Fancy spending a week sipping wine and wandering through the vineyards? You don’t have to head to South Africa or France to do that – Thailand has its own selection of wine-growing companies. Many of these offer visitors the chance to stay in charming and private accommodation during their visit.

Khao Yai Winery has its own tour guide to explain how the wine is produced in this north-eastern region. The vineyard has 400 hecatres of land is the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia. The GranMonte Family Vineyard is in Asoke Valley, also in Khao Yai, and has a guesthouse with modern furnishings and splendid views. Free tours are given every weekend. As well as the wine, cookies, jams and salad dressings are also produced there.

In the north sits Chateau de Loei winery, where the wine is made with help from Australian and French experts. Close to the Laos border, it has been making wines since 1995.

In the other direction, the Siam Winery about 60 kms south of Bangkok makes the award-winning Chatemp and Monsoon Valley wines. Several tour operators run trips to the wineries, or Spice Roads Asia runs bicycle tours of Khao Yai’s wine trails.