The typhoon terroir – four wines to try from the tropical island of Taiwan

Taiwan might be better known for microchips and bubble tea. Wine is probably the last thing you’d expect from this subtropical island, frequently battered by typhoons. Yet in recent years, this lush, mountainous land on the edge of the Pacific has begun to make a name for itself for its viticulture. Production remains tiny, but the fact that bottles from Taiwan reached the UK market in 2024, and that the WSET London School hosted the world’s first Taiwanese wine masterclass recently, shows that the island’s wines are stepping into the international spotlight. [subscriber-content] Four wines from Taiwan listed below Herculean viticulture [caption id="attachment_564845" align="alignnone" width="1300"] Weightstone Winery's pergola-trained Puli Vineyard. Credit: Leona De Pasquale[/caption] The Portuguese once called Taiwan 'Formosa', the 'beautiful' island, after glimpsing its emerald peaks from afar in the 16th century. Beautiful it may be, but viticulture here is anything but easy. Situated between the tropics and subtropics, Taiwan faces heat, humidity and the constant threat of typhoons. Summer brings 85% humidity and 36°C days, while mountain vineyards endure more than 3,000mm of rain a year. This is why most vineyards are planted on the fertile western plains, where the Central Mountain Range offers some shelter from typhoons and reduces the risk of excessive rainfall. If winemaking is challenging in Bordeaux, in Taiwan it is Herculean. Yet from this adversity, a unique wine identity has emerged. Alcohol-production is nothing new here. Indigenous communities, who have lived on the island for more than 6,000 years, long brewed millet wine. During Dutch rule in the 17th century, sugarcane was used to produce rum. Viticulture, however, only took root in the early 20th century under Japanese occupation (1895-1945). However, for decades, grapes were grown more for yield than flavour under a government monopoly. Reign of the hybrids You won’t find international varieties here, as they struggled, but hybrids like Black Queen and Golden Muscat flourish in the heat and humidity. The lifting of the 80-year monopoly in 2002 gave space for a new generation of growers and winemakers. With the government research centre creating six new grape varieties unique to Taiwan, the stage was set for reinvention. Over the last decade, producers have embraced experimentation, overcoming subtropical extremes to produce bottles that surprise and delight. Today, there are fewer than 20 commercial wineries cultivating fewer than 100 hectares of vineyards – a sharp fall from the 3,000 hectares planted during the monopoly. Small in scale but ambitious in spirit, two names stand out in shaping the island’s modern wine story: Domaine Shu Sheng and Weightstone Estate & Winery. Ambitious spirit [caption id="attachment_564844" align="alignnone" width="1300"] Burgundy-trained winemaker Professor Chen Chien-Hao. Credit: Domaine Shu Sheng[/caption] Domaine Shu Sheng, run by the Hong family, is one of the earliest grape-growing pioneers. It was among the first to bottle independently after the monopoly ended. Today the winery works closely with Professor Chen Chien-Hao, a Burgundy-trained winemaker and now a leading academic, to create fortified wines inspired by Madeira. Matured in sweltering tin-roof warehouses, they show how Taiwan’s extreme conditions can be turned into an opportunity. Weightstone, founded in 2010, tells a different story. Despite having no background in wine or grape growing, estate director Vivian Yang returned home to continue her late father’s project. Yang’s father believed in the potential of a new local grape, Musann Blanc, and purchased vineyards in central Taiwan at 500 metres above sea level. But he passed away soon after they had been planted. Under Yang’s leadership, Weightstone has become the island’s most experimental winery, producing sparkling Black Queen, oak-aged Musann Blanc, orange wine and natural-leaning styles in tiny volumes. Already winning multiple awards and exporting to Hong Kong, Singapore and the UK, Weightstone is helping put wines from Taiwan on the international map. Wines from Taiwan may be small in scale, but they are big in personality. They defy assumptions of what tropical viticulture can achieve, turning hybrids into distinctive, often award-winning bottles. For adventurous drinkers, the island offers something unique: wines rooted in resilience, rich in lychee-scented tropicality, and unmistakably their own. [/subscriber-content] Wines from Taiwan – four to try [wine-collection] Related articles The UK now boasts more than 1,000 vineyards England: Eight great stays for wine lovers Côte des Bar: A pocket of Champagne brimming with character

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The typhoon terroir – four wines to try from the tropical island of Taiwan

Wines from Taiwan – four to try

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