appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

The Korea Times

In the quiet mountain village of Ungyang-myeon, in Geochang county in South Korea’s South Gyeongsang province, sits a modest country home. Beside it are a small winery and a vineyard spanning about 18,000 square metres (193,000 sq ft).
Compared with the vast vineyards of Europe’s famous wine regions, the place feels more like a humble grape farm than a vineyard.
Yet the organically grown grapes harvested here are transformed into Jeong Ssang-eun Wine, a natural wine that has oenophiles across South Korea lining up to get their hands on.
The winery, run by first-generation grape farmers Jeong Ssang-eun and Lim Hye-sook and their son, second-generation winemaker Jeong Gyu-song, produces only about 9,000 bottles a year due to its small scale. Despite the limited supply, their wines often sell out soon after they become available.
What makes Jeong Ssang-eun Wine different
For first-time drinkers, perhaps the most striking characteristic of Jeong Ssang-eun Wine is what it lacks: sweetness.
The difference can be particularly noticeable for consumers whose experience with South Korean wine has been limited to products commonly found in supermarkets, convenience stores and neighbourhood shops.
Many South Korean wines on the market have traditionally been made with relatively high levels of added sugar, a practice known as chaptalisation, resulting in pronounced sweetness that can mask the grapes’ natural character.
Jeong Ssang-eun Wine, by contrast, is almost completely dry. Although its alcohol content is not particularly high, the wine offers fresh fruit aromas, a subtle salty minerality and refreshing acidity that highlight the character of the grapes.

Jeong Gyu-song, 40, who oversees everything from grape cultivation to winemaking, attributes these characteristics to Geochang’s terroir – the combination of natural environmental factors, including soil and climate, that influence grape growing.
“Most of the soil in Geochang is granite,” he says. “Granite contains a lot of iron, which helps increase the acidity of the grapes. At elevations of around 300 metres [980ft], grapes can struggle to ripen because of heat stress. But here, at 550 metres, it is cooler, and the large difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures gives the grapes a more concentrated flavour.”
The family also learned an unusual lesson from a relative who lives nearby and is known locally for making excellent makgeolli, Korea’s traditional rice-based alcohol.
“My aunt is famous around here for making the best makgeolli,” Jeong says. “I asked her how to make good alcohol, and she told me that makgeolli turns out best when the average temperature is around 18 degrees Celsius [64 degrees Fahrenheit]. Around here, that happens in May and October. She said that if you make alcohol then, it will always turn out well. So I tried it, and it really did taste good.”
In other words, a secret to making good makgeolli became part of the family’s approach to making good wine.
Jeong’s praise of Geochang’s terroir runs counter to the widespread belief that South Korea’s climate is unsuitable for growing wine grapes.
Is South Korea too hot to make good wine?
Wine grapes generally thrive in dry, relatively cool climates, leading many to assume that South Korea’s hot and humid summers make it an inherently poor wine-producing country. The pronounced sweetness of many South Korean wines has also been partly attributed to domestic consumers’ preference for sweet fruit wines, as well as the need to compensate for grapes lacking sufficient flavour.
Jeong, however, believes the bigger problem lies not in South Korea’s climate but in the way grapes are distributed.
He points to “field selling” or “field buying”, in which merchants purchase an entire vineyard and harvest its grapes at once.
“Not all the grapes can ripen at exactly the same time,” he says, “but when an entire field is purchased, all the grapes are harvested together. Some are underripe while others are overripe. Merchants sell the grapes that have ripened well and use the rest for juice or alcohol. If you make wine with those grapes, of course it isn’t going to taste very good, so you have no choice but to add sugar. The wine industry cannot develop under that kind of system.”

Jeong argues that many of the country’s outstanding wines are made by wineries that grow their own grapes and therefore have control over the entire process.
“It’s not that making good wine in Korea is impossible because of the climate,” he says. “If you can control the entire process, from growing the grapes to making the wine, I believe you can make very good wine here, too.”
Jeong Ssang-eun Wine is made exclusively from organically grown grapes.
Jeong says the family began farming organically because of his father’s sensitivity to agricultural chemicals.
“My father’s skin was very sensitive to pesticides,” he says, “so my parents have always farmed organically. We’ve never farmed using pesticides, so this is simply the only way we know.”
The winery has also embraced natural winemaking, using minimal intervention in the production process. It does not add sulphites, which are commonly used to stabilise and extend the shelf life of the wine.
When asked why they don’t use sulphites, Jeong says his mother simply responds with, “Would you put sulphites in the makgeolli you make for your family to drink?”
That attitude reflects the family’s determination to keep the entire process as natural as possible – from organically grown grapes to minimally processed wine.
Making wine without chemical additives can make it more difficult to achieve a desired flavour profile, but Jeong compensates through meticulous control of the winemaking process.

How a family’s home-made wine grew into a thriving business
Although he has never received formal winemaking training, he continually experiments with new techniques in pursuit of better wine. He regularly reads books about winemaking, watches YouTube videos and reaches out on social media to winemakers in France, Japan and other countries to ask about their techniques and experiences.
When Jeong’s parents began growing grapes 36 years ago, the family never imagined that they would eventually sell wine.
At the time, they simply made wine for themselves because some grapes were too imperfect to sell commercially.
But word of the family’s unusually good home-made wine spread beyond the mountain village. Eventually, a county government official contacted them and suggested turning their winemaking into a business.
With support from Geochang county, the family acquired production equipment and later obtained a liquor manufacturing licence. In 2007, they began selling their wine under the name “Geochang Grape Wine”.
The winery took its current form about six years ago, after the couple’s son joined the family business.
I just want to make an easy wine that ordinary people can buy and drink
Jeong Gyu-song
Jeong returned to his hometown about 10 years ago and worked for four years at the Geochang Agricultural Technology Centre. During that time, he realised farming was his calling. He eventually left his government job and returned to the family vineyard, where he began taking a more active role in winemaking.
Under his direction, what had once been a single Campbell grape red wine expanded into a portfolio of 10 wines and one brandy, now sold under the Jeong Ssang-eun Wine name.
Jeong spends virtually every season of the year focused on growing grapes and making wine. His goal is simple: to make better wine that ordinary people can comfortably afford and enjoy.
“Someone once asked me whether my goal was to make a ‘big wine’ or something more popular and accessible,” he says. “I told them I just want to make an easy wine that ordinary people can buy and drink.
“But I do want to make better-tasting wine. As long as my palate can tell the difference, I want to keep making better wine. That means growing better grapes, too. That’s what I’m working towards year by year. I don’t have any big ambitions.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.
Read the full story at The Korea Times


Our cheat sheet for the best things to do in Hong Kong, September 17-26

Where a champion Hong Kong barista goes for local comfort food and Italian dishes

Hong Kong’s hottest new openings, from Sugar Daddy’s Italian pastries to Japanese-Chiuchow fusion fare at Chiu San

She’s telling Hong Kong’s culinary stories through an Instagram ‘staging’ series

Food and Drinks

Think South Korea can’t make good wine? This passionate producer wants to change your mind

Jeong Gyu-song, who runs the South Korean winery Jeong Ssang-eun Wine, talks about growing grapes organically at his farm in South Gyeongsang province. Photo: The Korea Times

Jeong Ssang-eun Wine began in 2007 under the name “Geochang Grape Wine”. Photo: The Korea Times

Grapes used to make wine ripen in the vineyard of Jeong Ssang-eun Winery in Ungyang-myeon, Geochang county, in South Korea’s South Gyeongsang province. Photo: The Korea Times

A sign certifying Jeong Ssang-eun Winery as an “eco-friendly certified plot” is posted near grapevines. Photo: The Korea Times

‘We were just 2 kids’: how this Hong Kong Gen Z pair started a Chinese wine business

Purple Rain Wine founders Anson Sik (left) and Edson Bichon make a toast. The Gen Z entrepreneurs founded their company to bring Chinese natural wines to drinkers in Hong Kong, and to tell the stories behind the bottles. Photo: Jonathan Wong

A selection of wines from Purple Rain. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Bichon (left) and Sik (right) take a photo with villagers they met at a vineyard. Photo: Anson Sik

People enjoy Purple Rain wines at an event in Sheung Wan on June 13, 2026. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Bichon (left) and Sik say that their jobs did not really exist before they invented them. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Where a French sommelier in Hong Kong goes for tastes of home, Chinese bites and cocktails

Vitello tonnato with slow-cooked veal, tuna sauce and capers at Ninetta, a new Italian restaurant in Hong Kong’s Central neighbourhood that sommelier Titouan Jounier praises for its quality. Photo: May Tse

Titouan Jounier is head sommelier at the one-Michelin-star Louise in Central. Photo: Titouan Jounier

Noodles at Mak’s Noodles in Central, Hong Kong. Photo: Shutterstock

A dessert at Babette. Photo: Instagram/agnes.the.foodie

Diners pack Lamma Rainbow Seafood Restaurant, where Jounier often goes with friends. Photo: Kylie Knott

The interior of The Green Door Bar, where Jounier loves the ambience and enjoys “great” cocktails. Photo: Instagram/thegreendoor.bar

Why Korean rice wine could be the next big drink in Hong Kong and mainland China

Sky Oh, the founder of Hong Kong-based Korean alcohol distributor Fermentation Heaven, is surrounded by a variety of Korean drinks, including Korean rice wine. Her company recently provided Korean rice wines for an event at Shenzhen’s Otheroof. Photo: Sky Oh

Ellyeop Pyunjoo crafts premium Korean rice wine using only three ingredients: rice, water and nuruk. Photo: Instagram/@ricewinery

Kim puts the uptick in Korean rice wine sales at Mosu down to his newest pairing menu and an “enthusiastic wait staff”. Photo: Mosu Hong Kong

Ted Ko is the beverage director of Korean bistro O’rm in Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan neighbourhood. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Bibim buckwheat noodles at O’rm. The Korean bistro suggests food pairings for the Korean alcoholic drinks it stocks. Photo: Orm

Why South Korean winery’s cabernet sauvignon is sold exclusively in Hong Kong

Ted Ko, founder of South Korean winery Koyberpunk, the first to produce red wine in the country, sells his wine exclusively in Hong Kong. He explains why. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Ko in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. His wine is sold exclusively at eight outlets in Hong Kong. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

In his twenties, Ko worked at a winery in Washington state in the United States. Photo: courtesy of Ted Ko

Yeongcheon is blessed with a nearly perfect environment to grow fruit – particularly grapes. Photo: Facebook/Koyberpunk

Cabernet sauvignon grapes at Lee Geum-ja’s vineyard in Yeongcheon. Photo: courtesy of Ted Ko

Lee Geum-ja is one of the few grape growers in South Korea to have succeeded in cultivating cabernet sauvignon grapes. Photo: courtesy of Ted Ko

Ko remains hopeful that people in Hong Kong are willing to pay a significant sum to buy his wine. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

A bottle of Koyberpunk’s Field Blend of Vitis Vinifera Red, its 2021 vintage. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Many think South Korea’s climate causes the flavour-masking sweetness of its wine, but Jeong Gyu-song of Jeong Ssang-eun Wine says otherwise


Many think South Korea’s climate causes the flavour-masking sweetness of its wine, but Jeong Gyu-song of Jeong Ssang-eun Wine says otherwise.


South Korea

Wine and Spirits

Think South Korea can’t make good wine? This passionate producer wants to change your mind

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Many think South Korea’s climate causes the flavour-masking sweetness of its wine, but Jeong Gyu-song of Jeong Ssang-eun Wine says otherwise

Many think South Korea’s climate causes the flavour-masking sweetness of its wine, but Jeong Gyu-song of Jeong Ssang-eun Wine says otherwise