Vietnam

Vietnam's alcohol production is dominated by distilled spirits and fermented rice drinks rather than grape wine. Rice spirit, known as rượu, is made throughout the country, from small household stills in northern villages to the southern Mekong region, and it is central to festivals, family gatherings and ritual offerings. Grape wine is a small domestic industry, with its main vineyards in Ninh Thuận province on the south-central coast and around Đà Lạt in the Central Highlands. More recently, a small number of craft distillers have begun making spirits such as gin.

Vietnam has a tropical monsoon climate, which makes conventional viticulture difficult. Ninh Thuận is one of the country's driest and sunniest areas, and growers there manage vines under tropical conditions that allow more than one harvest in a year. Cardinal, a table grape variety, has historically been the most widely planted, alongside some wine varieties such as Syrah. Đà Lạt sits at altitude, which gives it a cooler, milder climate than the lowlands. It is also known for fruit wines and for wines made from local produce. For spirits, the key raw materials are rice, glutinous rice, and sometimes cassava or maize. Fermentation traditionally relies on yeast starters made from rice and herbs, called men.

What distinguishes Vietnamese production is its range of traditional rice-based styles. Rượu nếp is made from glutinous rice. Rượu cần is a fermented rice drink shared from a communal jar and sipped through long straws, a custom associated with ethnic communities in the highlands. Spirits are also commonly infused with herbs, fruits or other ingredients, a practice linked to traditional medicine. Craft gin from Vietnam typically draws on the country's botanical diversity, using regional herbs, citrus and spices alongside classic juniper. These products are small-scale and strongly local in character, reflecting the country's agricultural and culinary traditions.