Discovering new tastes in Taiwan
Justine Tyerman is a New Zealand journalist, travel writer and sub-editor. Married for 36 years, she lives in rural surroundings near Gisborne on the East Coast of New Zealand with her husband Chris. In this piece, she samples Taiwanese wine.
New Zealand is known for magnificent wine – made from grapes, of course. But I recently discovered to my astonishment not all countries understand that fundamental link.
Being quite an experienced wine drinker – by which I refer to frequency of consumption rather than implying I am in any way a connoisseur – I was excited at the prospect of visiting a winery in Taiwan.
The unusual labels on the beautiful bottles lined up for tasting at the Nantou Winery should have forewarned me but I blithely ploughed ahead, obeying my motto to try everything offered to me in the way of new experiences.
The winemaker spoke little English but proudly poured generous quantities into our tasting glasses, smiling and gesturing for us to sample his products.
The first tasted startlingly like onions, and upon seeing my puzzled expression, our Taiwanese guide confirmed it tasted like onions because it was onion wine.
Wandering around the room trying to look nonchalant while pretending to savour the contents of my glass, I found a convenient pot plant in which to ditch the "wine".
Ever the optimist, I moved on to the second tasting which had herb-like plants on the label. I should have been alerted by this but alas, no. I took a good sip and only just managed to maintain a semblance of decorum. It was made from Chinese herbs. The pot plant received more close attention.
The winemaker, encouraged by my apparent enthusiastic consumption of his products, poured me an even bigger glass of the third wine from a bottle with an elegant stiletto on the label. It was a dark-looking brew which tasted like chocolate, and was in fact chocolate wine, made especially for the young, female, Japanese palate. Poor pot plant!
The final wine had a picture of exotic-looking fruit on the label which was more promising – it was lychee wine, sweet and quite palatable in a liqueur-ish way.
Our guide explained that Taiwan was a nation of spirit drinkers, and wine made from grapes was not their forté. Having sampled four of their best, I can safely say there are excellent trade opportunities for New Zealand wine in that country. I later discovered we got off lightly – in Taiwan there is also such a thing as snake penis wine.
Taiwan is a land of startling surprises not only to Western tastes but also habits.
The hotels and hospitality are outstanding. However, some took discreet design to an extreme with toilets so cleverly concealed I was about to phone reception and complain there was no loo in my room when I found it behind a sliding panel, incorporated seamlessly into a wall.
I did have to phone to find the closet where the pyjamas and slippers were hiding, having heard it was de rigueur to turn up to breakfast in the hotel’s signature “spa loungewear". Just as well I did – all the guests, from children to elderly were dressed in matching PJs next morning.
On the subject of toilets, many were equipped with an ingenious seat-side touch screen requiring an IT degree to operate. It doesn’t pay to be too inquisitive and peer into your designer loo while experimenting with the console, trying to determine the mysterious workings of controls written in Chinese. There are various bidet nozzles which can result in a face full of warm water of dubious purity.
In one hotel, there was a sliding window from the toilet to the bedroom so that you could converse with your room-mate if you got lonely.
Huge tubs that held a tanker load of water were standard issue at the hotels. To luxuriate in an obscenely-deep bath after a long summer of water restrictions was a delicious treat. The tubs on higher floors are often located by full-length windows so you can sightsee while you soak.
Taiwan is delightfully different – just be wary of wine bottle labels with snakes on them.
Have you ever been to Taiwan? Share your travel tips in the comments below.
* Justine Tyerman was a guest of Taiwan Tourism Bureau and China Airlines.