Ser Kem, produced by Bhutan Wine Company, was thrust into the spotlight after 21 lots went under the hammer at a Bonhams auction in April 2025. (Photo: Sherab Dorji)

Bhutan wine: How the Himalayan kingdom is building a wine industry from scratch

Bhutan Wine Company is cultivating vineyards across the country and producing bottles that reflect local values, spiritual traditions and a radically new winemaking frontier.

07 Apr 2026, 22:08 by Azimin Saini · CNA · Join

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In April 2025, 21 lots from an unknown wine label sold for US$74,250 (S$94,500) at a Bonhams auction. No critic had tasted the wine, and no established pedigree stood behind it. It came from a region with no winemaking tradition, where the first grapevines were planted only in 2019. Yet the price placed it alongside revered Bordeaux and cult European bottles backed by centuries of history.

The wine came from Bhutan, the last Himalayan kingdom – better known for monasteries in misty mountain valleys than for anything poured into a wine glass.

The wine is named Ser Kem, after a Bhutanese ritual in which alcohol is offered to deities and protective spirits before anyone takes a sip. The name, given to Bhutan Wine Company by a Buddhist spiritual master, anchors what is essentially a Western beverage in a Bhutanese worldview shaped by intention, restraint and non-harm.

HOW IT STARTED

The company began almost by accident. Michael Juergens, then a wine consultant, had arrived in Bhutan to run a marathon and was struck by the country’s dramatic landscapes and long agricultural traditions. “From the moment I set foot in the Kingdom of Bhutan I knew with 100 per cent certainty that this place could be one of the next great wine regions in the world,” he said. “This magnificent terroir left zero doubt in my mind. The question was never ‘if’, it was always ‘how’.”

Soon after, Juergens co-founded Bhutan Wine Company with Ann Cross and local partners Yab Dhondup Gyaltshen and Karma Choeda.

Mike Juergens and Ann Cross. (Photo: Ben Gordon)

The first vines – sourced from California, Washington and France – were planted in 2019, while the founders assembled a team to build a wine industry from scratch.

Building a wine industry in Bhutan required collaboration across disciplines and borders. Juergens described a team that brought together Bhutanese agriculturists with deep knowledge of the local biome, Bhutanese business partners familiar with the regulatory landscape, and external viticulturists and winemakers with technical expertise in grape growing and wine production.

There was no template to follow – no inherited rules and no fixed idea of what a Bhutanese wine should taste like. For Juergens, that absence was freeing. “The lack of appellation rules is an enormous advantage to us, because we are not prohibited legally from trying new things,” he said. “Thus, we can focus 110 per cent of our time on making the best wine possible without the legacy guardrails that are currently plaguing many historic wine regions.”

WINE-MAKING IN BHUTANESE HANDS

Tiger’s Nest is Bhutan’s most iconic Buddhist monastery. (Photo: Tourism Board Bhutan)

From the beginning, the vineyards were designed to align with Bhutan’s wider values and draw on local agricultural expertise. Workers from nearby towns and villages, many already skilled in farming, were then trained in viticulture by more experienced vineyard staff and grape-growing specialists.

Rather than rushing to build a wine industry, the company made a careful start, treating wine as something that would need to grow into Bhutanese culture slowly and deliberately. That approach reflects a deeper logic in how things are done in Bhutan.

Today, Bhutan Wine Company has vineyards across nine sites totalling 200 hectares, with 50 hectares under vine. The operation employs 40 full-time staff and 20 seasonal workers. Each site grows a mix of international varieties selected for their suitability to Bhutan’s varied soils – reds including Syrah, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec, and whites including Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling and Chenin Blanc. Those that perform well are planted more widely.

A SPIRITUAL CULTURE

Wine in Bhutan does not exist in a cultural vacuum. Alcohol has long been part of Bhutanese life through traditional brews such as ara, offered during gatherings as a gesture of welcome and connection rather than for casual drinking.

“In Bhutan, alcohol is deeply cultural rather than recreational,” said Rishi Sarma, general manager of AndBeyond Punakha River Lodge. “Traditional brews, such as ara, are part of daily life, offered as gestures of welcome, woven into social exchange, and present in certain religious and ceremonial contexts. Brewed from maize, rice, barley or wheat, it reflects both a sense of place and centuries-old tradition. It is less about consumption and more about connection between people, place, and tradition.”

A Bhutan Wine Company vineyard in Bhutan, linked to its Ser Kem wines, is part of the effort to build a wine industry from scratch, with international grape varieties selected for the country’s varied soils and conditions. (Photo: Sherab Dorji)

That wider reverence matters because wine is seen as another expression of the same Bhutanese worldview – one in which the natural world is inhabited, interconnected and morally consequential. Mountains, rivers, forests and valleys are not inert backdrops, but places with presence and agency, guarded by protective deities and local spirits that must be acknowledged and respected.

Agricultural work begins with blessings, timing is guided by astrological calendars, and effort is measured by its impact on both visible and unseen life. Within this belief system, farming is less about domination than coexistence, and wine, though newly introduced, is expected to observe the same boundaries.

“Our company has incorporated Buddhist values in almost all facets of its operation. Principles like moderation, peaceful intention and minimal harm influence farming in our vineyards and the vinification of our wines,” said Matt Brain, Bhutan Wine Company’s winemaker, based in Thimphu. “In particular, the concept of balance drives decision-making in the vineyard, from pruning to crop load to harvest timing.”

Reverence for nature also shapes the company’s approach. Bhutan’s biodiversity is abundant – birds and insects are drawn to ripening grapes – yet chemical pesticides are never used. Instead, the crop is protected with netting and visual deterrents, while soil health is supported with natural amendments. The result is a philosophy in which care for other life forms is not secondary to production, but central to the company’s identity.

Grapes are harvested at a Bhutan Wine Company vineyard in Bhutan, where the first vines were planted in 2019. (Photo: Sherab Dorji)

TASTING A REFLECTION OF THE HIMALAYAS

Asked to describe the wines, Brain was measured. He said their crisp flavours and aromas evoke pure mountain air and intense sunshine, combining New World brightness with Old World complexity and moderate alcohol levels.

Wine lovers can order through the company’s website, which ships internationally, or visit the BWC Wine Bar in Thimphu for a tasting. Prices range from US$80 for a rose to US$500 for a Pinot Noir made with native Bhutanese yeast and aged in Bhutanese oak. Vineyard visits can also be arranged, since all travellers to Bhutan are accompanied by a guide.

For now, the focus is on building the country’s wine culture, developing the industry and strengthening the team on the ground. “It took Napa Valley 50 years to become a global wine powerhouse. It took the Willamette Valley 35 years. It took China 15 years,” said Juergens. “Hopefully we can improve on that and become a globally relevant wine-producing country with a strong impact on global wine markets within ten years.”

“Our single goal is to capture the essence of Bhutan in a bottle of wine,” said Juergens. “As long as it showcases Bhutan, it is a win.”