The liberalisation of trade in Vietnam and changing demographics in society have spurred a new wave of wine appreciation in the country. Chris Canty talks to some of the pioneers behind this trend
Take a stroll through Hanoi’s Old Quarter and French district and don’t be surprised to see framed wine lists displayed prominently at fine dining restaurants or small boutique wine shops located among traditional Hanoi businesses.
The Vietnamese might now have a great choice of wine, but it never used to be like this, And no one knows about the early trials of Vietnam’s wine industry more than the small first wave of expats who created the trend almost single-handedly.
When Bobby Chinn, owner and chef of one of the city’s most well-known restaurants Bobby Chinn, came to Vietnam from California in 1994, wine selections were extremely limited. “I remember a red wine from the Czech Republic. It drank like a red wine vinegar, so we added 7-Up and vodka to turn it into a Sangria,” he says. “The attitude was ‘You’re in Vietnam, beggars cannot be choosy’ .”
Donald Berger, considered by many as the pioneer of Vietnam’s wine industry and owner of the Vine Wine Boutique Bar & Café featuring Vietnam’s largest wine list, has similar impressions. When he arrived in 2000, “the wine lists in the hotels and restaurants were dismal,” he says. “The US$4 yellow label Bordeaux 1994 was everywhere, and I didn’t even believe this disgusting product came from French grapes.” The Vietnamese interest in Bordeaux was seen as a remnant of the previous French occupation where drinking it was associated with the upper class, but the terrible quality and the fact that most wine was often left under the hot Vietnamese sun in open markets angered those who knew better.
Berger even suggests that the Bordeaux they drank “wasn’t a Bordeaux but a fabricated alcoholic beverage created to deceive a naive market”.
It was not until the last few years, when Vietnam started to further open up to foreign trade, which in turn spawned a new demographic of Vietnamese who sought high-quality wine rather than culturally popular beverages like cheap beer and strong spirits, did restaurants and wholesalers begin to offer better and better merchandise.
Stores such as the Warehouse and the goliath supermarket Metro were quick to enter the game and stock up on an impressive range of high quality wines to a public that for the first time could afford it.
Berger (who described the current climate as “another world”), as well as a select few of other expats, were clever in choosing the inventory to import, bypassing the majority of Old World regions, instead paying special attention to New World wines from Australia and South America that were the result of excellent crops.
And wineries were also eager to enter the relatively untapped Vietnamese market. Darren Gall, of the Wise Winery in Margaret River, Western Australia, explains why he decided to send his wine to Vietnam. “The framework and signposts for increased or potential increased wine consumption are there for all to see; the opening up of the economy, a burgeoning middle class, higher personal wealth, growth in international education, growth in international tourism and growth in international trade.”
What’s interesting is that instead of drinking any wine, the Vietnamese have developed a taste for the premium award-winning variety, which Gall attributes to the status symbol of being seen with a fine wine, rather than the European culture of drinking wines produced in bulk to accompany daily meals.
Kien Nguyen, a local solicitor who spent six years in Australia, returned to Hanoi to find an array of options. “In the past, I only found ordinary French wine in Hanoi, but in Australia, I developed a taste for their wine that was of a far better quality. Back here, I was told about the Warehouse and continued my love of quality New World wines. There is an excellent choice now in Hanoi.”
Coinciding with this development is the increasing popularity of Vietnam’s relatively unknown labels. Produced mostly in the fertile Da Lat region, local varieties have traditionally been ridiculed, with the reds being described as tasting like dirt, and the whites something even more unpleasant.
Even now, Chinn says diplomatically: “I use it for my red wine sauces and braising. Give it more time, and I am sure I will be marketing it and selling it to customers. Everything needs time.”
Having judged Vietnamese wine at the International Wine Challenge Vietnam for the past three years, Berger points to the staggering success of the country’s rice and coffee production as an example that “Vietnam will be able to some day produce a significant amount and quality of grape-based wine.”
But even if the standard isn’t quite there yet, the fact that more Vietnamese wine is available in stores is good for the industry. Roger Gaffney, manager of the Warehouse, says domestic wines “are very important, as not only are they an important niche agricultural export product, they also serve to further bridge the gap between the more traditional spirits and beer”.
But while industry expats are to be thanked for Vietnam’s wine industry, they realise that it is the Vietnamese themselves who are the key to the future. Berger, Chinn and Gaffney all conduct seminars and tastings and regularly train their local staff at least once a month, giving the locals a better understanding of what they are drinking and serving.
Wine growers such as Alison Kelly of the Fermoy Estate in Western Australia, also makes the effort to teach the locals with regular trips to Vietnam acknowledging that “there is a lot of education that needs to be done to help the sales people representing us”.
With more choice, more aficionados of the grape and more money entering Vietnam than ever before, when looking at the apparent rosy future of the country’s wine industry, who better to ask then the person most regarded as responsible for starting it? Berger says: “Hanoi now has a very vibrant wine appreciation culture. The Vietnamese market and appreciation for wine is growing faster than a vine.”
DRAPE VENUES
RESTAURANTS
Bobby Chinn
With his eponymous Bobby Chinn restaurant, overlooking Hoan Kiem Lake, the chef-restaurateur introduced hip chic dining (note the contemporary Vietnamese art on the walls) to a town that was ripe for the concept. His wine list features great Californian labels to suit his noticeably California-style cuisine.
Contact: 1 Ba Trieu Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, tel 84 4 934 8577
Green Tangerine
This beloved French-Vietnamese restaurant, housed in an old colonial French building in the heart of the Old Quarter, has welcomed a long line of dignitaries including Jacques Chirac. But despite the prestigious clientele, dining here is surprisingly affordable. As the cuisine is French inspired, so is the wine list with regions such as Roussillon, Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Loire and Alsace represented. Wines from Australia, Chile and South Africa are also available.
Contact: 48 Hang Be, Hanoi, tel 84 4 825 12 86
Le Beaulieu
For atmospheric dining, this restaurant in the five-star Sofitel Metropole Hotel is the visitor’s usual first port of call. While Hanoi’s respected Chef Didier Corlou no longer works full time here, he still holds the position of chief consultant overseeing the menu that lightly blends traditional French with Asian. The wine list is excellent starring a variety from Australia, New Zealand and Chile. But most guests come for the unparalleled range of fine French wines, including standouts from Bordeaux such as the Château Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac (1990) at US$1,000 per bottle.
Contact: Hotel Sofitel Metropole, 15 Ngo Quyen Street, tel 84 4 826 6919
Vine Wine Boutique Bar & Cafe
Hanoi’s “home of wine” doubles as one of the country’s best restaurants. Owner Donald Berger has carefully selected over 1,000 varieties from Western Australian, Canada and Chile to choose from. Vine’s elegant cellar room can accommodate up to four diners. Its Vine Annex hosts wine tastings, lectures and special events at least once a month.
Contact: 1A and 3 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Hanoi, tel 84 4 719 8000
RETAIL
Warehouse
Among the city’s huge expat community as well as local aficionados, it’s known as the place to head to for both Old and New World varieties as well as familiar French labels. The staff is well trained in offering suggestions. Wine tastings and workshops are offered.
Contact: 59 Hang Tong, Hanoi, tel 84 4 928 766
