Cast your mind to famous wine regions around the world and you will naturally conjure up images of thriving European vineyards in Bordeaux and Lombardy or South American hotspots such as Mendoza and Aconcagua.  It may come as something of a surprise then to learn that there is an up and coming viticulture scene in Asia in countries such as Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Taiwan and China. 
 
China is the world’s fifth-largest wine market and the Chinese relationship with the drink can be traced back to the 1980s when it began to take on the dominant force in the alcohol market - beer.  As a large consumer and a developing producer, China mostly imports its wine, with 266 million litres of bottled wine imported last year with more than two-thirds of that coming from the EU.  French wine is more easily found than other varieties in the country but Australian and New Zealand wines are fostering a growing reputation. 
 
Wine growing regions in China have also started to appear since the turn of the millennium, with areas such as the Ningxia, gaining recognition for its exquisite red wines while winning a whole host of awards in recent years.  Despite wine consumption being a fairly modern phenomenon in China, the region of Xinjiang has an ancient history of viticulture which goes back to around the 4^th Century BC, when Greek settlers brought the vine.  Impressively, the area around Turfan is still acknowledged today for its grape production. 
 
Colonial influences are never far behind when discussing wine drinking in Asia and Vietnam is no different.  The country was first cultivated during the French colonial rule of the region in the late 19^th century.  Because of the nation’s tropical climate, traditional Vitis vinifera was unattainable so the colonialists began to dabble in fruit wine production.  Another prospering wine in Vietnam is rice wine, which sees rice steamed and then fermented for a couple of days before being distilled.  There are three major kinds of rice wine in Vietnam: the conventional distilled variety known as ruou gao (literally “rice alcohol”), wine brewed in large ceramic jars called ruou can (party wine), and distilled alcohol infused with plants and animals, known as ruou thuoc (medicine wine). 
 
A nation that truly loves its wine is Kazakhstan; they have been drinking it for more than 1300 years and that thirst has not been quenched just yet.  The beginnings of Kazakh wine can be traced back to the 7^th century AD when grapevines were brought to the region from neighbouring Uzbekistan and China.  Incredibly, even though roughly 4% of the land in Kazakhstan is well suited for viticulture the country is able to produce 6.2 million gallons of wine, which is astonishing!  Extensive wine making in the nation however really fleetingly began in the early 1950s and today the Kazakhstan industry is mainly devoted to dessert wine production with popular wine varieties such as Aligote, Aleartico, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon amongst others. 
 
Finally, another surprising wine-making nation in Asia is Taiwan, the country is just brimming with brilliant wines from all over the world, with the Taiwanese eager to sample some of the finest vino’s from all over the world.  What’s more, Changhua’s Erlin region is Taiwan’s most famous winemaking district with Golden Muscat and Black Queen grapes extensively grown here for the use of the Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau (TTWMB) since 1965 producing an excellent wine that takes a pride of place in Asia’s burgeoning demand for wine. 
 
With Asia’s overall wine consumption set to grow by 25% through 2015, you can be assured that fines wines will be the only thing that passes your lips on the continent.  Although it may not yet have the reputation as some other world-famous wine-making regions in Europe and South America, prepare to be pleasantly taken aback by a continent which is readying itself for a wine revolution.  

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