Miaoli County Dahu Farmer’s Association Distillery
The five-story building of strawberry cultural hall emerges before one’s eyes as walking into Asia’s first origin of strawberry wine production. “Dahu Farmer’s Association Distillery” not only displays agricultural products for sale but also maps out facilities such as souvenir gift shop, screening room, strawberry ecological exhibition area, and restaurant for presenting completely the unique strawberry culture of the region of Miaoli Dahu.
At the back of strawberry cultural hall is an open-plan, wine-making center which comprises of three major sections of pretreatment room, where strawberries are washed and expressed, fermented wine storage, where cold fermentation and barrels are practiced and cleansed, and packing room, where liquors are filled and sealed. Through the large glass window, one can see wine-brewing steps including strict fruit selection, puree, sugar control, fermentation, filtration, disinfection, inspection, and bottling, and discover at the same time the attentiveness and persistence “Dahu Farmer’s Association Distillery” has developed for making their self-produced products in every detail.
As Miaoli Dahu District has begun planting strawberries ever since 1958, the area of the place of production has expanded to more than five hundred hectares up to now. As a result, the strawberry wine naturally becomes the most representative product of “Dahu Farmer’s Association Distillery”. Visitors can try tasting various types of products such as “strawberry light wine”, the liquor particularly popular among the group of young, the mellow and round “2004 memorial wine”, “challenge 38” which carries elegant fragrance of green grass, and “challenge 50”. In addition, the craft plum wine made from oriental plums, whose ruby hues and distinctive almond flavor creates the sensation of complete satisfaction, is regarded as another highlight of “Dahu Farmer’s Association Distillery”.
Taichung City Wu-Feng Farmer’s Association Distillery
Ever since its establishment only 10 years ago, “Wu-Feng Farmer’s Association Distillery” has successively obtained several gold medal awards granted by “Monde Selection”, “Vinalies Internationales”, and “International Spirits Award”. The distillery strictly selects “whitehead”, reputed as the best brewery sake rice in Taiwan, adopts Yihchuan Aromatic Rice, the local rice of Wu Feng, and introduces the sweet and mellow mountain spring water of Puli to produce a variety of clear and transparent sakes of full palate that successfully creates local “sake legend” of Taiwan.
The high-quality sake, a type of wine made from rice, yeast, ferment, and water, is divided into four categories of “Junmai Daiginjo, Ginjo, Junmai-shu, and Honjozo, and each possesses its multi-level sense of fruity, floral, and rice flavor. The brewing process carried out by “Wu-Feng Farmer’s Association Distillery” is led by toji, the so-called head brewers in Japan. The winemaker is required to have extensive knowledge and precise practiced skills in paddy and water so as to brew bottles of world-famous sake one after the other. The pursuit of highest quality and uncompromising spirit of the distillery are thoroughly manifested in every detail from the control of the grinding proportion of brown rice and storage time to the process of rice milling, rice parboiling, koji making, and ripening. Rebuilt from an unused old barn, “Wu-Feng Farmer’s Association Distillery” sets up sections like aromatic rice storage, brewery, Japanese bar, and show room, combing Taiwanese local rice culture with the charm of Japanese sake based on Japanese-style design. “Wu-Feng Farmer’s Association Distillery”, the embodiment of the first “Japanese-style aesthetic winery” in Taiwan welcomes everybody to come and learn more about its brewing culture in person and sample the mellowest sake of the finest quality in distillery’s well-designed space.
Nantou County Puli Farmer’s Association Distillery
Located nearby Liyutan Reservoir (Carp Pond) in Puli Township of Nantou County covering an area of 496 square meters, “Puli Farmer’s Association Distillery” is particularly known for making its wine products exclusively from flowers, fruits, and herbs. Among all products it produces, “rose wine”, the brewing process of which is to macerate fresh, non-poisonous roses in distilled beverage fermented by sugar canes, is considered to be the most distinctive. With its bright, scarlet color and strong fragrance, rose wine is highly praised and appreciated by female consumers. It has even won the prestigious awards granted by “Monde Selection” and “International Spirits Award”.
The wine-making area of “Puli Farmer’s Association Distillery” comprehends transparent wine-making laboratory, wine storage area, laboratory, packing room, and products warehouse, allowing tourists to learn wine-making knowledge during their visit and have some insight into brewing process. Each type of wine product has its own individual formula and manufacturing method according to the diverse kinds of fermented alcoholic beverage, reprocessed alcoholic beverages, distilled beverage, and etc. To present different characteristics and flavors of all sorts of raw materials is the most important insistence of “Puli Farmer’s Association Distillery”.
The corner of wine tasting set up inside goods and products section on the first floor of the distillery is there to serve visitors who quest for the bouquets. No matter what type of product, the clear and golden yellow “Passion Fruit Mild Wine”, “Taiwan Short-leaf Pine liqueur” of rich pine and mild flavor, or the glittering and translucent “Rose of Cane Liqueur” and “Rose Light Wine” of smooth and silky texture, each is enticing enough to impel visitors’ returning home with fruitful results.
Yilan County Cang Jiu Winery
What hide inside “Cang Jiu Winery” is not only excellent wines but also breathtaking sceneries, fruity aroma, fresh dainty taste, the croaking of frogs, swimming fishes, rich and aromatic coffee, green building, and the most respectable spirit of brewing craftsmen.
“Cang Jiu Winery” has dug into the field of wine making silently for more than ten years. It ultimately combines the pure water source of Hsuehshan Range with seasonal, featured agricultural products of Taiwan to produce various items such as spring plum wine, summer vinous liquor, autumn five-grain wine, and winter oval kumquat wine. As oval kumquat is one of the local specialties of Yilan plus its applied brewing technique of static fermentation, oval kumquat wine has become the must-try liquor when visiting Cang Jiu Winery. It gives a slight sense of sourness at the beginning yet turns into complete sweetness immediately. With its strong aftertaste, oval kumquat wine is a highly recommendable beverage for wine enthusiasts.
Within the green building of “Cang Jiu Winery”, visitors can not only savor various types of good wines but also learn more about the process of brewing and comprehensive wine collection through the available guiding interpretation program inside a cellar decorated with a large number of bamboos. Furthermore, “Cang Restaurant of Creative Handmade Cuisine”, another feature of the winery, applies local agricultural products of Yilan and develops ten dishes of chef’s tasting “LOHAS” menu, demonstrating fully the spirit of “from production site to the table”. The ingredients including personally-selected seasonal fish at fishing harbor, fruits and vegetables produced by the neighboring farms, cherry duck from Sanshing Township, and etc. are used and served with the best, strictly-selected liquors of the winery, fulfilling genuinely the highest pursuit of “vintage wine and choice delicacies”.
