Michael Juergens was pleasantly surprised when he went to Bhutan to run a marathon. “I was taken aback to see how fertile the valleys were. So I naturally assumed the country had wineries,” recalls the senior partner at Deloitte and a certified sommelier. Surprised to realise there weren’t any, he wrote a white paper on why and how Bhutan could grow world-class wine, and sent it to the government. The government was so interested in his proposal that it decided to donate the land and partnered with him on the project.
Juergens teamed up with Ann Cross to start Bhutan Wine Company, and work began in 2019. The fledgling company, the only outfit growing grapes and making wine in landlocked Bhutan, now has approximately 200 acres of vineyards, growing 16 different grape varietals—nine red and seven white—spread across nine sites in Bhutan. Ser Kem, the very first wine ever produced in the history of the country, was released in October end.
Cross, the CEO, says she’s been in love “with the idea of Bhutan ever since I read a book in high school about a Canadian woman who moved there to teach English”. “Our vision has always been to capture the essence of Bhutan and share this magical country with the rest of the world. The vision is easy; the getting it done part is what takes work,” she says.
In Bhutan, serving alcohol is seen as a sign of respect, honour, and hospitality. It is offered as a welcome and farewell drink; it can be consumed with food, as dessert, or after a meal. People typically drink ara, the local fermented brew. In a bid to familiarise locals with their product, the company opened a Scandi-style wine bar in Thimphu this summer, under COO Karma Choeda.
Juergens and Cross experimented by planting vines at different elevations in Bhutan’s narrow, steep valleys. The company now has vineyards at elevations ranging between 150m near Gelephu and 2,788m near Thimphu (one of the highest vineyards in the world). About 20 of the company’s 200 acres are pressed into production as of now. “Only one barrel was made in 2023 and is designed to be a collector’s piece rather than to be sent for mass distribution. The 2024 vintage will be released in 2025,” Juergens says.
Cross feels it isn’t a stretch to think that Bhutan could grow some of the world’s best grapes. “Bhutan has a unique microclimate. We can produce beautiful wines that reflect the terroir of Bhutan and compete with some of world's best wines in the world,” she says.
For a name for the new brand, the founders sought guidance from the local “master namer monk” who christened it. Ser Kem translates into “offering of alcohol to the Gods”. The Bhutanese people, when drinking with family and friends don’t typically say ‘Cheers’. Instead, they dip the ring finger of their left hand into the drink and flick droplets into the air, making an offering with every glass. Ser Kem is a Bhutan Wine Company saying chin chin to the world by giving it a taste of the remote Himalayan Kingdom’s bounties.
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