Red Mountain winery Words and photos by Thomas Kean

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Red Mountain winery Words and photos by Thomas Kean I n the cool cellar air, winemaker Francois Raynal pulls the large cork from the top of an oak barrel, freshly branded with the mark of its

1 Red Mountain winery Words and photos by Thomas Kean I n the cool cellar air, winemaker Francois Raynal pulls the large cork from the top of an oak barrel, freshly branded with the mark of its Hungarian manufacturer. The variety inside the barrel is less clear, but the stains running down the oak from the plug indicate it s a red of some sort. Our 2010 pinot noir, Mr Raynal says, squirting a sample into two glasses. He quickly moves on to the 2009 pinot, pointing out the more complex flavour of the older wine; the spicy notes, the whiff of something toasted, perhaps toasted bread. These are, to be honest, mostly lost on me but it s quite clear even to my unrefined palate that something happens to the wine while it s in those 220-litre barrels. After staying in the oak, the wine acquires some very strong flavours. When we re ready to bottle, we ll blend this with some that s been kept in tanks. Maybe one-third will come from the oak barrels, he says. The cellar and barrels are a relatively new addition to Red Mountain Estate, a winery nestled in the foothills around Shan State s Inle Lake that is slowly being recognised as one of the country s gastronomical jewels. For a country that has no background in wine production and very few drinkers, it s quite an achievement. 26 Air Mandalay - The Golden Flight

Winery [Red Mountain] could have taken the easy option, and everyone would have said, great, the wines are fruity and easy to drink, says Boris Granges, from Yangon restaurant Le Planteur.

As we walk out the cellar door, we re treated to something almost as exquisite as a fine wine: an amazing clear vista of the lake, completely free of the haze and smoke that clouds the view for much

It is also intrinsic to the identity of Red Mountain, which was established by a local businessman, U Nay Win Tun, almost 10 years ago and produced its first vintages in 2008.

2 Winery [Red Mountain] could have taken the easy option, and everyone would have said, great, the wines are fruity and easy to drink, says Boris Granges, from Yangon restaurant Le Planteur. But these wines are much more complex, more difficult. The 2010 pinor noir, for example that will probably keep getting better for four or five years. As we walk out the cellar door, we re treated to something almost as exquisite as a fine wine: an amazing clear vista of the lake, completely free of the haze and smoke that clouds the view for much of the year. Famous for the Inntha fisherman who row with their legs, Inle Lake has been one of Myanmar s major tourism drawcards for decades. It is also intrinsic to the identity of Red Mountain, which was established by a local businessman, U Nay Win Tun, almost 10 years ago and produced its first vintages in U Nay Win Tun comes from the Pa-O ethnic group, one of half a dozen that inhabit the region around the lake. For decades the Pa-O fought an insurgency against government forces, before signing a ceasefire deal in the 1990s. Many of the Pa-O National Organisation s leaders, including U Nay Win Tun, moved into the business sector. After establishing a successful gems and jade mining business, he was advised to diversify his interests, and Red Mountain became one of the new projects. But the winery s location was not chosen for aesthetic or cultural reasons; the lake is, Mr Raynal says, a tangible contributor to Red Mountain s vintages. Air Mandalay - The Golden Flight 27

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The 1000-metre elevation provides the necessary cool climate, while the water body ensures it is humid throughout the dry season. The limestone bedrock and steady breeze further add to the conditions.

After surveying several sites in the area, he and fellow wine technician Fabrice Guiber settled on Taung Chay, a few kilometres southeast of Nyaungshwe, the major entry point to the lake.

After establishing an experimental plot in 2004, some 30 hectares of vines were planted the following year.

4 The 1000-metre elevation provides the necessary cool climate, while the water body ensures it is humid throughout the dry season. The limestone bedrock and steady breeze further add to the conditions. When Mr Raynal first arrived in 2002, the winery was still little more than a concept. After surveying several sites in the area, he and fellow wine technician Fabrice Guiber settled on Taung Chay, a few kilometres southeast of Nyaungshwe, the major entry point to the lake. Over the next few years, they ordered winemaking equipment from Italy, France and the United States and installed it at Taung Chay. After establishing an experimental plot in 2004, some 30 hectares of vines were planted the following year. In 2005, 1000 bottles were produced as commercial samples and the results encouraged the planting of a further 35 hectares at the Myay Phyu site, about 11 kilometres from the winery proper. The first commercial vintages a sauvignon blanc, shiraz and fortified Muscat were released in 2008 and the following year Red Mountain added a rosé, shiraztempranillo, pinot noir and tawny, producing 70,000 bottles in all. The response has been quite positive, says Mr Raynal, who also takes on marketing duties at the winery. We re now stocked in many restaurants, and we ve done tastings in Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw and Bagan. The first commercial vintages a sauvignon blanc, shiraz and fortified Muscat were released in 2008 and the following year Red Mountain added a rosé, shiraz-tempranillo, pinot noir and tawny, producing 70,000 bottles in all. Air Mandalay - The Golden Flight 29

Last year, we were one of two Myanmar companies chosen to participate in an ASEAN exhibition in South Korea and I think we ve got a good chance of being selected this year to go to Japan.

5 Last year, we were one of two Myanmar companies chosen to participate in an ASEAN exhibition in South Korea and I think we ve got a good chance of being selected this year to go to Japan. The company has also sought to introduce its wines to foreign markets. Last year, we were one of two Myanmar companies chosen to participate in an ASEAN exhibition in South Korea and I think we ve got a good chance of being selected this year to go to Japan, Mr Raynal says. The difficulties of making wine in the tropics appear to be a thing of the past, with wineries now relatively widespread in Thailand and India. There s even a rival establishment, Aythaya Wines, not far up the road from Nyaungshwe to Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State, that professes to be Myanmar s first internationalstandard winery. Nonetheless, the climate does have a significant impact on the production cycle, Mr Raynal says. There s no real winter, so no dormancy period, and there s two grape cycles a year. We only keep the grapes grown during the dry season, which are harvested in February, he says. The grapes that grow in rainy season don t receive enough sunlight and are thrown away. We tried to make wine with them one year as a test, but it wasn t good enough, and we found it reduced the quality of the next batch. With almost 75 hectares in total and state-of-the-art winemaking facilities, there appears to be just one thing holding Red Mountain back: an almost non-existent local market. The cavernous winery is lined with steel tanks, but not all are full. Some contain wine from 2010, while others hold wine from 2009 that is just waiting to be bottled. The problem, Mr Raynal says, is one of economics. This is a very big investment. We ve got equipment imported from Italy, and the vines have come from France and Spain. But the market in Myanmar is still quite small. Wine is relatively expensive; most people here can t afford it. Nevertheless, Mr Raynal says production is expected to expand in 2011 from 70,000 bottles last year, with higher yield from the maturing red vines at the Myay Phyu site. Partly, the winery is encouraged by the improving state of Myanmar s tourism industry. After a series of setbacks in 2007 and 2008, arrival figures have bounced back considerably and the country welcomed more than 200,000 tourists in Inle Lake, along with Yangon, Mandalay and Bagan, is considered one of the country s big four attractions, and perhaps the most reliant on international travellers. After taking a boat on the lake, those not interested in trekking to nearby ethnic villages are often left with little to do, and the winery is open daily to curious travellers. 30 Air Mandalay - The Golden Flight

30 Air Mandalay - The Golden Flight

30 Air Mandalay - The Golden Flight Last year, we were one of two Myanmar companies chosen to participate in an ASEAN exhibition in South Korea and I think we ve got a good chance of being selected this year to go to Japan. The company has