I llustration for TIME by Amanda Haley. It's not easy being a wine lover in Asia.
Import duties keep prices high, while poor shipping and storage turn bottles sour.
If you're lucky enough to find a restaurant short of five stars with a decent red, chances are it will be served ice-cold. Experiments around the region have produced vintages in a narrow range between vinegar and Kool-Aid, often laced with dubious herbal additives best left unmentioned. For nine years, the small vineyard has been pressing out half a million bottles annually from Chenin Blanc and Syrah grapes imported from France. In the process, it has generated a small business in wine-tasting tours similar to those in California, France or Australia. Grape Escapes in the Vineyards of Thailand Thailand may not be the first place that springs to mind when you say 'wine country,' but Chateau de Loei is aiming to change that Detour Mongolia's Naadam is probably the second-oldest sporting contest in the world, after the Olympics Hot Tip Japan Airlines is breaking out the cigarettes on its lengthier flights and everyone is happy Web Crawling A Singapore website specializes in selling wine to an Asian clientele A plateau of rolling golden hills, the countryside surrounding Chateau de Loei resembles a chunk of southern France, carved out and shipped to Asia.