Sanmeoru Farm is a wild grape farm in Paju City, Gyeonggi Province. The farm not produces own grape wines for the domestic market, it also offers a range of hands-on experiences for visitors. It’s just Just another 30 minutes drive from Paju Premium Outlet, so do consider dropping by if you are that area, this place is worth-visiting!
Aside from the family fun in countryside (
Soomy Village for instance), friends my age would appreciate this better if they are a wine lover!
So upon arriving, we were given an exclusive tour around the winery, and unlike other winery, Sanmeoru winery provides you the first hand experience into wine-making. Due to time constrain, we didn’t had the time to drop by the grapes farm, but the local guide gave us a tour inside into the process of their wine making, and proceeded to teach each and every on of us how to bottled and package our wine!
Thank god I’m not a drinker, otherwise I think I could take forever to fill up this bottle, hahah… my friends on the side were commenting how they will down half the wine first before filling them up to get the cork screwed on, lol. But of course, they didn’t. XD
Compared to other wineries I have visited from the past, in terms of “experiences”, other than the standard tours or tastings. Sanmeoru farm provided an out-of-the-ordinary to experience at a winery. Aside from the usual, they provided a money can’t buy opportunity for increased education or taking part of the process. Which is something new for me!
To make great wines you need a few key ingredients. Naturally, things like good soil, healthy vines, sunlight, plentiful grapes and good barrels are all necessary. However, truly great wines require something more –something Sanmoru Winery (감악산한국전통산머루와인) has cultivated since 1979 –hard work and passion.
Here, visitors are able to go beyond the cellar door to discover characteristics unique to Sanmeoru wine making. Sanmeoru winery are not simple venue to taste and purchase wine, they allow us to interact with their product, the winemaker at and enjoy first-hand experience.
When the outdoor are getting a little chilly, we’re moving indoors and escaping to these jaw-dropping wine cellar at Sanmeoru Winery. And and and…! if you have watched Hotel King, the personal wine cellar of one of the “Oppas” are taken back here in Sanmeoru wine cellar. So, for K-pop fans, you may mark Sanmeoru farm for your next must-go destination!
Each winery has its own unique charm, but here in Sanmeoru farm they offer a variety of activities, ranged from the winery cellar tour and wine sampling (3,000KRW/person), create own wine bottle (15,000KRW/person), grape jam/chocolate/soap making – 20,000KRW/person. It will be an ideal stop for small to mid size groups for team activities.
What special about this — is their grapes are freshly harvest from their farm, and to your liking, you may also infuse your chocolate with some of their wine, but we weren’t that creative, so we just went for the usual. And I’m not particularly proud with the chocolate I made, I guess this is a good enough explanation why I never give out DIY chocolates during Valentines >.< I might very well get rejected on the spot if the guy who received get this $@#$#@^ looking chocolate from me, lol.
Chocolate making was fun, but what comes next is even more exciting! It’s my first time making jam! lolol..
Before this, I was contended to leave jam making to the experts, but now that I have tried them, it is never the same again! Making jam puts us back in touch with the seasons and satisfies our crave for creation. The grapes were squashed and pre-packed into these bags, then we were given honey and sugar to adjust the sweetness and flavor we like.
It is all done in the farm kitchen, the process was rather easy and unlike chocolate I was more appealed to my creation this time, we made enough to fill our bottle and had some remaining but were too wasted to throw them away so the owner handed us these crackers to dip and finish up the jam!
It was like attending a “girlfriend” course, lol.. Not that I’m confident to make jam or chocolate better now, but I no my limitations, and after this I am more convinced that I should not give DIY chocolates to my crush in future, hahaha.
Now, we are done with the edibles! Next on, we have soap making!! And unlike any other soaps, these soaps contained wine produced from the Sanmeoru winery. FYI, and I just found out about this too, red wine can help transform a dull complexion to its original glow. With thousands of polyphenols, it helps prevent cell oxidation that ages the skin.
Actually this wine soap recipe is a creative way to use up that leftover wine that’s sat in the fridge too long or simply wasn’t too your liking. You just have to pick up the ingredients and you are good to start in your own kitchen! All the ingredients were provided by the instructor, I wish I know where to obtained them but I forgot to ask, but there’s always google =/
I am very happy with how these wine soaps turned out! The mould adds so much character to it! haha. Soaping with wine was quite an experience but totally worth the extra effort! The color of the bars is a perfect wine hue (it looks black from here because of the lighting). The lather of the soap bar is luxurious and creamy. On top of that, these batched are made out of lemon essence + wine, so it has a lemony fragrance to it, well.. it is really personal, you can mix and match and find the perfect scent!
At the end of the class, each and every one of us were handed with this surprise printouts, it is actually a sticker label for the wine, I was totally not expecting this. Now it made sense why the guide insisted earlier to have my picture taken ^^, and I thought someone from the winery may have a crush on me, oh well… hahahhaha. The wine bottle is the one we made earlier, yep, filled and packaged all by myself!
Needless to say, the home wine and jams are some of their best seller, all these are production from their grapes farm! . FYI, the winery is designated as Korea Traditional Food Manufacturer (by Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) and also authenticated as Environment Friendly with no-agrichemical cultivation.
My favorite of all in this trip! A limited edition ootd wine by yours truly, hahah.. Gonna put up for auction. Starting with 50,000 won, any takers? Alright, maybe not, I might just keep this until I get a private wine cellar one day! lol.
On my final remark, a visit to Sanmeoru farm is enthralling any time of year. But during harvest season (typically late August to early October), there’s something magical about seeing vines with purple fringes of grapes and smelling the aroma of freshly pressed juice lingering in the air. Also, if you are a big time photography lover, like me (like to be photographed instead, haha), I think Sanmeoru farm may be a photo worthy place to visit!
For more information, you may look out on their homepage,
www.sanmeoru.com
Transportation to Sanmeoru winery
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| recommend to take Subway, as taking bus requires some basic Korean >.< |
Directions Munsan Station (Gyeongui Jungang Line) Turn right (north) out of the exit and walk about 600 m to the intersection. Cross the street and take bus 95 heading east from the bus stop on the next street over to the west (Munhyang-ro, 문향로). Ride it for 39 stops and get off at Jeokseong Terminal bus stop (적성터미널 정류장). It will take about one hour. Transfer to bus 091B and get off at Baewon-ri Budaeap Bus Stop (배원부대앞 정류장) (8 stops, about 20 min). Continue walking in the same direction and take your first right (south) after about 50 m. Then, walk about about 500 more meters and turn left at the four-way intersection. Sanmeoru Farm will be on your left after about 100 m.
Posted by Mandy Chan http://www.mandylogy.com/day-trip-to-sanmeoru-winery/ |
