Tropical wine siblings - 23rd July 2020

The Lohitnavy sisters produce award-winning wine.

You'd be forgiven for thinking this is Tuscany or the South of France - it is in fact just 3 hours from Bangkok, Thailand.

The sisters' parents planted the first vines at the Granmonte Vineyard, but Nikki, who studied viticulture, is adapting production to suit the climate.

Now winemakers from around the world seek out the sisters for help in understanding the impact of climate change on their production.

Nikki: “Tropical wine making is really up and coming. A lot of wine makers from around the world they want to know what we do here because the climate is changing so they have to adapt to warmer temperatures, higher rainfalls in their regions too."

The warmer weather isn't the only challenge the sisters face. They also have to work within Thailand's strict rules on advertising.

Mimi: “For example I can't show clearly a bottle of my wine, I can't post on social media what the wine tastes like, how or why it's good and also there's a restriction in the form of excise tax."

During lockdown, the Granmonte Vineyard has seen nearly 1 million dollars in revenues lost and the sisters fear even stricter rules could hamper its recovery.