It’s truly once-in-a-liftime that an entirely new wine region is introduced to the worldwide industry. The reason I feel even a miniscule part of such a massive wine-world accomplishment is because the ridiculous wine writer I adore of Drinking and Knowing Things fame, who helped me discover Xinomavro and drink cheaper Burgundy, is the guy* who launched the Bhutan Wine Company.
After a long adventure that I only peripherally followed on instagram, they are bottling their first vintages and releasing them at auction, which I find to be very cool:
Bonhams.com/auction/31561/bhutan-wine-the-historical-first-vintage
The minimum investment here is 2 bottles for a starting price of $2,000.
The maximum package is a monumental custom bottle of 7.57L, paying tribute to Gangkhar Puensum in Bhutan, the highest unclimbed mountain in the world standing at 7,570 meters high, and a week trip to see all the vineyards—and culture!—in Bhutan, in the Himalayas**. Inside the bottle is Bhutan’s first-ever wine bottling, called Ser Kem, a blend of every red and white grapes varietal and vineyard that was harvested during the inaugural 2023 viticultural season. The only other bottle of this wine is being presented to His Majesty the King of Bhutan. They expect this to fetch up to $80K at auction! The deets: bhutan-wine-company-ser-kem-2023-the-himalayan-757l-bottle-and-exclusive-experience
I buy the under $30 recs in DAKT, so I won’t be partaking in this auction, but wanted to share because I really think it’s freakin’ cool.
*allegedly, anyway. His books are published under Michael Amon, while his press release says Mike Juergens, but as someone who once tried to protect her identity on a public blog, who am I to judge how he presents himself?
**my Indian friend who is from there says it’s pronounced Him-all-uh-ya-s (as opposed to the Texan/American him-uh-lay-uhs) but it’s hard to correct myself!