Sitting outside the two wine belts of the world, along with an 80 year long alcohol monopoly regime, has meant that Taiwan's wine story remains incredibly nascent and continues to unfold with each passing year. 

Now, it wasn't that Taiwan hadn't produced wines prior. In fact, having sat along key trade routes, and having had numerous colonial presences throughout its history, Taiwan was for centuries home to a wide variety of grapes which it had made wines from, and had itself also been home to the indigenous Austronesians who too had developed traditional methods of alcohol-making. Much of the wine varieties that took root in Taiwan were ultimately hybrids (the mainstays being Black Queen (黑后; Hei Hou) and Golden Muscat (金香; Jin Xiang)) which could withstand the island's tropical climate, that was wet and hot (and typhoon prone), whilst viticulture was developed in accordance to practices brought over by the Japanese (such as the use of pergola-like horizontal trellis systems, where a canopy develops with the grapes held further off the wet soils). As the island sat 23 degrees North in latitude, falling outside the traditional winegrowing latitude bands of between 30 and 50 degrees North or South, it was conventionally too hot and wet, and thus much adaptation was done to make wines out of Taiwan's tropical weather, which in turn formed the early foundations of Taiwanese winemaking.

Vineyards in Puli, Taiwan, facing the Central Mountain Range.

Nevertheless, into the 1900's, the Japanese would go from having supported winemaking, to banning all private alcohol-making in favour of the establishment of a government monopoly. In 1922, what would come to be known as the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation (TTL) would be created, which would prove to be the single most dominant character in Taiwan's modern alcohol-making history. The TTL would produce a number of iconic brands, such as Taiwan Beer and Yushan Kaoliang Chiew (a nationally and culturally important sorghum spirit), although in its 80 year reign, there were critical misses to be had as well, perhaps most notably with winemaking.

Under the TTL, farmers were paid high prices based on quantity (tonnage) of grapes produced, which made the fruit the number one cash crop. This was without consideration for quality, and was also on the back of wanting farmers to move away from using rice (which was widely used for rice winemaking) which could be rationed, as well as with the hopes of creating a high value agricultural produce in the form of wines. Unfortunately, this backfired as vineyard acreage massively expanded up some 5,400 hectares that stretched from central to northern Taiwan, with poor quality grapes produced as a result of harvesting far too early before it was ripe (for fear of typhoons during harvest season), forcing two harvests per year (which was possible due to Taiwan's climate, and severely weakened and depleted the vines), and resulting in an oversupply of wines when local demand for wines were already weak given the recovering economy and the local palate having yet to come around to appreciating wines (which were only exacerbated by poor quality wines).

Hybrids Golden Muscat (金香; Jin Xiang) and Black Queen ( 黑后; Hei Hou).

The government was eventually forced to cut prices, and ultimately end the purchase program, leaving many farmers in the lurch, who would respond simply by tearing out vines, resulting in just some 30 hectares of vines remaining in Taiwan. By 2002, the 80 year regime of the TTL was over, when Taiwan would officially join the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which mandated that the island liberalise its industries, and therefore monopolies on stronghold cash cows were now open for competition - private winemaking was now back on the table. Yet, whilst winemaking was now open to all, there was little local experience, expertise and resources to support it, particularly in its uniquely challenging climate. Early winemaking forays would quickly fizzle, that was up until it was discovered that Taiwan shared a similar climate to Portuguese Madeira, off the coast of Morocco, which led to the creation of Taiwanese fortified wines.

Ben Yang (Yang Wen Bin) who had desired to produce Taiwanese wines and had thus established Weightstone Winery. (Right) Yang walking the vineyards with his daughter Vivian (in green).

Yet, it was up to Ben Yang (Chinese name: 楊文彬; Yang Wen Bin) to set in motion the next leg of Taiwan's wine story - this would become Weightstone Winery (威石東酒莊). Yang had been the second-generation to helm of the family's Sinon Corporation (興農; Xing Nong), which serves as Taiwan's leading fertilizer and pesticide producer, and like his father, had long held a deep interest in agriculture, and had also wanted to produce something that could not only showcase Taiwan's beautiful terroir, but that its people could be proud of. In 2009, when Yang was invited to attend a showcase by the Taichung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station of its newly cultivated Taichung No. 3 hybrid varietal, he was thoroughly compelled by the trial wines that were made with it. He would quickly set up a small test plot in Puyan, and would rename the hybrid Musann Blanc (木杉; so named after the combination of "Mu" which pays homage to its Muscat parentage, and "Sann" to mean the number "3" in Chinese, referring to its original Taichung No. 3 name, and finally "Blanc" to easily identify it as a white grape variety). As hybrids are not full fledged winemaking varieties (known as vitis vinifera), they do not typically possess the most optimal qualities for winemaking, yet they serve an important role in climates like Taiwan's where they are uniquely adapted to the winemaking-adverse climate, and thus allows for wines to be made nevertheless, which are critical for showcasing the local terroir.

A Taiwanese water buffalo features on Weightstone's logo to symbolise resilience. Ancient weightstones once used by indigenous fishermen in the Puli area where Weightstone Winery now resides.

By 2012, after extensive searching, Yang would officially establish the Weightstone Winery in Puli ( 埔里), which sits at the foothills (480 meters altitude) of the Central Mountain Range in Nantou County, situated in central Taiwan. The location had once been the coastline of an ancient lake, and as such, its "Weightstone" name had come from the 3,500 year old fishing net stone weights that were found in the nearby Water Frog Cave area. And so flanked by Taiwan's grand mountain ranges, it was envisaged that the winery's 4.6 hectare vineyards of clay soil and limestone, could be protected from the island's typhoons, whilst also enjoying natural wind ventilation and good drainage. From here, Yang would emphasise the focus on promoting Taiwan's hybrid varieties, and therefore would cultivate mainly the new Musann Blanc, along with the mainstay Golden Muscat and Black Queen.

Last but not least, Ben would put together the final piece to the puzzle by calling home his daughter, Vivian.

Vivian Yang.

Vivian (Chinese name: 楊仁亞; Yang Ren Ya) would heed her father's call to join his newly established Weightstone Winery in 2013, and yet up till that point, Vivian was neither experienced in viticulture or winemaking, nor even really much of a wine drinker herself! Born in Taiwan, and educated in Canada, having been encouraged by her father to take up finance where she had instead hoped to study film in Paris, Vivian had admitted to being a city kid who was the furthest thing from farming, much less in the challenging Taiwanese subtropical climate - "[I] didn't even know pineapples grew on the ground!" says Vivian. And so when she got the call to return home, at the time having been living in Brazil, Vivian was initially hesitant, citing her lack of farming experience and worries of disappointing her father and losing his big investment. Yet, it seems that it was precisely for those reasons that her father had thought it was time for his daughter to return and develop a more intimate relationship with the land. After all, their family had gone from humble cattle farmers to establishing one of Taiwan's most important farming supplies enterprise.

Yet Vivian courageously took on the challenge, and undoubtedly the years that followed were filled with trials and tribulations as she had sought to establish a Taiwanese winery that could, pushing forward Taiwan's wine story where no winery had succeeded before. It was truly a brave new world.

The famed Taiwanese Musann Blanc.

With a major focus on raising the bar on the quality of the grapes harvested, Vivian would not only radically change the way winegrowing was done in Taiwan - one harvest per year instead of two, completely shifting the growing and harvest season to winter instead to avoid the typhoons and achieve greater ripeness, as well introducing sustainable farming techniques that tossed out herbicides and fertilizers, with also better pruning and cover crop regimes - but would also spread the word and one by one convince other local farmers whom they had sourced fruit from to do the same. It was certainly painful, with yields falling to the point at which the winery would in some years produce such few bottles that tilted it to the point of economic infeasibility, yet Vivian would forge on. With over a decade of work, she's since since unprecedented ripeness (where in the past grapes had such low brix sugar levels that its alcohol level would be only half of what is standard), with her vineyards more healthy than ever. 

Constantly turning challenges into triumphs, Vivian would figure that if Taiwan's grapes simply had too much acidity for still winemaking, she could instead make a unique Taiwanese sparkling! This led her to producing a Blanc de Blancs and a Gris de Noirs using local Taiwanese hybrid varieties (which Weightstone exclusively works with). She would eventually expand this to the Experimental "WE" Series which is a blend of multiple vintages and varieties, and even features a Pet Nat, a Frizzante, a Rose and the winery's first still red. This was met with great acclaim, with Weightstone clinching many honours such as being named as one of the world's Top 13 "Best New Wineries", as well as picking up a slew of awards at international wine competitions hosted by Decanter and the International Wine Competition (IWC). Yet perhaps most vitally, Weightstone's wines would find its place in not only Michelin-starred restaurants, but also served during Taiwan's state Presidential Inauguration banquet in 2024, and was even selected as a representative gift from the Taiwanese President to diplomatic allies. "My father's biggest hope was that one day state banquets would use wine made in Taiwan, and I never thought it would come true. We didn't deliberately promote it; everything happened naturally, and I think that's the most powerful thing. Our wines are not just commodities, but a way of life, allowing people to feel the charm of the Taiwanese land in every sip," says Vivian.

Unfortunately, when Weightstone Winery would debut its first wines - a white and two sparkling - in 2017, its founder, and Vivian's father, would tragically pass away just the year prior, having never seen the fruits of his labour. “Although he did not live long enough to see the results of this vision, I was able to work with him from the beginning of this journey and am proudly continuing in his footsteps," says Vivian, who says that Weightstone was an "unexpected gift" from her father that has changed her life and given her a deep sense of purpose.

Today, Weightstone manages itself several vineyards in Nantou, Taichung and Changhua, with several contracted growers in Houli and Erlin. This access to a diversity of terroir allows Weightstone to match the land best suited for the particular hybrid, with Musann Blanc and Black Queen planted in the alluvial sandy loam soils of Changhua, whilst the Golden Muscat is planted in the silty clay loam soils of Houli, and then closest to home, all varieties that Weighstone works with are planted in their Puli vineyard of clay loam soils. Avoiding the intense morning heat, harvest is conducted at night, with each cluster hand picked and sorted in the vineyard, before being transported in refrigerated trucks to the winery by sunrise. In the winery, the winemaking team takes a hands off approach, gently pressing the fruit and preferring to allow the fruit to express itself and determine what wines should then be produced that harvest.

Into the future, Weightstone has continued to experiment with newly emerging local hybrid varieties, such as the Taichung No. 4 red grape, whilst still strongly committed to taking care of its land, learning and better understanding the Taiwanese climate and terroir, and also supporting the growth of winemaking expertise locally, as it looks to produce innovative new wines that bring out the best in local varieties.

"Although it sounds philosophical, I think running Weightstone is like being a person. The most important thing is character. You need to be very clear about your goals and accumulate positive energy. So you need to constantly review whether your initial intentions for doing things are off. Once you've made a decision, you have to face whatever comes your way... I don't want people to say that I inherited a winery from my father, that's so cliché. I feel that this is a gift my father gave me before he left. He changed my life, brought me a very solid meaning, and made my life completely different."

And so with all that said, let's give Weightstone's WE Series' White No. 6 a go! We're very excited!

PS. We got to get a taste of Weightstone's acclaimed Taiwanese wines at the one and only Sake Matsuri festival in Singapore, which is the best place to be if you're of course looking to taste Japanese Sake's, but also more than that, the festival is always a great place for unexpected surprises - like this Weightstone white wine that was showcased by The Wine Distribution Co (TWDC), which is also where you can find these wines and much, much more! So if you're looking for a fun day out, definitely keep a look out for Sake Matsuri, which happens twice a year, and is always an awesome time, with lots of great drinks (even beyond Sake!) and also amazing food!

Wine Review: Weightstone Winery WE White No. 6

46% Musann Blanc, 44% Golden Muscat, 8% Mehone and 2% Black Queen. 

This was whole bunch pressed, with some skin contact even, which was then allowed to undergo spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel and also qvevri.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Straw

Aroma: Perfumed, it opens with delicate bouquets of white florals of jasmines and honeysuckle, along with a juicy suppleness of green grape gummies, as well as tropical fruits of langsat, lychee, mangosteens and muscats. It's honeyed and candied, with an almost oriental waxy and resinous quality of lacquered agarwood. At the base, there's also then a touch of doughiness.

Taste: Medium-bodied, it's lush and supple, with a good richness, the acidity bright and shimmering, yet rounded out. The body is filled in with lightly tart musky tropical fruits of mangosteens, langsats and jackfruits, with also a rustic bit of hay. It continues to channel that oriental tone of agarwood waxiness, with bounties of jasmines and honeysuckle, backed up by a light canvas of honey.

Finish: Those tropical fruits make their way through the finish, here taking a slightly more savoury turn. Jackfruits, mangosteens, passionfruit, pineapples, a touch of pepper, as well as those same white florals and agarwood. It's floral and tropically fruity, with rich candied tones, where the perfumed muskiness lingers on. Clean, dry finish.

My Thoughts

A completely compelling white that's perfumed and so charming with its elegant yet bountiful oriental and tropical tones that makes it so floral, of jasmines and honeysuckle, and also incredibly fruity with all manners of mangosteens, jackfruits, lychees, passionfruit and pineapples. It's powerfully aromatic, with even a juicy and supple quality, as well as a doughiness of the lees that comes through, giving it this almost chewiness. The body also carries with it this almost waxy resinous touch that adds to that textural nuance and gives it a sense of mystique. If you're looking for an aromatic white that's tropical toned, juicy and floral, this does the job splendidly!

Kanpai!

@111hotpot