GranMonte winery, a few hours outside Bangkok, is winning the battle with a tropical climate, but not with Thailand’s strange alcohol laws
Employees at GranMonte Vineyard and Winery in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, run by sisters Mimi and Nikki. Picture: AFP/MLADEN ANTONOVSisters Mimi and Nikki have battled Thailand’s tropical climate, chased off elephants from their vineyards and won over a sceptical public to their award-winning wine. Now they’re taking on the “unfair” booze laws critics say benefit the kingdom’s billionaire booze monopolies.
As they snap selfies in between the vines visitors run into Nikki Lohitnavy, who studied oenology in Australia and now steers the science behind each bottle. She painstakingly experiments with grape varieties to see how they respond to the climate — it takes at least six years to see if a decent wine will emerge from the ground.
“Winemakers around the world want to know what we do here because the climate is changing so they have to adapt to warmer temperatures and higher rainfall in their regions too,” Nikki said. A web of rules, including high import taxes on alcohol, hefty fines for breaches and a licensing culture requiring bars to have friends at local police stations, can make drinking a complicated business.
Critics say it has always been unevenly enforced, allowing booze giants to cement their brand recognition, spraying their logos via non-alcoholic drinks such as soda water on giant billboards and public transport. Thailand’s alcohol laws are uncharacteristically responsive to changes in drinking culture. Online alcohol sales — which surged during the pandemic lockdown — are now in the regulators’ crosshairs, potentially closing down another revenue route for small alcohol producers.
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