Meet Thailand's first female winemaker

Thailand isn't the first region that comes to mind when you think of fine wine, but a handful of winemakers are proving it is possible to produce a great shiraz in the tropics.

And leading the charge is Nikki Lohitnavy, 28, from GranMonte Winery, who has 16 hectares of high-quality grapes under cultivation in the Asoke Valley, approximately 160km from Bangkok.

Lohitnavy was the country's first female winemaker when she started her professional career in 2008, after graduating with honours from Adelaide University's famed Oenology course, and also being awarded the Foster Wine Estates Prize for excellence in winemaking and the Wolf Blass Prize.

She was the first Thai student to be accepted for the course, a decision sparked by her father planting Thailand's third-ever vineyard in 2001. There are now around 12.   

Lohitnavy admits that while she loves tropical winemaking, it can be incredibly challenging.  

"Khao Yai is ideal because it is in the driest part of the country (northeastern Thailand), and high in elevation, resulting in cool and dry conditions during the ripening period," she told The Marlborough Express. "Our techniques in vineyard management are very different compared to conventional vineyards. We have to prune our vines twice a year as there is no dormancy period, but we only harvest the grapes once a year at the end of winter (end of January to mid-March)."

GranMonte's main production is syrah, chenin blanc and cabernet sauvignon. In recent years, the vineyard has explored new varieties and is now making viognier, verdelho and durif. The climate also produces markedly different nuances in wines. 

"Thai wines definitely have more fruit-driven qualities," Lohitnavy explains. "The amount of sun and heat that we get helps the vines build aromatic compounds. If you think about the wonderful tropical fruits we have in our country, you'd understand why our grapes are so flavourful! The tannins structure especially in our full-bodied reds is a lot more supple than most full-bodied reds you find around the world. Our soil and climate also gives uniqueness to our wines, like more spices in the syrah and more tropical fruit aromas in the whites."

Lohitnavy's wines have won a number of awards, most recently two gold medals and 10 silver at the AWC Vienna 2016. She was also one of just five young rising stars from Thailand on Forbes' first-ever Asia 30 under 30 list, and the sole Thai female entrepreneur.

Lohitnavy has been a judge on the panel for the Wine and Spirits Asia competition, and also serves as Viticulture and Winemaking Coodinator of the Asian Wine Producer Association.

While Lohitnavy was initially Thailand's first and only winemaker, she has since been joined by German Kathrin Puff, who heads up Monsoon Valley Wine.