cent Thai-grown grapes – and it’s winning awards.
No one thought Californian wines could beat the French in a blind tasting but the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 proved otherwise. No one thought China could produce quality wines either. Now there are acclaimed wineries like Ao Yun in Yunnan Province and Silver Heights in the Ningxia Autonomous Region.
The most recent surprises, however, are coming from the New Latitude regions. These are countries above the 50 deg latitude and below the 30 deg latitude in both hemispheres, and include areas once thought to be too dark, too cold, too warm or too dry for growing wine grapes.
However, wine always finds a way. One such winery is GranMonte Vineyard and Winery at the foot of Khao Yai in Asoke Valley, Thailand. While still located in a tropical region, the elevation of the winery and the area’s cool microclimate make it possible to grow grapes. GranMonte is also the only one in the world producing wine from 100 per cent Thai-grown grapes.
The family-run estate has already won praise and multiple awards from events like the Syrah du Monde and the Decanter Asia Wine Awards – and much of this has been with thanks to Nikki Lohitnavy, an oenologist and director of GranMonte.
The Peak speaks to her about making wine in a tropical region.
How was this year’s harvest?
Fantastic! We had an early and long winter between November and February. It was dry and cooler than usual, perfect for a nice, long ripening. The whites have superbly delicate aromas, acidity and pH and the reds, lots of colour and tannins.
What’s the biggest challenge with viticulture in a tropical climate?
I wouldn’t say tropical viticulture has limitations. It’s a unique climate with lots of benefits. The biggest challenge would be understanding your climate before you can adapt viticultural techniques to fit. You do need to know your climate, rain pattern and
temperature ranges well to plan the work in the vineyard accordingly. We do have to prune twice a year to have one harvest. That’s double the work!
But what’s great about tropical viticulture is that the vines do not go into dormancy. We can plan the harvest time according to when we prune. For example, if we prune the whites early, we can harvest them earlier when the weather is really cool. In tropical climates, we do not have weather extremes such as floods, frost or hail.
You’ve made wine all over the world. Where has been the most useful to your work at GranMonte?
I worked at three wineries in Brazil. Two were in the Sao Francisco Valley in the north-east. It was a great place to see the management of tropical vineyards on a huge scale. At one time, there can be all four different stages of growth happening in the winery: bud burst, shoot positioning, harvest and pruning.
The third winery was in Sao Paulo, which has a sub-tropical climate. It is like a parallel universe to our vineyard that I didn’t know existed. The varieties, training system, neat rows of vines and the aesthetic of the whole place are so similar to what we have at GranMonte. The oenologist and I were able to discuss and share many useful ideas.
Do you think Thailand will have a signature grape?
We don’t have a signature variety as such. Chenin blanc and syrah have always grown well in tropical climates like that of Thailand. We have research blocks with over 40 varieties and clones.
In my opinion, our signature variety in Thailand could be chenin blanc as it is so versatile. It’s been turned into sparkling, white and sweet wines of high quality in Thailand.
Will New Latitude wines ever reach the level of the world’s great wine growing regions?
Quality-wise, we are already winning awards from many international competitions. However, because we are young – between 30 and 40 years old – and not restrained by traditions and limitations, it might take a while for consumers to know about us.
How has climate change affected your vineyard?
We see a slight shift in rain pattern, which is okay as we have advanced climate monitoring systems, and a rise in average temperature. We handle that by leaving more leaves around the fruit zone, pruning early to avoid high temperatures in February and harvesting at night.
What is the project that you are most excited about right now?
We have been planting new varieties at our new vineyards around Khao Yai. Soon, you will be seeing some cabernet franc, more white rhone varieties and reds, too. We are also expanding our winery with state-of-the-art equipment.
"I wouldn't say tropical viticulture has limitations. It's a unique climate with lots of benefits. The biggest challenge would be understanding your climate before you can adapt viticultural techniques to fit."
NIKKI LOHITNAVY ON GROWING WINE GRAPES IN THAILAND