A visit to South-East Asia's largest vineyard.

Yesterday, 27th of November, was a lovely Sunday with the promise of a sunny day. So a friend and my son went with me to what was advertised as the largest vineyard in South-East Asia, Beris Lake Vineyard, in Sik, Kedah, Malaysia, some twenty-five kilometres from Sungai Petani.

At Lake Beris, which is a short distance after the town, we came to a long bridge which span the river flowing into the lake. Just before the bridge was a road on the right which took us to a parking lot in front of the entrance to the vineyard.

We spent about an hour and a half strolling leisurely between the vines that were grown about 7 metres apart appreciating the the bunches of green and red grapes that hung down just above our mouths.

According to a worker at the vineyard, the grapes are organically grown. The manure for the vines come from the cow farms around the area. I wonder what are the cows from the area fed, grass or processed food?

Concerning possible problems to the grapes, rain could damage the grapes. Firstly, the vines must be in well-drained soil. Too much water could also cause the quality of the grapes to drop. Therefore, the vineyard is covered totally with a plastic canopy and there are drain-pipes as well as drain holes to ensure that the ground is not water-logged.

This outing is better seen from the pictures that I have uploaded for everyone to enjoy. Well, a picture paints a thousand words and many pictures do depict the whole story. However, words do have their use as they help explain what may not be obvious.
From the car park, up the stairs to the front door leading to the vineyard.


One of the posters at the entrance where it is stated that the vineyard started operation in November 2007.

This must be an old entrance. Toilets are on the left side of the building. That was the first place most visitors go to, perhaps to contribute some fertilisers.
In front of the new entrance is this poster claiming this place to be the largest vineyard in South-East Asia.

A resting area with the door to the place at the far end. Visitors sit around and discuss what they have seen after moving around the place.
Signs near the ticket counter showing how far away the various vineyeards in the place.

From the visitors' resting area we go to a section on the right to the ticket counter. At the back of that counter were objects for sale such as clothing and souvenirs.
For children, the entrance fee is two ringgit each. (Note: One US dollar is approximately three ringgit twenty sen at the time of posting. One hundred sen makes a ringgit.)
And for adults, it is four ringgit each.

Here are some of the souvenirs and cordials that visitors can buy home.
And should there be anyone interested in growing a grape vine in a 2.2 x 2.2 metre plot in his garden there are plants with the right fertilisers for him/her to buy.
We did not buy the plants. As we were thirsty, we bought for each of us a small bottle of grape juice which, according to the label, was 100% fresh, actually meaning that it was made from fresh grapes.
What was disappointing about the drink was that sugar was added to the juice, so it most probably could not be 100% juice since the grapes ought to be sweet enough if it is purely grape juice. I believe water must have been added, thus the need for sugar although water was not listed on the label. Besides that, I noticed that colouring and certain chemicals have also been added.

Look at these small green grapes! upon entering the vineyard, we saw these cute little grapes. They were just at the entrance into the vineyard. I believe they are a little more than a month old. Still so tiny, still so green.

And then we came to bigger green grapes with a tinge of yellow that could be almost three months old, a month to harvesting time.
Up above us was this canopy of leaves with new shoots tied to the old shoots so that they would not shoot upwards but at almost the same level as the old shoots which is approximately seven feet or 2.2 metre above the ground.
Next, we come to rows and rows of vines bearing dark-red grapes. We were told the grapes would be black and sweet when they ripen in a month's time. At three months they are still red and sour as they are still far from ripe.
And looking upwards, we saw lots of grapes indicating the success of the vineyard.

Alongside the vines are pipes conveying water to them.

A close view of grapes at three months which are still sour as they are not yet ripe. It takes four months for them to ripen.


Wow! Juicy grapes within reach but visitors can only see, touch but not pluck.



When the grapes are plentiful, the vines are covered with leaves. Look at those grapes!



At four months the grapes are ripe and sweet enough to be harvested. Two months after the harvest, the vines are pruned and gone are the leaves. This has to be done so that new shoots and leaves can bring another good crop of grapes.


Slowly, new shoots and leaves begin to emerge and soon leaves are covering the top again. According to a worker at the vineyard, the plants are given cow-dung as manure once every three weeks. The cow-dung is taken from the farms around the area.




Once again, the vines are heavy with leaves and are ready for the next crop of grapes.

Drainage holes are necessary as the vines need well-drained soil and below you can see a drain-pipe for water which flows from the plastic canopy at the top.