Vietnam is famous for an agricultural country exporting rice. That’s the reason why Vietnam has so many local rice wine-making villages all over Vietnam. You can easily realize it when visiting our beautiful land. Let’s explore the most famous rice wine villages throughout Vietnam as below:
Vietnam North
1/Mau Son Wine (Lang Son province – Vietnam North)
Mau Son wine is a brand name of the hill tribe people called Dao. They live on the top of Mau Son Mountain in Lang Son province. Dao people use the rice planted on milpa and ferment leaf to make wine. Based on the special natural geographic condition in the mountain, they collected the best quality rice grains. So they cook and brew the wine very well. The wine has rice flavor, characteristics of ferment leaf, spicy-sweetly-cool tastes. Besides, there is no headache after a drink.
Mau Son wine is not only a well-known brand name of wine; it is also a popular culture and activity of the mountainous people.’
2/Van Village Wine (Bac Giang province – Vietnam North)
This wine comes from Van village in Bac Giang Province. In the past, due to the lack of rice, people use cassava to make wine. At present, they use the golden flower glutinous rice – a kind of sticky rice to make a famous brand of wine for Van villagers. With the traditional craft of wine, Van villagers have created a kind of pure water with a mellow taste. So it has conquered the most gourmet guests. Clients always choose this special flavor of Van wine as gifts when they visit this Kinh Bac land.
3/Kim Son Wine (Ninh Binh province – Vietnam North)
About 30km from Ninh Binh city, Kim Son is well-known for making rice wine due to the good weather, water, rice, and traditional secrets. Kim Son people have their special techniques of raising and choosing rice, the most important ingredient in brewing wine. And by their skilled hands combined with natural water and their alcoholic ferment, they make good wine. Besides, its alcohol level is around 30-40 Vol. However, to guarantee the color and fragrance of wine, the makers always maintain it in different weather and environment conditions.
Vietnam Central
4/Bau Da Wine (Binh Dinh province – Vietnam Central)
Bau Da wine is a renowned specialty of Bau Da village in Binh Dinh province. In the past, local people used the water source of an ancient water bowl called Bau Da to make wine. However, this water bowl was dried up now, and they have to take the water source at the village well to ferment and distillate the wine. To have delicious wine, the cook must abide by the strict requirements of recipes, ingredients such as rice, water source, etc. to make wine transparent, delicious, fragrant, and mellow.
5/Ede wine – Rượu cần (Dak Lak – Vietnam Central Highlands)
Rượu cần is known as the unique product of ethnic people. It becomes an indispensable part of the local community culture in the Vietnam Central Highlands.
This is a kind of fermented rice wine mixed with some types of herbs in the local forests. They put this mixture into a large earthenware jug and then ferment it for at least one month.
In the past, local people went to the forest to look for over 20 types of herbs to make yeast. But today it is simpler, they just use the available products in the family such as corn, cassava, ordinary rice, and sticky to make wine.
Rượu cần’s strength is normally between 15 to 25 percent alcohol by volume. You can enjoy wine directly from the jar by using the tubes made of small bamboos with a length of 1.2 – 1.5m. Its taste makes you drunk sweetly but still keeps you conscious.
Vietnam South
6/Go Đen Wine (Long An province – Vietnam South)
Go Đen Wine is the name of a famous white wine made by the traditional method, produced in Go Den, Ben Luc, Long An.
The outstanding feature of Go Den wine comes from 100% sticky rice, often chosen with the large, round, fragrant and milky rice grains. The Go Den people are very careful in brewing win and especially using their heirloom yeast to ensure the absolute purity, non-alcohol, aroma, and most delicious taste. The longer you brew the wine, the better and clearer it is.
Go Đen wine nowadays becomes a popular brand name in Vietnam and chosen by local people.