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The gate of Bau Da wine village |
Bau Da wine is well known nationwide. I enjoyed it but truthfully haven’t got any chances to visit its birthplace even though it is only 40 km away from the place where I’m living.
Fortunately, when one of my friends, who is a photographer, suggested visiting Bau Da wine village, we came to the village to know more about the making of Bau Da wine.
Second-to-none wine
Known as a “wine village” but it is actually a hamlet called Bau Da in which the locals specialize in wine brewery.
Bau Da, the name of a big pond, is located in Nhon Loc commune, An Nhon District. No one knows when brewing wine has started. The elderly said they already saw the existence of wine brewing when being born.
Wine is manually distilled using traditional methods. The secret that makes its name famous is the source of water. In the old days, water from Bau Da was used to brew wine. But now the locals have to use well-water due to the dry pond.
The source of water is a natural privilege in the village, making its wine have a distinctive taste. Once, the poet Tan Da visited An Nhon and enjoyed Bau Da wine, saying that Bau Da was “de nhi danh tuu” (the second well-known wine).
In 2006, the poet Nguyen Duy made a trans-Vietnam tour with his friends. When coming to Binh Dinh, he also enjoyed Bau Da wine and fish from the Con River. He then affirmed that Bau Da wine is the second-to-none one. Those who enjoy Bau Da wine have to use their five senses to taste it.
Coming to the village, we met Nguyen Luu, head of the village. He happily said that he has just returned after performing the wine brewing at the festival held in Da Nang in March.
When we expressed our wishes to visit the village, Luu invited us to come to his house and enjoy wine.
A wine connoisseur could realize Bau Da wine thanks to its sound and bubbles on the surface when it is poured into a glass, Luu said. But its taste is up to each’s experiences.
“It’s easy to get drunk when drinking Bau Da wine, but if drinking too much, you only need to sleep,” he added. “You can feel healthy after waking up.”
After drinking wine, we were guided through the birthplace of Bau Da wine. Walking along a path, we came to Bau Da shrine and the pond behind it. The pond is now dry but it doesn’t matter for the natural privilege is still preserved.
A little worry
When coming to the village, our first impression was the gate of the village with the name “traditional village” and the road to the village.
“The district’s authority helped us build the gate and the road,” Luu said. “Each household was presented a bronze pot to brew wine. We were also aided in performing wine brewing at some festivals.”
However, that is not enough to make the craft village fully come alive. At present, the locals brew wine in the early morning. They then have to work in rice fields and go to the market.
Leaving the village, we returned to Binh Dinh town. Along the national high way No 1A from An Nhon to Tuy Phuoc are many types of so-called Bau Da wine. Sometimes, coaches stop and passengers buy several bottles of wine named Bau Da as presents.
Seeing passengers buying wine along the road, we recalled what Luu sadly said. “Wine showed along the road is not bought from Bau Da village. Those who don’t live here couldn’t realize real Bau Da wine.”
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