Previously, I wrote about Taiwan’s ability to thrive in premium, high quality coffee production due to the advantageous and improving growing conditions. Many similarities to the tea plant’s ideal growing climate were shown as well as unique geographical features that promote optimally grown coffee beans. To complete the “nectar of the Gods” trifecta, it is only fair that viticulture and, subsequently, wine production (viniculture), are investigated as it pertains to Taiwan. I will not touch on the history of wine production in Taiwan, but this can be found easily in other articles floating around online. Besides, wine really hasn’t played much of a role in Chinese culture throughout history. With that said, it is evident the people and climate are changing together.
Like the Coffee Belt, which is situated between the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° N) and Capricorn (23.5° S), wine also has a general latitudinal range of growing regions. The Wine Belt ranges from 30° to 50° North and South of the equator, which is situated farther North (in the Northern Hemisphere) and farther South (in the Southern Hemisphere) than the Coffee Belt. Interestingly, Taiwan sits in between these two defined “belts,” with the Tropic of Cancer splitting the country right down the middle.
With Taiwan being quite a bit lower in latitude than the wine belt, it may seem that perhaps Taiwan’s temperatures exceed those at which the grapevine has optimal growth. Not exactly. While hot weather has shown decreased grape yields, the quality of the wine has increased as seen in the Napa Valley and Bordeaux regions. Put simply, the higher temperatures (non-extreme) result in lower acidity and higher sugar concentrations. More sugars results in higher alcohol content due to fermentation, where yeasts absorb simple sugars and create alcohol. Another result of the increased sugars is faster ripening which is the reason for lower acidity. However, it should be noted not all grape varietals are affected by climate changes equally. This will become important in finding a grape varietal suited for Taiwan’s climate. More on that in a minute.
Taiwan has a tropical climate and is known for its hot, humid, and rainy summers, not exactly ideal for wine growing. With constant moisture and mild winters, the grape vines do not enter a true “dormancy” phase thus inhibiting bud development. These phases of ecto- and endodormancy occur when temperatures are below 50F and when shorter days provide less sunlight. Most importantly, this period of non-growth is crucial for the vine as it uses the carbohydrate reserves from the previous growing season to feed it for the next growing season to produce strong shoot growth. Colder winters is another reason why higher altitude regions of the Taiwanese mountains should be considered for wine growing.
High altitude regions provide more moderate/warm summers as well as fantastic natural irrigation. This transition from sea-level to higher elevations has already been executed by wine-growers such as Miguel Torres, president of Spain’s largest winemaker (Bodegas Torres). According to Miguel, they “began planting vines at vineyards in the Pre-Pyrenees mountain range at an elevation of 1,000 meters as a hedge against climate change” more than 20 years ago. In Taiwan, mountain regions can be anywhere from 1000 meters to well over 2000 meters in elevation. Total annual rainfall is quite massive in Taiwan (largely due to the monsoon season, generally May-August), which is why for any grape that is planted here it is imperative that they be harvested earlier (July, at the latest) than traditional wine harvesting months (August-October in the Northern Hemisphere). Though, with tropical high-altitude regions comes many microclimates. Therefore, the rainiest months overall in Taiwan is not necessarily the same in sub-regions such as Alishan (here, the rainiest months are July and August).
Thus far, the two grapevine varieties that have grown with the most success in Taiwan are Black Queen and Golden Muscat. Historically and geographically speaking, it’s not too surprising that “Black Queen” is a grape variety that actually originated in Japan (hundreds of grape varieties imported from Japan in first half of 20th century). Golden Muscat, on the other hand, is a “table grape” (the sweet kind you eat) likely to have originated in Greece. For a while, it seems Taiwanese domestic consumption of wine favors the sweet white wines. However, when I reached out to winemaker and Professor, Chien Hao Chen, he said he believes Taiwan is becoming “more mature to accept dry styles of white wine.” Regardless, the standard European grape varieties have not been grown successfully (i.e. blossom and bear fruit) here due to the hot and humid climate. If one were to tackle the heat with the more common grape varieties, it would mean running a costly cooling system.
It may be helpful to look at a particular growing region of wine that shares a similar latitude and tropical climate to Taiwan, such as an area of Portugal known as the Madeira Islands. Despite Madeira’s success in fortified wines, “with high rainfall and average mean temperature of 66 °F (19 °C), the threats of fungal grape diseases and Botrytis cinerea (“noble rot”) are constant viticultural hazards” in this tropical/humid environment. Thus, vineyards will use trellises to raise the vine canopy off of the ground, which is like a style used for Vinho Verde wines in mainland Portgual (Note: this method makes it difficult to use machinery for picking). Yet another method to combat wet soils is to add slaked/hydrated lime to help with drainage; this technique was actually introduced in the mid-1950s to Taiwan. The Botrytis mold, however, is not all bad news. To make a wine known as Sauternes (France), winemakers purposely leave the grapes on the vine longer to achieve this “noble rot,” causing the water within them to evaporate and shrivel, or “raisinate”. Consequently, not all of the sugar ferments into alcohol, which provides a high level of residual sugar. Perhaps this is a method for Taiwan to explore in creating its own, sweet version of a Vinho Verde?
Taiwanese winemaker, Chen, on the other hand, tried his own Madeira-style wine after traveling to the region himself as a freelance wine writer. Chen recognized the natural “sourness” of the Taiwan-grown grapes, and “since sourness does not evaporate” he decided to embrace it as a refreshing quality to the wine. He calls the wine “Vino Formosa,” a play on Taiwan’s former name, and ended up winning the gold medal in an international wine tasting competition in Paris in March 2014. Just like the aforementioned method of adding sugar via Botrytis, Chen uses a Madeira-inspired technique of adding brandy to halt the fermentation process (i.e. keeping the sugars) while also adding alcohol. This is just one of many tricks Chen has used in his winemaking process. The Vino Formosa fortified white wine, produced by Shu-Sheng Domaine winery, is a blend of Golden Muscat and Black Queen grapes with an alcohol content of 18%.
Just as tea and coffee plants grow better with extreme day/night temperatures swings due to slower metabolization, grapevines also seem to have some improvement with increased diurnal temperature ranges. While results from studies on metabolic response to cold night temperatures are mixed for grapevines, there was “a significant effect on berry titratable acidity, slowing down the acid degradation when applied around veraison.” In other words, the respiration rate (of malic acid) was reduced, preventing the chance of over-ripening. Of course, further reducing the malic acids is always possible later in the viniculture process through malolactic fermentation.
Obtaining higher acidity as well as longer growing seasons are both good reasons to grow grapevines in Taiwan at the high altitude regions. However, since the aforementioned grape varieties that have been growing in Taiwan already possess inherently low sugars and high acidity, the high altitude regions of growing may be more beneficial for other varieties that previously have not grown well on the island. In fact, these higher elevation levels receive higher intensities of the sun’s UV rays which can improve the tannin structure through thicker-skinned grapes as well as increase stimulation of polyphenols (antioxidant compounds). The resulting higher concentrations of sunlight also may increase temperature as compared to a valley beneath, which can lead to “more concentrated flavor profiles in the fruit” and quicker accumulation of sugars. However, the use of machinery on hillsides is non-ideal, if not impossible, so labor costs (from hand-picking) will increase the end product’s cost as we’ve seen with Taiwanese coffee and tea farming. With 300 summits over 3000 meters, surely there are some untapped mountain sides in central Taiwan for growing grapes.
It was in 2012 when Ben Yang found a site “overlooking the Puli Valley at the foothill of Taiwan’s Central Mountain Range,” which by the way is an absolutely beautiful area and essentially a gateway to Sun Moon Lake (a popular tourist attraction). He purchased this south-east-facing 4.6-hectare estate at an elevation of 480m (~1500 ft). Not exactly among the highest slopes in the region, but this mid-slope is perhaps the best of both worlds. Vineyards like the ones in Burgundy’s Côte d’Or, which are situated 755–1300 ft ASL, are well-drained, catch optimal amounts of sunlight, and avoid spring frost (since cold air flows down). Additionally, it is not too windy or exposed which could be an issue at the highest elevations. Though, it is also worth mentioning that wind plays a critical role in cooling grape vines planted in Lanzarote’s (Latitude: 28°) mountainous vineyards, which see high summer temperatures just like Taiwan. Yang’s vineyard came to be known as “Weightstone” as a reference to the ~3000 year old fishing weights that were found in the dry lakebed. They studied the mesoclimate here for two years and found that within the clay loam soil were also various sized limestones, which provide excellent drainage. The vineyard did eventually install a subsoil storm drainage system as well as vertical trellises in 2015.
Ultimately, for growing wine, it will always be about finding the sweet spot in a region’s micro-climate. With today’s climate data, we can reasonably say that this “sweet spot” is generally increasing in altitude. Of course altitude is only one of numerous viticultural aspects including the choice of cultivar itself. It is really the combination of all these elements, terroir, that gives a wine its character and soul. At its heart, growing wine is about about overcoming adversity. It is my hope that we continue to see agricultural pioneers explore the non-traditional lands in an attempt to create a special experience for sharing with the world.
