Taiwan

Taiwan's winemaking industry began to emerge after the termination of the state-run alcohol monopoly in 2002. Prior to that, the government had controlled all alcohol production and sales, and was the exclusive buyer of grapes for wine. Since then, the government’s Council of Agriculture has been working with farmers to develop viticulture and wine production. Taiwan now officially recognizes 12 privately owned wineries focused on grape wine, alongside a larger number of fruit wine producers. According to official statistics, domestic wine made up just under 9% of total wine sales in Taiwan in 2017. Grape wine production in Taiwan is primarily concentrated in the central-western counties of Taichung and Chunghua. The most widely cultivated grape varieties are Black Queen and Golden Muscat, though there has been recent experimentation with other varieties better suited to local growing conditions. One promising development is a new hybrid white grape called Taichung No.3, which was developed by the Taichung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station. This variety has been trademarked as Musann Blanc by the leading local winery, Weightstone, for commercial release. Historically, and still to a large extent, the majority of Taiwanese wine production has been focused on sweet wine styles.