But that is all changing, not too far from the Northern Thailand city of Chiang Rai situated on the beautiful hills of the Mae Chan Valley lies the Mae Chan Winery, surrounded by a backdrop of hills covered with rows of neatly organised terraced vineyards.
During the 1980’s, the early pioneers of Thai wine production spent many laboured weeks & months scouring the Kingdom for areas that best offered the ideal climate, drainage & location to produce the best quality grapes. The mountains that cover the complete area of Northern Thailand proved ideal and the first vines were planted & vineyards established.
As the old adage goes “you can’t hurry a fine wine”, and that has certainly been the case with the Thai wines, by a prolonged process of trial & error covering a period of just over 10 years, Thai wines are now beginning to receive the global recognition they now deserve.
Thirteen years after searching for “the ideal site” , Mae Chang Winery now takes pride of place in the Mae Chang Valley, it now extends to over 1,300 rai(5,200 acres) of hilly land which also includes Doi Hom Fha, a 23-room, boutique villa-style resort and spa that extends over one of the hills, the resort is not actively promoted but offers perfect solace for people who love the beauty of the natural surroundings, there are also “soft” adventure activities available for visitors.
Traditionally, pesticide-free wines are considered Organic Wines and are some of the healthiest wines in the world.
The fields extend across the hills and down into the valleys almost to the shores of the lake, where the water is like a great mirror reflecting the clouds and the blue of the open sky. The terraced tea plantations are quite breathtaking.
Please visit Mae Chan Winery’s website for further details:
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